American Christel Lee won the 11th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition on Thursday night at the Helsinki Music Centre. Held every five years, the event had heightened attention this year, ending just days before the composer’s 150th birthday festivities on December 8. This is also the competition’s 50th anniversary.
Lee was born in Indiana to South Korean parents, and then lived in Canada before moving to New York at age 10. There she studied at the Juilliard School. Since then she has lived in Germany, studying first at the Kronberg Academy and now at Munich School of Music. At 25, Lee was one of the two oldest of the six finalists, who did not include any Finns.
Hämeenlinna, Birmingham and Dublin
She won out over 38 competitors during the gruelling 12-day competition for the 25,000 euro prize. Altogether there were 234 entries from 29 countries.
Lee will now be in the spotlight, playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto at a series of gala concerts. On Tuesday she’ll appear with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra at the Sibelius 150th anniversary concert in the composer’s hometown, Hämeenlinna. On December 10 she joins the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in Birmingham, England, and on December 12 in Dublin, Ireland.
Last-minute surprise
The second prize of 18,000 euros went to Emmanuel Tjeknavorian of Austria, the only man among the six finalists. The 20-year-old was also awarded a 3000 euro prize for the best interpretation of the Sibelius Violin Concerto.
Discreetly attending the final as a last-minute surprise was his father, the Iranian-Armenian conductor and composer Loris Tjeknavorian. He was last in Finland in 1981, when he conducted the Helsinki Philharmonic playing Sibelius.
Friederike Starkloff of Germany, also 25, won the third prize, 12,000 euros, as well as a 2,000 euro award for best interpretation of a new work commissioned for the event, by Argentine composer Francisco del Pino.
The three other finalists each received a 2,000 euro prize. They were Mayumi Kanagawa of the US, 21, the clear winner in online audience voting, Nancy Zhou of the US, a seasoned performer at age 22 who previously participated in the 2010 Sibelius competition, and Minami Yoshida of Japan – the only teenager among the group at age 17.
The contest is open to violinists under 30. It was first staged in 1965, eight years after Sibelius’ death and the centenary of his birth.
For in-depth coverage in English, including interviews and performance videos, visit the Yle Klassinen website.
