Competition Seeks True Violin Artists

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NEW YORK—Eight talented and undoubtedly nervous violinists in this year’s Chinese International Violin Competition were selected to move on to the final round this Sunday. One lucky contestant will take home the first place gold award and a $10,000 or a hand-made violin from a renowned Asian luthier. The silver award winner will receive $3,000 and the bronze winner $1,000.

But winning is not the point. In fact, the judges believe that if a performer focuses on their art and not the prize, he or she will do well on stage.

“Different mental states produce different results,” said judge Chia-Chi Lin. “We (the judges) can tell what the person is thinking as soon as he steps on stage, and as soon as he plays that first note.”

The contest, hosted by satellite TV station New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV), is part of a nine-competition series that aims to promote traditional arts—and that involves looking for the real artists in the world.

“Getting every note right does not make a person an artist,” Lin said. “The artist’s chief responsibility is to give what’s best of himself to the audience—to express goodness.” In all of NTDTV’s competitions, judges follow the guiding principles of “pure goodness and pure beauty.”

For the semifinal round, contestants were required to perform Beethoven's Romance No.1, G Major, Op.40 or Romance No.2, F Major, Op.50, and Bach's Unaccompanied Sonata No. 2, A Minor, BWV 1003, Fugue.

Most of the contestants who made it to the finals are young—most have studied the violin since they were very small. Semi-finalist Nancy Zhou from San Antonio, Texas, for instance, is only 16—the youngest of the those to make it to the final round. She studies under the direction of her father, a music instructor with the Shanghai Symphony.

“It’s most important for me to enjoy myself on stage. But sometimes I think I’m enjoying myself too much,” Zhou said.

Finalists:
Richard R. Lin; USA
Yuncong Zhang; New York, USA
Nancy Zhou; Texas, USA
Shu Cheng Yang; Quebec, Canada
Andrew Ling; Texas, USA
Shih-Kai Lin; New York, USA
Chen Han Tsai; New York, USA
Zhangtong Song; California, USA

Three of the eight finalists will be chosen by lottery to attend a master class given by New York Philharmonic Orchestra concertmaster Glenn Dicterow Saturday evening. While the other five contestants will be able to observe the training, only the randomly chosen three will be able to participate.

The final round of NTDTV's 2009 Chinese International Violin Competition will be held at the Kaufman Center's Merkin Concert Hall in New York.