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Karisa Chiu of the U.S. Wins Gold Medal in Indianapolis Competition 2026

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 03:08:17 GMT

By Laurie Niles: INDIANAPOLIS - Violinist Karisa Chiu has won the Gold Medal in the 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. The jury announced the laureates following the Finals concert Saturday night with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at Hilbert Circle Theatre.

Violinist Karisa Chiu performing in the IVCI Finals. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Here are the laureates:

Gold Medal ($75,000): Karisa Chiu, 27, of the United States
Silver Medal ($30,000): Elli Choi, 25, of the United States
Bronze Medal ($15,000): Aozhe Zhang, 18, of China
Fourth Place ($10,000): Xunyue Zhang, 22, of China

Yesong Sophie Lee

Sixth Place ($6,000): Lina Nakano, 21, of Japan

You can watch their performances (and other previous competition performances) by clicking here. All six Laureates will also receive the opportunity to use one of several concert instruments in the IVCI collection, including the 1683 �ex-Gingold� Stradivari violin, until the next Quadrennial Competition in 2030. The jury for the 2026 competition included chairman Jaime Laredo, David Chan, Jinjoo Cho, Pamela Frank, Yuzuko Horigome, Bella Hristova, Dong-Suk Kang, Cho-Liang Lin and Svetlin Roussev. Founded in 1982 by Josef Gingold, Indianapolis has hosted 11 competitions, occurring every every four years. This year's preliminaries began on Sept. 17, featuring 38 violinists, ranging in age from 16 to 27 and representing nine countries across three continents. * * *

REVIEW: 2026 Indianapolis Competition Concerto Finals Day 1: Yesong Sophie Lee, Elli Choi and Lina Nakano

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 21:03:02 GMT

By Laurie Niles: On Friday night the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis moved downtown to Hilbert Circle Theatre, the home of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, which would be accompanying the violinists in their concerto performances, under the direction of Leonard Slatkin.

Soldiers & Sailors Monument and Hilbert Theatre in Indianapolis' Circle Center.

It's a striking venue, situated on the perimeter of a circular drive that winds around the majestic Soldiers & Sailors Monument, right at the heart of downtown Indianapolis. Three violinists played on Friday: Yesong Sophie Lee, Elli Choi and Lina Nakano. You can watch their performances (and other previous competition performances) by clicking here. Violinists Aozhe Zhang, Xunyue Zhang, and Karisa Chiu will perform at 8 p.m. ET tonight, and you can watch the livestream by clicking here. Winners will be announced tonight!

Violinists Yesong Sophie Lee, Elli Choi and Lina Nakano. Photos by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Friday night included concertos at either end of the spectrum for Romantic and modern concertos, from Mendelssohn's early Romantic (nearly Classical in many respects) Concerto in E minor to Bart�k's thorny-modern Concerto No. 2. Bart�k was first on the program, performed by Yesong Sophie Lee of the United States.

Violinist Yesong Sophie Lee. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

For this work, the harp (played excellently by the ISO's Claire Thai) was positioned front-and-center in the orchestra, reflecting its important role in Bart�k's concerto. Lee's playing was intense and strong in the opening of the concerto, which throws a lot at the audience in a short time, with its hodge-podge of folk elements, 12-tone ideas, percussive elements and even some microtones. During the cadenza Lee held her own, with a lot of really in-tune octaves, nice voicing and accurate pitch in her double-stops, which is actually especially important when they are dissonant. The end of the movement had Lee performing some larger-than-life wailing on the violin, with the orchestra sound rising behind like an even-larger behemoth. (And those snappy twangs in the orchestra - Bart�k invented the effect, and that's why we call them "Bart�k pizzicati"!) The second-movement theme felt like a lament, with Lee using a sorrowful and attention-getting tone and vibrato - very beautiful. This concerto seems unrelenting in its technical demands - double-stops, very high playing, extremely fast bowing, tricky rhythms, microtones, ricochet, ponticello playing -- plus the sheer energy to do it all. It's quite a feat to have it all in hand. Next was Elli Choi of the United States, performing Felix Mendelssohn's ever-popular Violin Concerto in E minor.

