Menuhin International Violin Competition 2016
Senior Final and Closing Gala Concert
Royal Festival Hall. 16 & 17 April 2016

It was fitting that for this, the 100^th anniversary year of Yehudi Menuhin’s birth, the competition that he founded in 1983 returned to the UK. It started life, rather curiously, in Folkestone and has since had a peripatetic existence, moving around countries and continents every two years. Menuhin was not particularly keen on competitions, and wanted the one he founded to be more of a festival. This was amply demonstrated in the extraordinarily wide range of activities for competitors and listeners during the 11 days of the 2016 competition. Hosted largely by the Royal Academy of Music, the festival was presented in partnership with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Southbank Centre, and the Yehudi Menuhin School.

Some 300 young violinists from around 40 countries applied for selection for the competition, and 22 were chosen for each of the Junior and Senior groups. The age range is very young, up to 16 for the Junior section, and up Continue reading →