The venue of the National Music Academy “Prof. Pancho Vladigerov” turned out to be too small to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend the gala concert of the laureates of the International “Vasco Abadjiev” Violin Competition.
The eighth edition of the competition, organized by the Sofia UNESCO Club “Leonardo da Vinci”, marked a record with 32 participants from 14 countries. All of them met the condition that they be under the age of 30. The bar was so high that the first prize, worth €3,000, was shared. The jury awarded it to Michael Gremer (Denmark) and Hyukjun Sohn (Republic of Korea). Second prize went to the brilliant Korean violinist Jiyoung Kim, while third place was also shared between the Japanese violinist Kae Tanimura and Arsen Ivlev from Russia, a graduate of the Moscow State Conservatory “P. I. Tchaikovsky”.
The special prize of the “Vasco Abadjiev” Competition went to Elizaveta Brakhman (Israel), who was given the chance to take part in the “Sofia Music Weeks” Festival.
The first-prize winner Michael Gremer admitted that the award was extremely valuable to him, because that’s his first competition in seven years. “The last time I participated in such a competition was when I was 15-16 years old. Then I met my teacher Nikolay Schneider and he decided to change my technique, which took me four years. During the first two I had no concerts at all. I only rehearsed. That’s why the “Vasco Abadjiev” Competition was so special for me. It was a glorious experience.”
The other winner of the first prize – the 23-year-old violinist Hyeokjin Son from Korea commented: “The competition was very intense; every day brought new challenges that were incredibly interesting. Up to now I haven’t won first prize at such a large international competition, so it’s an honor and a new sensation for me. I like your city; it reminds me of my hometown, Seoul.”
The international jury consisted of Prof. Janna Galdenman (Israel), Prof. Kseniya Milas (Italy), Yoanna Kamenarska (Germany), Giovanni Angeleri (Italy), Prof. Yosif Radionov, and the composer Stefan Iliev.
“I was first invited to join the jury during the pandemic and participated remotely. Since then I’ve always looked forward to these five days in Bulgaria, because in the complex world we live in, this competition is like an oasis of normality, and the level of the participants rises every year. As a university professor in Tel Aviv, I know how students search for competitions like this. I believe, in the future there will be even greater interest in the ‘Vasco Abadjiev’ Competition. We all get along very well on the jury, but I especially value the contact with Prof. Radionov and Maestro Iliev, because they belong to the generation that has passion for the art of the violin,” Prof. Galdenman assured.
The organizers emphasize that the competition, held since 2011, is not merely a contest – it’s a rendezvous of generations, cultures, and spiritual values, united by the love of music and devotion to the genius of Vasco Abadjiev, one of the brightest and tragically beautiful figures in the Bulgarian history of music.
TATYANA MANOVA