Violinist Elli Choi. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

To be honest, I wondered at first about this choice. It's such a familiar concerto, often one of the first "big" concertos that a violinist plays. Probably Choi - and any of these amazing young violinists - has been playing this work since childhood. Why would she choose this one? It did not take long for me to get the answer: Choi had a lot to say. Her interpretation was artful and intelligent, with poignant moments and even some revelations. For example, right before the famous Ferdinand David cadenza, she flattened the sound to create a dark moment that was really effective. The cadenza itself was quite artful as she held the audience in a hush with her dramatic pauses. As she has demonstrated on other occasions, she is a master of voicing, which also came through in the cadenza. Toward the end of the first movement she put some poignancy into its slower melody, then turned on a dime to impassioned fury, and she took the end of the movement as fast as I've ever heard it. Leonard Slatkin and the Indianapolis Symphony responded well to her changing and mercurial tempos. In the second movement she kept the opening statement simple and untroubled, taking a long melody and spinning it into an interesting story. She always delivered on crescendos, and I was impressed with her ability to project sound, project personality, and project expression. She knew the drill, when it came to playing in a big hall. In the third movement she showed a rare awareness of the full score, making ample room for what was happening in the orchestra. For example, she backed off to a hush, in order to feature the cello section - I felt like I was hearing this soli cello line for the first time ever. The same thing happened to put the spotlight on the woodwinds in a different section. By the end I felt like she was saying, "How dare anyone get bored with the Mendelssohn - it's a work of art!" And indeed it is. Choi received warm applause, a curtain call, and many people standing. Japanese violinist Lina Nakano next took the stage for the evening's second performance of Bart�k's Violin Concerto No. 2. However, it did not feel like a repeat -- in these two different hands it sounded almost like two different concertos!

Violinist Lina Nakano. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

With the harp strumming behind her, Nakano began the concerto with a powerful opening statement, putting some emphasis to underline the fast-slow folk rhythm embedded in it. The next entrance sounded like an inversion of the first theme - she somehow made it possible to hear this relationship. Nakano was attentive to many details, for example she turned around to look at the harpist, to match just a few notes at the end of a phrase. At another point, to pass a melody to the bassoonist, she literally turned to look at him as she did so, making it all very clear. It occurred to me that in a piece like this - with its chaos and jumble of so many themes and ideas - an audience benefits from a soloist who can be bit of a "cruise director," helping direct attention to where or what is happening. Nakano has a knack for just that. Nakano's opening melody in the second movement was simple and poignant, without much vibrato - the dull ache of loneliness. In her duo with the timpanist she also used nearly no vibrato - matching the thud of the timpani (which of course cannot do vibrato). This then emerged into a more violinistic melody. A fast passage popped off like a burst of filigree, and a series of down-bow ricochet was a wonder to behold for its speed and control. The end of the second movement was hypnotic. By contrast, the start of the third movement was down-and-dirty on the G - then a dance, then in the latter part of the movement her triplets were so fast as to almost be a triplet-tremolo. In the end it almost sounded like emerging from a dream, and the audience response was very strong, with two curtain calls and many giving a standing ovation. * * * Watch tonight's live stream of the IVCI Finals as well as previous performances here. Tonight's performances will include violinists Aozhe Zhang and Xunyue Zhang from China and Karisa Chiu from the United States. You might also like:

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REVIEW: 2026 Indianapolis Competition Classical Finals Day 2: Aozhe Zhang, Xunyue Zhang and Karisa Chiu

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 21:56:16 GMT

By Laurie Niles: INDIANAPOLIS - The Classical Finals concluded on Thursday night in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis with performances by two violinists from China, Aozhe Zhang and Xunyue Zhang, and one from the United States, Karisa Chiu. (Watch here for tonight's and previous performances.)

Violinist Aozhe Zhang, Xunyue Zhang and Karisa Chiu. Photos by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Over these two days of Mozart performances at Butler University's Schrott Center for the Arts, we heard each of the composer's best-known violin concertos - No. 3, 4 and 5 - a total of twice. The East Coast Chamber Orchestra made for an idea partner throughout, their cohesive and conductor-less ensemble offering the ideal testing ground for the finalists in showing their ability to lead as a soloist. And the cadenzas - those moments of individuality at cadences - provided glimpses of both the past and the future, with finalists choosing cadenzas from a variety of sources including Shmuel Ashkenazi (b. 1941) (partially composed by Yesong Sophie Lee), Sam Franko (1857-1937), Gidon Kremer (b. 1947), Kurt Guntner (1939-2015) - and two fully composed by IVCI finalists Xunyue Zhang and Karis Chiu. We also heard three encore pieces by the great 20th century violinist Fritz Kreisler, with very cleverly-arranged string ensemble parts by Jaakko Kuusisto. They were Caprice Viennois (in four performances), Tambourin Chinois and La Gitana. On Thursday night, the evening opened with a performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G, K. 216 by Chinese violinist Aozhe Zhang, who at age 18 is the youngest of the finalists. That said, he already can list some major accomplishments, including a First-Prize win last year at the 58th Premio Paganini International Violin Competition. Currently enrolled at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music's middle school, he is a student of Xian He and Xinhua Liu.

