International Sibelius Violin Competition

Being selected is already an achievement

April 2022

The International Violin Competition, named after the great Finnish patriotic composer Sibelius, was founded in 1965 and is held every five years and takes place in Helsinki. 

Sibelius (Jean Sibelius, 1865-1957), is Finland’s Most Famous Composer and representative of the National School of Music. He graduated from the Helsinki Conservatory of Music and later went to Berlin and Vienna to continue his studies. He has written many works incarnating passionate patriotism and strong national pride, and therefore achieving international recognition.  To commemorate him, Finland established the “Sibelius Association” and held an international music competition. 

The Sibelius Society of Finland launched the contest in 1965 in connection with the 100th anniversary of the birth of Sibelius. An Honorary Committee was created and a large number of distinguished musicians agreed to be members. Among them were Sir John Barbirolli, Herbert von Karajan, Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh, Eugene Ormandy, Igor Stravinsky, and Henryk Szeryng.  

The main repertoire of the contest is “A Minor Concert” by Sibelius, which has a distinctive national style and a new writing structure. Because the performance technique is very challenging and breaks conventions, it is not easy for a performer to impress the audience only with charm. In addition, this event is only held every five years, with few opportunities and fierce competition. The competitors are so strong that, it is generally accepted that anyone who gets good results in this contest has already won the category of outstanding artist. 

Young violinists around the world who have not yet turned 30 are welcomed to demonstrate their musical talents and compete with each other. The number of applicants set a new record in 2015 with 234; and only 45 of them were selected for the competition in Helsinki.

Many of the winners of the Violin Competition have become world-famous star violinists. In the fourth competition of 1980, the former player of the Soviet Union, Mulova, won the first place. And in 1995 the price went to the Finn: Pekka Kuusisto. 

Due to the pandemic situation, the 12th Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition had to be postponed to May 18-29, 2022. “We want to do everything possible to ensure the safety and health of our competitors and their hosts, as well as the many musicians, other employees, supporters and the public involved. We are very grateful to all those who participated in the organization of the contest and to our fans who will do this great competition with us also in 2022″ said Lauri Ratia, president of the Sibelius Society and the Violin Competition Committee.