Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider
(c) George Lange
Violonist Nikolaj Znaider, newly appointed President of the Carl Nielsen International Violin Competition, has announced some major changes. The former winner of the competition and of the Queen Elizabeth in Brussels as well says: “Too many competitions leave the young artist ill-equipped to embark on a professional career”.
So, he handpicked a jury to help him in his vision. 24 participants have been chosen to compete in Odense from 16 – 22 April including 17 women and 7 men ranging in age from 17 – 29 years old.
“With the Carl Nielsen International Competition our aim is to identify and help launch the careers of extraordinary and versatile talent as they begin the long road ahead of them. It is also of paramount importance for us to maintain transparency throughout the entire process of the competition, from choosing the participants to singling out the winners. A number of competitions are marred by the personal interests of their jury members, giving advantages to particular participants and making the competition effectively redundant. Joining me this April in Odense are colleagues with a vast range of experience from different fields of performance and management, none of whom have dual roles as teachers and therefore completely unbiased. »
Joining Nikolaj Znaider on the 2016 jury are Noah Bendix-Balgley, (1st Concertmaster, Berlin Philharmonic) Mats Engström, (Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra), Kathryn Enticott, (Artist Manager), Charles Hamlen, (Artistic Advisor, Orchestra of St. Luke’s | DiMenna Center), Werner Hink (Violinist, Vienna Philharmonic), Kathryn Stott (Pianist) Eugen Tichindeleanu, (Concert Master, Odense Symphony Orchestra and Jian Wang (Cellist).