Violinist Aozhe Zhang. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

When it came to the Mozart concerto, it was clear that Aozhe has internalized this elegant classical style, with nice shapes to his phrasing and a detailed use of dynamics. Leading the orchestra demands that performer connect with the audience while also connecting with the orchestra, and I would say Aozhe leaned toward connecting more with the audience, letting ECCO follow him as the soloist. Aozhe used the cadenzas by German violinist and professor Kurt Guntner that are supplied by the Henle edition of this music. The first-movement cadenza contained some dissonance and dark clouds, with many ideas, including a reiteration of the opening orchestra part. It was on the long side. Aozhe's long melodies in the second movement had a beautiful singing quality underpinned by carefully calibrated dynamics. This was especially effective when the melody came back in a quiet version - it was quite breathtaking. The third-movement "Rondeau" was on the serious side, and he took a bright tempo which left little breathing room between ideas. I did a double-take in the Allegretto section, and in fact I wondered in the moment if he was doing a bit of "off-roading" when he played some variations that I didn't recognize - a grace note passage, a different triplet passage. It was quite intentional though, and I suspect it is an Ossia (alternate) version in the Henle edition of the music that he was using - chosen to provide some variety, which it did! This was brilliant playing, with wonderful style and extreme facility. For the encore Aozhe performed "Tambourin chinois," which Kreisler has said was inspired by traditional Chinese music. The very fast beginning showed that Aozhe has technique to burn; the slow section in the middle put his left-hand talents on display, with a appealing and facile vibrato. Aozhe gave the only performance of this work during the competition, so it was also fun to see how clever the orchestral arrangement was, with little glissandi popping out of the background and bits of melody passed around the ensemble. It ended with wonderful energy all around, and Aozhe displayed great respect and gratitude in acknowledging every section of the orchestra, then a deep bow to the audience, and a deep bow to the orchestra. Next was Chinese violinist Xunyue Zhang, 22, who is based in Berlin, studying with Stephan Picard, with previous teachers including Xian He and Di Yu. This year she won First Prize at a the Mozart International Violin Competition Salzburg (2026), and she has been a prize winner in the Michael Hill, Henri Marteau, and the Lipizer international violin competitions. She has also performed with numerous orchestras in Europe.

Violinist Xunyue Zhang. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

At the beginning of her performance of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218, Xunyue actually turned around like a conductor to lead the opening tutti with the orchestra. Turning to the audience as soloist, she played with a lot movement, showing a good sense of the underlying musical line beneath all the notes. Her playing was very tidy, and ECCO followed her very well. Xunyue actually wrote all of her own cadenzas. In the first movement she used a lot of gestures from the movement, with different notes. Most landing points had a surprise outcome, so the harmonic direction was a little unclear. She had a strong sense of the second movement, which oscillated between lyrical melody and chirruping up-bows. The melody was especially strong in the opening, though when it came back high on the G string, it was a little difficult to hear her over the orchestra (hard to fix all balance issues with one rehearsal and no conductor!). In this movement her cadenza started slow, made its way into some modern harmonies and then had some fun with the bird-like figurations before coming out on a trill for the cadence. The third-movement Rondeau displayed the precision of her passagework, with grace notes and decorations falling just right into place. Her first mini-cadenza made a nice segue from the fast Allegro to the more deliberate Andante gracioso. Spiccato passages were quite sparkly in the faster passages. For me, the mini-cadenzas in the latter part of the piece didn't work - she played them very well, but they felt just a bit too unrelated and far afield, a disconnection from the music at hand. The concerto ended elegantly, and for the encore she played a heartfelt Kreisler's "Caprice Viennois." The last performer of the night was 27-year-old Karisa Chiu from the United States, who won First Prize in the 2021 Isangyun Violin Competition and top prizes in the Singapore, Menuhin and Leopold Mozart competitions. A past student of Catherine Cho, Donald Weilerstein and Jaime Laredo, she has performed with numerous orchestras and also released an album last year on Cedille called Home.

Violinist Karisa Chiu. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Chiu performed Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218 - indeed, the same concerto that had just been played! But certainly we saw two different personalities and interpretations. Chiu's playing is strong and articulate - you don't miss it when she does an accent and there was a lot of energy in her bow strokes. Chiu also wrote all of her cadenzas. Her first movement cadenza was very elegant and a bit virtuosic, using motives from the movement and creating a little episode before moving on to the next idea. The second movement came off particularly well in Chiu's hands, and this came down to her ability to create special moments through contrast and time management. In the opening the melody, her violin sang with a fluid voice, then she paused ever-so-slightly to dramatize the interruption of the up-bows leading into the next part, with its different character. It was like a rock in a river, after all that smooth-flowing melody. Her cadenza in this movement did a similar thing - it started with that smooth melody, then rolled down hill in a series of descending scales, gaining speed. It got faster and more angsty, but then she added a bit of bounce, a trill, and we were back in. There was another special moment toward the end of the movement where she held the time in her hands,. It reminded me of a quote from the pianist Jeremy Denk in his book Every Good Boy Does Fine about knowing his performance is successful "if I can stop time a little." (I don't have the book with me, so that might not be exact!) The third movement was joyful and Chiu exuded a sense of comfort, like the violin is a natural extension and its mechanics are comfortable and easy. (It's a hard-won illusion -- I know, I'm a violinist!) Chiu's first mini-cadenzas worked well throughout the movement, and I found myself looking forward to them. The first one was playful and simple, like a little victory. Others were playful, even a little mischievous, like this entire movement. Chiu's playing was spot on throughout, but what raised it another level was her use of silence, pacing, stops and starts -- to turn it into a partnership with the ensemble and a story for the audience. As an encore, Chiu played "La Gitana" by Kreisler, sustaining and pulling the sound like taffy. Again the string arrangement was clever and even visual, scattering a single melody across all the sections. Chiu's playing was so sultry, it seemed 110 degrees! She received a very warm reception from the audience. Watch tonight's live stream of the IVCI Finals as well as previous performances here. Tonight's performances will include violinists Yesong Sophie Lee of the U.S. performing Bart�k No. 2; Elli Choi of the U.S. performing the Mendelssohn; and Lina Nakano of the U.S. performing Bart�k No. 2. * * * You might also like:

