The 2nd Grażyna Bacewicz International Violin Competitio organized by the Academy of Music in Łódź ended on 14 December 2019 with a Concert of Laureates.
Auditions of the first stage lasted four days due to the very large number of participants qualified to the competition. According to the regulations, there was no age limit. The youngest participant was 13 years old, the oldest – 47, the vast majority of violinists were of student age. Sixteen artists performed during the 2-day auditions of the second stage: six from Poland, two from Russia, two from Japan and one from Armenia, Bulgaria, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. Participants were judged by a jury composed of: Łukasz Błaszczyk (chairman), Adam Balas, Bartosz Bryła, Eszter Haffner, Alexey Koshvanets and Szymon Krzeszowiec.
The first prize (PLN 20,000) went to 20-year-old Bulgarian Martin Zayranov, a student of the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, a laureate of violin competitions in France, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria and Germany. He also won a special prize of the Artur Rubinstein Łódź Philharmonic in the form of a recital or concert.
The second prize (PLN 14,000) went to Aleksandra Kuls – a titled violinist from Kraków, who was also honored by the jury with a special prize for the best Polish participant (PLN 2,000) and the Krzysztof Penderecki European Center for Music prize in the form of a recital.
The third prize ex aequo (PLN 5 250 each) were awarded to: Marta Gidaszewska – a student of the Music Academy in Poznań (additionally honored with the Feliks Nowowiejski Philharmonic in Olsztyn prize in the form of a recital or concert) and Woo Hyung Kim from South Korea , currently studying in Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. Both have also won other competition prizes. Two distinctions (PLN 2,000 each) were awarded to violinists from Russia: Olga Artyugina and Sophia Devutskaya. The jury also distinguished three pianists who were accompanying the participants during the auditions: Hanna Holeksa, Adam Manijak and Grzegorz Skrobiński.
The programme of the Laureares' Concert included Grażyna Bacewicz's Stained Glass and Polish Caprice as well as works by Piotr Czajkowski and Camille Saint-Saëns.
Media patronage: Polish Music Information Centre POLMIC.
More information at: http://www.amuz.lodz.pl/pl/wydarzenia/konkursy-muzyczne/2-miedzynarodowy-konkurs-skrzypcowy-im-grazyny-bacewicz