Menuhin Competition 2016 opens for entries

22 April 2015, 09:00 | Updated: 21 October 2015, 09:16

The biennial Menuhin Competition comes to London in 2016, in partnership with Classic FM. And today, on what would have been the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin’s 99th birthday, the organisers have opened next year’s competition for entries.

The Menuhin Competition in partnership with Classic FM returns to London for the second time in its history and will be hosted at the Royal Academy of Music 7-17 April 2016.

London’s mayor, Boris Johnson said: “It’s wonderful that the prestigious Menuhin Competition is coming back to London in 2016, the centenary year of the great maestro. This exciting showcase of some of the best violinists from across the globe will be a feast for music fans.”

To mark the centenary of Yehudi Menuhin’s birth in 2016, this edition of the competition is themed around pieces that have a close connection with the violinist – including Bartók’s Sonata for Solo Violin and music by Menuhin’s teacher George Enescu.

The judges for next year’s competition include five former Menuhin Competition winners: Julia Fischer, Ray Chen, Tasmin Little, Ning Feng and Joji Hattori.

Ray Chen will be a guest on Charlotte Green's Culture Club this Sunday, 26 April, talking about what the Menuhin Competition means to him. He won Senior First Prize at the competition in 2008, launching his career. At 26, he's the youngest ever juror for the competition.

Artistic director Gordon Beck said: “Five of this year’s nine jurors are former Menuhin Prize winners and internationally acclaimed performers; they are testament to the difference this competition can make to a young musician’s life.”

The competition is open to players under the age of 22 (born after 17 April 1994) and prizes include performances at major venues as well as cash prizes. The Senior First Prize winner will receive a 1-year loan of a Stradivarius violin made during the luthier's "golden period". The Junior First Prize winner will be given a 1-year loan of an old Italian violin.

For more information and to find out how to enter, visit the Menuhin Competition website.