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REVIEW: 2026 Indianapolis Competition Classical Finals Day 1: Yesong Sophie Lee, Elli Choi and Lina Nakano

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:11:22 GMT

By Laurie Niles: INDIANAPOLIS - Back in Mozart's day, it was customary for a violinist - whether soloist or concertmaster - to lead the ensemble. And in fact, the modern conductor-with-a-baton evolved from the classical-era violinist-with-a-bow. Bringing that history to the modern stage, the six finalists in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, were required to take on that leadership role in giving a performance of a full violin concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Those performances for the Classical Finals began Wednesday night at Butler University's Schrott Center for the Arts, with violinists Yesong Sophie Lee, Elli Choi and Lina Nakano. They performed with the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO), a New York-based conductor-less ensemble founded in 2001. (Watch here for tonight's and previous performances.)

In the IVCI Classical Finals: Yesong Sophie Lee, Elli Choi, Lina Nakano. Photos by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Beyond leading the orchestra, another feature of these performances was the cadenzas, the virtuosic solo "improvisations" played at a number of cadences throughout the concerto. Going back again to Mozart's day, cadenzas were written - or even simply improvised - by the soloist. Over the centuries great violinists have left behind their cadenzas, so a violinist in 2026 can choose to play a cadenza written by a famous violinist in the 19th or 20th century, or by a modern superstar, or by a teacher. Or, they can simply write it themselves! It's always interesting to see what each violinist chooses to do. On Wednesday, the Mozart concertos were followed by an encore work by Fritz Kreisler -- in this case all three played "Caprice viennois," Op. 2, using an orchestration for chamber orchestra by the late Jaakko Kuusisto, a 1994 IVCI Laureate who created arrangements of multiple Kreisler pieces especially for the competition's use. The first performer of the evening was Yesong Sophie Lee, a 22-year-old violinist from the United States who studies with Kolja Blacher. When she was just 12, she won first prize in the Menuhin International Violin Competition's junior division and since then has won prizes in the Sibelius, Seoul and Montreal International Competitions. Performing on the �Ames� Stradivari violin (on loan from the Ryuji Ueno Foundation and Rare Violins In Consortium), she played Mozart's Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219.

Violinist Yesong Sophie Lee. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

From the lively beginning of this piece, Lee played with the "tutti," that is, she played the orchestra part until it was time for her to enter as the soloist. That solo entrance is a famous one - all activity stops and the soloist plays slow "Adagio," which immediately showed Lee's ability to draw a beautiful tone of the violin. Then it's back in motion with the "Allegro aperto." All these changes of tempo make that first entrance a little tricky, ensemble-wise. From the beginning, there with issues with cueing that kept the orchestra from landing in complete synchronicity with the soloist. Lee had a tendency toward less movement, and choices such as up-bow (rather than down-bow) arrivals meant that the more obvious visual cues - such as the downward motion of the stick - were often absent to bring in the orchestra at exactly the right time. For its part, the orchestra, led by concertmaster Min-Young Kim, had some issues as they warmed up in this first piece of the night, with a few misses in the horns and a moment of pitchy strings. Mozart is so simple - and yet so deceptively difficult to pull off, even for pros. Lee's first-movement cadenza was a great choice, and beautifully played. It travelled through various keys both major and minor, and it ranged from bouncy to lyrical, all in keeping with the light mood of the movement. I later learned that it was by her former teacher, Shmuel Ashkenasi, "with a few personal alterations, so it�s also a little homage to him," she said. The second-movement cadenza was completely written by Lee, and it was just as clever, with nice voicing in the middle of it and good use of motives from the movement. The third-movement mini-cadenzas were also her improvisations - really well done. The only problem was getting out of the cadenzas - without a conductor and without the muscle-memory of an old familiar cadenza, the orchestra struggled to stay in sync with Lee, who did not offer them a strong cue in moments like these. Besides the excellent playing within the cadenzas, Lee was at her best in the third movement, particularly in the "Turkish" episode that turns what sounds like an elegant dance into a raucous party. Here Lee was very animated, and this translated to better communication with the ensemble. Turning to "Caprice viennois," this brought out a more virtuosic sound and demeanor in Lee, who had gorgeous double stops enhanced by nice vibrato. The sound was always beautiful and the many high-level techniques well-executed, but it was hard to find the dance through the polish. Second on the program was another violinist from the United States, Elli Choi, 25, who currently studies with Antje Weithaas in Germany and has performed as a soloist with a number of orchestras around the world, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra. Choi performed Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K 216, and for this ECCO changed concertmasters to J Freivogel.

