Sendai International Music Competition

Sendai International Music Competition
Sendai International Music Competition logo
Awarded for	Exceptional piano and violin performance
Country	Japan
Presented by	Sendai International Music Competition
First awarded	2001
Last awarded	2013
Official website	http://www.simc.jp/index_e.html (English)

The Sendai International Music Competition is a violin and piano music competition held in Sendai, Japan, presented in association with the Sendai International Music Competition Organizing Committee, City of Sendai and the Sendai Cultural Foundation.^[1] There is no single winner in the competition; instead, awards are given to the top six contestants in both the violin and piano categories, with first place in each category receiving the highest prize. The competition is international, but most award-winners have been from either Europe or Asia. The first award-winner from outside those continents was Sean Kennard, who finished fifth in the 2004 competition's piano category. As of 2013 there have been five competitions. For a list of winners of the competition, see; List of Sendai International Music Competition winners.

History

The Sendai International Music Competition is held every three years at the Sendai City Youth Cultural Centre in Japan.^[2] It has the stated purpose of "contributing to the development of world musical culture and the promotion of international cultural exchange through the discovery of young talented musicians".^[3] It was established in 2001 to commemorate the foundation of Sendai City's 400th anniversary,^[4] and was added as a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) since 2005.^[5] There have been four competitions held, the most recent being in 2010, with the next scheduled to take place on 25 May to 30 June 2013.^[6]

Format

The competition consists of five stages: preliminary rounds, screening auditions, an elimination round in which the contestants play a concerto along with a string quartet or quintet, then the semi-final and the final, in which all pieces are performed with the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra.^[7] The competition is split into two categories: violin and piano.^[8] The number of contestants passing the preliminary rounds is normally around 120 people. Along with the screening auditions, the preliminary stage decides who will qualify for the competition.^[9] Initially, a jury panel judges contestants' recordings.^[10] Afterwards, there is a screening audition, which is open to the public, at which the contestant will perform a concerto from a predetermined list accompanied by a piano.^[11] The competition proper consists of the elimination round, the semi-finals, and the final; the number of contestants who progress from the elimination round to the semi-finals cannot exceed 12 and the contestants passing through to the final cannot exceed six.^[12] In the elimination, semi-final, and final stages of the competition the performances are chosen from a predetermined repertoire; the contestants must choose a different piece for each round.^[13] The judging panel decides the placing of the prizewinners from first through sixth.^[14] The prize money is as follows:^[15]

References

External links

• Official website (English)