Russian favorite wins Sibelius Violin Competition – via: Helsingin Sanomat

Russian favorite wins Sibelius Violin Competition

Petteri Iivonen finishes second
Russian violinist Nikita Boriso-Glebski was the winner of the Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, which concluded in Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall on Thursday evening.
In addition to the EUR 20,000 in prize money, he got another EUR 2,000 for the best interpretation of the Sibelius Violin Concerto.
The 25-year-old Boriso-Glebski is no stranger to success in music competitions; a short time earlier, he won the Kreisler competition in Vienna.
Boriso-Glebski is a son of chemists who started to play violin at the age of seven.
“When I was ten I once cried that I didn’t want to go to school. My mother threatened to stop my violin lessons, so I went to school, because I don’t want to live without my violin.”
His next performance in Germany already on Saturday, but he promised to return for a the traditional concert of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, where the winner of the competition plays as a soloist.
The mainly Finnish audience was pleased to learn that Petteri Iivonen reached second place, and took home EUR 15,000. While he was pleased with his victory, Boriso-Glebski said that he was surprised that Iivonen did not win the prize for the best Sibelius interpretation.
Coming in third was 16-year-old American Esther Yoo, who got EUR 10,000. She said that she would give a tenth of the prize money to her church in Belgium, and part of it to her parents. The other finalists got EUR 2,000 each.
Getting the prize for the best interpretation of Kaija Saariaho’s Tocar was 17-year-old Texan Nancy Zhou, who charmed the audience. The prize was worth EUR 1,500.
Opinions were sharply divided Zhou’s extreme interpretation of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, but her performance got resounding applause from the audience.
The EUR 1,000 prize for young talent went to 20-year-old Emma Steele of the United States.
via Helsingin Sanomat – International Edition – Home.