Violinist Elli Choi. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Choi was smiling and confident, ready to drive this car and not ride it. She used a number of means to communicate rhythm - a nod of the head, a look, a turn, the bow in the air. In the first-movement cadenza, Choi made extremely effective use of silence as well as tempo fluctuation. (Choi used the traditional cadenzas by Sam Franko.) The second movement features some very long, fluid lines, and she kept a beautiful and stable sound throughout, also building a lovely and long crescendo and finishing the phrase with a good awareness of the orchestra. The second-movement cadenza had some self-harmonizing double-stops, and she voiced those very effectively. Catching the orchestra's attention before starting the third movement, she played along with the tutti, almost dancing. Then when she became the soloist, this becaome a dance together, a joyful interaction - maybe even a little flirtatious. The music goes through a number of permutations, and each change of mood was backed up by rhythmic precision in her pacing and its delivery. Fun to watch, with spot-on technique and strong rhythm. Choi's version of "Caprice Viennois" felt sultry - and then like it was trying to break out and dance. She toyed with time - the rubatos were well-paced and she also took care to vary the way she repeated phrases. ECCO played attentively, now with the concertmaster being Sandy Yamamoto. The evening concluded with a performance of Mozart's Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219 by Lina Nakano, 21, of Japan. She studies at the Juilliard School with Masao Kawasaki, Akiko Tatsumi and Paul Roczek, and she was playing the 1702 "Lyall" Stradivari violin, on loan from the ITOH Foundation.

Violinist Lina Nakano with East Coast Chamber Orchestra. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Of course, this was the same concerto played at the beginning of the night, and Min-Young Kim returned as concertmaster. As the other violinists had done, Nakano played the tutti part with the orchestra until it was time for her entrance, that slow ""Adagio." She played it with expressive dynamics and a slow decoration in the cadence at the end. Launching into the "Allegro aperto" her playing was bright, straightforward and clean, and she even used the occasional open string. Nakano's compelling use of dynamics was noticeable throughout her performance: clear and effective crescendos and decrescendos, and well-calibrated tiered dynamics. Or to put it in layman's terms: loud felt loud, quiet felt quiet, and there was a lot in between! She frequently used the whole bow, even for rather fast notes, which gave her playing a purposeful and decisive quality. After all, a whole bow is a fast bow; it's a vote of confidence. There is no hedging, once you "send it" at 90 mph. The first-movement cadenza drew on themes from the opening orchestra part, as well as other motives. Nakano's cadenzas were written by violinist Gidon Kremer. Nakano's second movement was not overly sentimental or sweet, but with that dynamic control, it was quite expressive. She was also always the soloist - she never seemed to get absorbed or overpowered by the orchestra. In this movement, Kremer's cadenzas left me searching for recognition a few times (how does that motive related to this concerto?) but Nakano gave them her full confident playing and charm. By the third movement, I'd come up with a word for her sound: "zesty." When the "Turkish" part came around, she heated it up by turning on the speed. By now ECCO was warmed up and in good form. I enjoyed how fun this movement is, with the collegno wacking of the strings with the wood of the bow and the dizzy chromatics. Nakano moved in sympathy with the orchestra both when she was playing and when she was not. The mini-cadenza at the end of the Turkish brawl did its job of changing the mood back to the elegant dance from the beginning, and there was a lot of humor in her exchanges with the orchestra toward the end of the piece. After a long applause from the audience, Nakano returned for "Caprice viennois" by Kreisler. Her interpretation was sentimental and a little schmalzy - but without lingering too long on the schmalz. The glissandi in the slow beginning had direction, and she dispatched the fast part with extra speed. It was all very showy and came to a cute ending, followed by enthusiastic applause. * * * Watch tonight's live stream of the IVCI Classical Finals as well as previous performances here. Tonight's performances will include violinists Aozhe Zhang and Xunyue Zhang from China and Karisa Chiu from the United States. You might also like:

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Review: Sirena Huang in Recital at Indianapolis 2026

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 19:19:30 GMT

By Laurie Niles: INDIANAPOLIS - The Indianapolis competition provides a wonderful opportunity to see some of the most talented violinists in the world, right on the cusp of a promising career. But how about those past laureates - the ones who have taken that industrious path to grow their artistry and actually build that career? Over more than four decades, the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis has accumulated a long list of those, including Augustin Hadelich, Bella Hristova, Jinjoo Cho, Tessa Lark, Ida Kavafian, Leonidas Kavakos, Judith Ingolfsson - honestly it is hard to pick out ones to highlight, with so many famous names. And most recently: Sirena Huang.

