The world’s oldest existing international violin competition has opened in Poznań, western Poland, bringing together 48 young violinists from around the world to compete for some of classical music’s most prestigious honours. The 17th Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition was inaugurated on Thursday, 8 October, with competitive performances beginning on Friday morning. Eight Polish musicians are among those taking part in the event, which runs until 25 October and offers €120,000 in prizes.
The competition, established in Warsaw in 1935 and held in Poznań since 1952, is one of Poland’s most significant international cultural events. Over nine decades, it has helped establish the careers of celebrated violinists and brought generations of emerging performers to an international audience.
This year’s competition takes place at the Adam Mickiewicz University Auditorium, a historic concert venue in central Poznań known for its distinctive architecture and acoustics.
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The opening concert on Thursday featured South Korean cellist Tae-Yeon Kim, who won second prize and the audience prize at the 2026 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. She performed with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Łukasz Borowicz.
The programme included Camille Saint-Saëns’s First Cello Concerto and Grażyna Bacewicz’s Third Symphony, alongside an orchestral overture by Antoni Szałowski.
Polish violinist opens the international competition
The competitive performances began at 10am local time on Friday, 9 October, with Polish violinist Wojciech Niedziółka scheduled to appear first.
According to the organisers’ official performance programme, Niedziółka’s opening recital includes several works by Henryk Wieniawski, including the Polonaise in A major and the Kujawiak in A minor, alongside Eugène Ysaÿe’s Fifth Sonata for Solo Violin.
He was followed in the published programme by South Korean violinists Haerim Oh and Sunjae Ok, with performances continuing across morning and afternoon sessions.
A total of 252 musicians from 36 countries applied to participate in this year’s competition. Following preliminary auditions, 50 violinists were selected.
However, two withdrew shortly before the event, leaving 48 competitors, according to information published by the City of Poznań.
The final field includes eight Polish representatives, among them Sara Dragan, Dawid Kasprzak, Maya Alexandra Kasprzak, Zofia Anna Olesik and Wojciech Niedziółka.
The musicians are competing before an international jury chaired by Polish violinist Bartłomiej Nizioł, who shared first prize at the Wieniawski Competition in 1991.
Other jury members include Japanese violinist Akiko Suwanai, Polish violinist Agata Szymczewska, who won the competition in 2006, and American violinist Nancy Zhou.
€120,000 in prizes and a demanding musical programme
The competition offers a total statutory prize fund of €120,000, including €60,000 gross for the winner, €30,000 for second place and €15,000 for third.
Additional awards include a €10,000 special prize for the best performance of a Wieniawski violin concerto.
The event is organised across four competitive stages, with each round presenting different technical and interpretative challenges.
The first stage, running from 9 to 12 October, places Wieniawski’s compositions at the centre of the repertoire, requiring performers to demonstrate their command of the Polish composer’s distinctive virtuoso style.
Subsequent rounds introduce a broader selection of classical and contemporary works, including compositions by Polish composers Grażyna Bacewicz, Andrzej Panufnik and Mieczysław Weinberg, alongside internationally recognised violin repertoire.
The concluding stage on 22 October will feature Wieniawski’s violin concertos performed with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra.
According to the official competition timetable, the final competitive performances will take place on 22 October, followed by the awards gala and first prizewinners’ concert on 23 October.
A second concert will be held in Poznań on 24 October, before the event concludes at Warsaw’s National Philharmonic on 25 October.
A Polish competition with more than 90 years of history
The competition takes its name from Henryk Wieniawski, the Polish violin virtuoso and composer born in Lublin in 1835.
Widely regarded as one of the leading violinists of the nineteenth century, Wieniawski composed works that remain central to the violin repertoire, particularly his concertos, polonaises and technically demanding showpieces.
The first international competition bearing his name was held in Warsaw in March 1935, more than five decades after his death.
French violinist Ginette Neveu won the inaugural event, while Soviet violinist David Oistrakh finished second.
The Second World War interrupted the competition’s early development, and its second edition did not take place until 1952, when it moved to Poznań.
It subsequently became a regular fixture of the international classical-music calendar, normally held every five years.
Its list of past winners includes Igor Oistrakh, Keiko Urushihara, Alena Baeva, Agata Szymczewska and Japanese violinist Hina Maeda, who won the previous edition in 2022.
The Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society, which organises the event, describes the competition as a longstanding showcase for Poznań and the wider Wielkopolska region.
For young performers, success can bring opportunities beyond the cash awards, including international recognition, professional contacts and concert engagements.
How to watch the competition internationally
Audiences outside Poland can follow the competition online, with organisers providing livestreams of performances through the official Wieniawski Society YouTube channel.
The organisers’ broadcast information also identifies The Violin Channel, Medici.tv and Amadeus.tv as international streaming partners.
Coverage is additionally available through Polish Radio Programme 2 and Polish public broadcaster TVP’s cultural channels.
The competition is organised by the Henryk Wieniawski Musical Society in Poznań, with the National Institute of Music and Dance as co-organiser and funding from Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.
More than 90 years after its first edition, the Wieniawski Competition remains a meeting point between Poland’s musical heritage and a new generation of international performers.
For the next two weeks, Poznań will provide the stage on which some of those musicians seek to take the next major step in their careers.
