Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition Launches Its 2020 Edition

- After much anticipation, the Organisation Committee revealed the names of the all-star panel of jurors -- each of the 13 chosen for their specialties in different artistic fields -- ensuring that the contestants will receive diverse and comprehensive examination and support. Co-chaired by well-known conductor David Stern and violinist and pedagogue Professor Vera Tsu Weiling, the Jury Committee also includes legendary artist manager Martin Campbell-White; violinist and pedagogue Glenn Dicterow; Director of Programs at the Philharmonie de ParisEmmanuel Hondré; violinist and founding member of the Shanghai Quartet Weigang Li; renowned violinist Ning Feng; violinist, pedagogue, and founding member of the Emerson String Quartet Philip Setzer; violinists and pedagogues Hagai Shaham, Joel Smirnoff, Kyoko Takezawa; one of the greatest living string players in the world and Grammy Award-winner Maxim Vengerov; and celebrated cellist Jian Wang. Open beginning today -- August 6, 2019 -- applicants are required to complete the online application by 23:59 GMT+8 on January 20, 2020 and the video submission for pre-selection by 23:59 GMT+8 on February 28, 2020. The public rounds to be held in Shanghai include the Quarter-Final Round, Semi-Final Round and Final Round. "Twenty-two days in total -- from the press conference to the gala concert -- the contestants will be faced with the longest-ever competition," said Fedina Zhou. "The length has been increased mainly due to the gala concert. It has been newly created to pay tribute to Isaac Stern who acted as an ambassador for Sino-American cultural exchange." With the special anniversary in 2020, the Competition will hold a post-competition gala concert dedicated to the documentary From Mao to Mozart, which will feature performances by some of the laureates from all three SISIVC editions as well as several musicians Isaac Stern coached in the documentary, including one of the jurors, Jian Wang. As an international violin competition offering the largest monetary award in the world -- $100,000 -- SISIVC is committed to spreading Chinese works to other parts of the world and has created the Best Chinese Work Performance Award to drive these efforts. Following the two Chinese concertos performed in the past two editions -- Butterfly Lovers by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, and La joie de la souffrance by Qigang Chen -- the Competition unveiled the newly commissioned Chinese work for the 2020 edition: Violin Concerto No. 2 by Zhou Tian, Artist-in-Residence with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) for the 2019/20 season. Its 2015 founding makes SISIVC still quite young among its international peers. Yet, it has proved to the world the great support, vitality, and resources a "youngster" can provide to young musicians through its rigorous and consistent rules, and clear and relentless commitment to excellence. Fedina Zhou said, "Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition was born with the internationalization of Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. The increase of SSO's global influence also helps enhance that of the other. This year marks the orchestra's 140th anniversary, and we will continue to support young artists with our network." The consistency enables progressive development of the Competition and thus more opportunities and a firmer platform to further the careers of musicians from around the world.