Sirena Huang and Chih-Yi Chen. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Sirena was the first-place laureate from 2022, and four years later, it was a pleasure to witness her mature artistry. I arrived in Indianapolis on Tuesday, just in time to see her perform with pianist Chih-Yi Chen at a Donor Appreciation Recital at Butler University's Schrott Center for the Arts. The recital came just a day after the IVCI Finalists for 2026 were announced. After more than 10 days of Preliminaries and Semi-Finals, jury members were enjoying a day off. But in a testament to their dedication, they were all at the recital, as was pianist Rojan De Silva, who had played in the previous rounds.

L-R: IVCI jurors Bella Hristova, Jaime Laredo and wife Sharon Robinson, pianist Rohan De Silva, and juror Yuzuko Horigome. Photo by Violinist.com.

I chatted with jury chairman Jaime Laredo and jury members Bella Hristova, Yuzuko Horigome and Jinjoo Cho, who were enjoying a recital where they could sit back and listen, without having to take notes!

IVCI Juror Jinjoo Cho with her husband, cellist Max Geissler. Photo by Violinist.com.

And indeed, it was a recital to enjoy, with a mix of old favorites by Mozart, Grieg, Ysa�e and Sarasate, along with a 21st-century work by Gabriela Lena Frank. It began with Mozart's Violin Sonata No. 32, K. 454, with Sirena and Chih-Yi displaying their obvious rapport from the beginning as they bounced Mozart's lively and playful motives between them. The most novel work on the program was Frank's "Sue�os de Chambi: Snapshots for an Andean Album." The composer drew inspiration for this 2002 piece from the work of the indigenous Peruvian photographer Mart�n Chambi (1891-1973), with each of the seven movements inspired by a different black and white photo. The photos -- including depictions of indigenous people and traditions as well as a self-portrait of Chambi -- were shown on a large overhead screen as Sirena and Chih-Yi played. The music itself made inventive use of the violin, with glissandi slides and vibrato distortion that enhanced a feeling of story-telling. The movement depicting women dancing, "P'as�a Marcha," worked itself into a whirling madness, accelerating faster and faster. "Adoraci�n para Angelitos," a setting of a Peruvian nursery rhyme to depict a photo of a deceased child and mourners, featured a solo piano interlude, beautifully played by Chih-Yi. The final movement, "Marinera," ended the work in high-energy-dance style, with driving rhythm, a very cool piano part, and Sirena actually tapping her toes to the music. Grieg's Violin Sonata No. 2 in G, Op. 13 showed Sirena to be a master of anticipation, building the music tension and then wailing on the fiddle at the right moment. In the last movement, Grieg serves up all kinds of off-kilter gestures that somehow always land right. Sirena and Chih-Yi made the overall architecture of the music evident as they negotiated the flurries of notes.

Sirena Huang and Chih-Yi Chen. Photo by Denis Ryan Kelly, Jr.

Playing solo, Sirena truly conjured a musical sunrise with an extremely well-paced and controlled "L'Aurore," in Ysa�e's Sonata No. 5. The recital ended with two violin favorites - Sarasate's "Introduction et Tarantelle," Op. 42, and then as an encore, Salut d'amour by Elgar. And of course, this was the right audience for violin favorites! During the recital, Sirena took to the microphone to express gratitude to the IVCI and its supporters and to share that "my life really has changed" since winning the competition. With the IVCI's career support, she performed numerous concerts as a soloist, made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2025, and recorded her first album, also with Chih-Yi, which will be available this fall. She said that The Indianapolis continues to give her a special kind of feeling, with its atmosphere of respect and celebration, love of music, and its support for musicians. "This feels like more than a competition," she said. "Being back here, my heart feels so warm." * * * Here some more pictures, from after the recital, enjoy!

Violinist Sirena Huang and pianist Chih-Yi Chen, after the recital. Photo by Violinist.com.

IVCI Executive Director Glen Kwok and Violinist.com Publisher Laurie Niles. Photo by Violinist.com.

Indianapolis-based luthiers Sofia Vettori and Ted Skreko. Photo by Violinist.com.

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Laurie Niles and violinist Sirena Huang. Photo by Violinist.com.

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The Week in Reviews, Op. 569: Bomsori Kim, Hilary Hahn, Stella Chen

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 03:31:46 GMT

By Laurie Niles: In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.

Violinist Bomsori Kim.

Bomsori Kim performed the the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Ryan Wigglesworth.

Seen & Heard International: "The evening opened with one of the finest performances of the Beethoven Violin Concerto that I have heard in the concert hall....almost immediately her almost meditative playing was enhanced by a remarkable control of tone and colour."

Hilary Hahn performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the San Francisco Symphony and Giancarlo Guerrero.

San Francisco Chronicle: "She unfurled the solo part in such a masterly, compelling way it was almost hard to register the individual expressive and technical component parts. Everything flowed, caught fire, breathed and beguiled as if the entire three-movement work were one gorgeous long musical sentence."
Piedmont Exedra: "Hahn, who made her San Francisco Symphony debut in 1999, dazzled in a performance of Felix Mendelssohn�s Violin Concerto in E Minor that earned wild applause from the audience."
Seen & Heard International: "Tempos were speedy, but Hahn managed to find delicious details along the way, bringing sleek simplicity to the opening melody in the first movement and then weaving ravishing flourishes over to the orchestra with the rest."

Stella Chen performed Beethoven�s Violin Concerto with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

A Youngish Perspective: "Chen seemed remarkably restrained in imposing her personality upon Beethoven, while many young artists can appear anxious to do so. Nevertheless, it felt as if her method of letting Beethoven grow from within, and paradoxically in return, enabled us to hear her free expression."

Amaryn Olmeda performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Jose Luis Gomez.

Arizona Daily Star: "For those 30 plus-minutes, Olmeda invited us to experience the next generation of violin greats as she navigated everything Tchaikovsky threw at her."

William Hagen performed the Barber Violin Concerto with the Fargo-Moorehead Symphony Orchestravand Christopher Zimmerman.

In Forum: "Hagen....displayed intensity with the first two movements, playing the sweet melody deftly and the emotive second with a soft, but sure touch. When the third movement arrived, he rose to the moment."

James Ehnes performed Bruch�s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Seattle Symphony and Xian Zhang.

Bach Track: "Bruch�s familiar score gave Ehnes room to draw on a wide range of his extraordinary resources as a violinist; for all its technical demands, he simply took them in stride. What stood out instead was his control of color, weight and intensity."

Pekka Kuusisto performed and directed Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons" with the Aurora Orchestra in London.

Bach Track: "Swedish folk musician Ale Carr (joined) the band in an unconventional take on Vivaldi�s ubiquitous Four Seasons....he and Kuusisto added their own cheeky interpolations � folk music from their Nordic homelands to snippets of Beethoven 7 and Vaughan Williams� Lark Ascending. At one point, leader Maia Cabeza, almost dancing on tiptoe, even threw in a snatch of La Follia....The Vivaldi itself burst with Baroque�n�roll thrust."

Julia Fischer, cellist Pablo Ferr�ndez and pianist Jan Lisiecki performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko, for the orchestra's 80 birthday celebration.

Bach Track: "Ferr�ndez is a miracle of a cellist with a sound like a Spanish sunrise. If his expressively romantic style seemed momentarily at odds with Fischer�s poised perfectionism, that quickly changed: the pair made an outright love story of the concerto, gazing into one another�s eyes and meshing into impassioned duets, tactfully supported by Lisiecki�s suave, elegantly turned playing and, at a safe distance, the orchestra. It was entrancing, heartwarming and inspiring � and it brought hope."

Please support live music in your community by attending a concert or recital whenever you can! You might also like:

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Finalists announced in 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 04:24:30 GMT

By Laurie Niles: INDIANAPOLIS � Six violinists were named as Finalists in the 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis (IVCI) on Monday, after four days of semi-final rounds, in which each of 16 semi-finalists performed a full recital that included 19th and 20th century works from the standard repertoire as well as the IVCI commissioned work, Jessie Montgomery's "Rhapsody No. 3."

Finalists in the 2026 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Photos by Denis Ryan Kelly.

Here are the finalists:

Karisa Chiu, 27, of the United States
Elli Choi, 25, of the United States
Yesong Sophie Lee, 22, of the United States
Lina Nakano, 21, of Japan
Aozhe Zhang, 18, of China
Xunyue Zhang, 22, of China

The Classical Finals take place Wednesday and Thursday, when each Finalist will play a violin concerto by Mozart, leading the conductor-less East Coast Chamber Orchestra. The concerto will be followed by an encore work by Fritz Kreisler, orchestrated for chamber orchestra by the late Jaakko Kuusisto, who was a 1994 IVCI Laureate. The Finals take place at Friday and Saturday, when the violinists will perform a Romantic or post-Romantic concerto with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin. Laureate placement will be announced following the performance on Saturday evening. All performances begin at 8 p.m. ET. Click here to watch archived performances of the Preliminaries and Semi-Finals, as well as the schedule for and livestream of the Finals. This week I'll be in Indianapolis, bringing you live coverage and reviews of the Finals. Check back daily for our stories! You might also like:

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Ditch the Phone, Get a Metronome!

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:23:11 GMT

By Laurie Niles: I often ask students to use a metronome in their practice - it's an important tool. I also ask them to use a tuner so that they are training on an in-tune fiddle. These two tools -- a metronome and a tuner -- are important to the violinist and violin student - and really, to any instrumentalist. Certainly I use both tools on a daily basis, as a teacher and orchestral violinist. Conveniently, both of these tools are available, often for free, as an app on your phone. Inconveniently, both of these tools are available, often for free, as an app on your phone. Why would this be a problem? Because everything else also is available, often for free, as an app on your phone: messages, e-mail, social media, Candy Crush, your grocery shopping list, Amazon, the weather....In this video, I explain the reasons for investing in an old-fashioned, physical metronome and tuner, and below is a similar explanation in writing. Have you ever opened your phone to do one thing, then been distracted by something else, and then 10-30 minutes later wondered why you had opened your phone in the first place? It happens. I daresay our phones are designed to whisk our attention away and hold it hostage for as long as possible. Also, your phone is likely to interrupt, while it is being used as a tuner or metronome. Imagine this scenario: your phone metronome is ticking away as you practice, then you hear the ding of a text message, or a call, or multiple sounds of notifications. Will you be able to resist? Would it be better to simply leave your phone in another room, or turn it to silent, or off completely? My point: if your metronome and/or tuner is located solely on your phone, you risk being seriously distracted in the practice room. And for a student or child, if their only option for a metronome or tuner is on a parent's phone, that creates even more problems. The parent's phone might not be available exactly when the child needs it. The child may actually be reluctant to ask for their parent's phone. And what happens when the text messages started appearing for the parent, while the child is practicing? There is a simple solution: buy a metronome, and buy a tuner for your practice room. Or, buy a metronome/tuner! It's not free, but the modest cost ($20-40) is an investment in distraction-free practice. And for a child, it's an investment in learning how to use a practice tool without dependence on - or consent from - an adult. I'm not here to tell you exactly which metronome and/or tuner to buy. There are plenty of excellent options available from places like Shar, Fiddlershop, Metzler Violins, or your local music shop. Don't get me wrong, it's okay to have the metronome and tuning app on your phone. It can be very helpful when traveling (although I travel with my physical metronome!). And there certainly are legitimate uses for the phone in the practice room - watching a video from a teacher, listening to music, etc. But generally, untethering your practice from your phone will help you (or your child, or student) to make the best possible use of valuable practice time and concentration. When it comes to tools that you can use independently from the phone, consider making that modest investment. You might also like:

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For the Record, Op. 401: Himari, Soojin Han

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 19:28:07 GMT

By Laurie Niles: Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening! Click on the highlighted links to obtain each album or learn more about the artists.

Violinist Himari. Photo by Naruyasu Nabeshima.

Debut Himari, violin Berliner Philharmoniker, Sebastian Weigle conducting

The Seasons Soojin Han, violin/director English Chamber Orchestra, Ofer Falk, concertmaster

If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes. You might also like:

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2027 Primrose International Viola Competition Details Announced

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 21:35:20 GMT

By Laurie Niles: Attention violists: Applications will open on Dec. 1 for the 18th triennial Primrose International Viola Competition, which will place October 28-31, 2027 at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. The competition, sponsored by Colburn and the American Viola Society, will take place alongside the Primrose Festival, a three-day celebration of the viola bringing with performers, educators, students, luthiers, and viola enthusiasts for performances, masterclasses, presentations, exhibits and more. It also will feature the world premiere of a newly commissioned work for viola by Sungji Hong. All live rounds will take place at Colburn and will be open to the public.

Violist Emad Zolfaghari, winner of the 2024 Primrose International Viola Competition. Photo by Micah Gleason.

"The Primrose Competition is one of the highlights of our 2027 season. We are delighted to once again partner with the American Viola Society to welcome the world's most gifted young violists and an esteemed international jury to our campus," said Colburn President and CEO Sel Kardan. "Colburn has been the home for the Primrose Competition since 2018, and we look forward to another exceptional year of performances and artistic exchange." "For many competitors, the Primrose Competition comes at a pivotal moment in their artistic development," said American Viola Society President Daphne Gerling. "For more than a decade, the American Viola Society and the Colburn School have partnered to create meaningful opportunities for violists on the verge of international careers. The Primrose is also a true celebration of the viola and its repertoire. I'm especially excited that audiences will hear the world premiere of a newly commissioned solo work by award-winning composer Sungji Hong. We look forward to welcoming participants and guests from around the world to Los Angeles for an inspiring week." The Primrose International Viola Competition founded in 1979 by the American Viola Society as the first international competition solely for violists. Recent winners include Emad Zolfaghari (2024), Natalie Loughran (2021), Hae-Sue Lee (2018) and Zhanbo Zheng (2014). Find a full list here. You might also like:

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