Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition

In honor of Isaac Stern and his significant contribution to classical music in China,[2] Maestro Long Yu led the path to establish the competition working closely with Isaac Stern's family. Stern's influence began with a historic trip in 1979 after the Chinese Cultural Revolution and just after China's long period of isolation from the rest of the world. His visit to China included both performances across the country and masterclasses with Chinese students at China's Central Conservatory of Music and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music where he imparted lasting musical advice. Yu, just a teenager at the time, was among those in the audience and among the many influenced by Stern's musicianship and knowledge. The Academy Award-winning film, From Mao to Mozart documents Stern's trip. Although Stern expressed distaste in competitions during his lifetime,[3] the Stern family, including his sons Michael and David, worked with Yu to develop a structure including chamber music and Chinese music, which were important to Isaac Stern, in order to establish a competition he would be happy with.

The Shanghai Symphony Orchestra hosts the competition with Maestro Yu as president. The organization committee includes David Stern. The competition offers the highest single cash prize for any international violin competition, $100,000. In an effort to ensure transparency, the competition took an unprecedented step in publishing the scores and comments of eliminated participants as well as winners.[4][5]

Violinist Mayu Kishima after winning first place at the inaugural Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition

The inaugural SISIVC took place in Shanghai Symphony Hall over the course of 25 sessions from August 14 to September 2, 2016. Co-chairs of the 13-member jury were David Stern and Vera Tsu Weiling and jury members included violin virtuoso Maxim Vengerov, Augustin Dumay, well-known pedagogue Zakhar Bron, and Boris Kuschnir among others. The final round which included concertos played with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, was conducted by Michael Stern. In keeping with Isaac Stern's values, all contestants were required to play a Chinese work, the iconic[6] Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto. Only 24 competitors were invited to the competition from the 140 applications the competition received. The semi-finals of the competition was broadcast live internationally through LeTV Music while SMG broadcast the finals with on-site live commentary.[7]

The first place prize was $100,000 in addition to performance contracts with several international orchestra, second place prize was $50,000, third place prize was $25,000, and fourth, fifth, and sixth prizes were $5,000 each. In addition, $10,000 was awarded for the best performance of the Chinese work and two Isaac Stern Human Spirit Awards were awarded for $10,000 each. The Isaac Stern Award is awarded to "an individual who is deemed to have made an outstanding contribution to our understanding of humanity through the medium of music."[8] In 2016, one award was presented to Negin Khpalwak, an Afghan woman conductor who directs an orchestra for women in Afghanistan. The other award was presented to Wu Taoxiang and Du Zhengquan, who founded a middle-school ensemble in China called the Einstein Orchestra.

The second competition took place from August 8 to September 1, 2018.[9] The required Chinese work for the competition was a co-commission by Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Music Festival, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, and New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, a violin concerto entitled La Joie de la Souffrance by Chinese composer Qigang Chen.

The $100,000 first prize was awarded to Nancy Zhou of the United States.[10]

The third competition was set to take place from August 4 to 25, 2020.[11] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been postponed to August 10 to 29, 2021.[12] Despite the rescheduled dates, it retains "2020" in its name in commemoration of Isaac Stern's 100th birthday in 2020. A gala concert will be held in Stern's honor after the final round. The Chinese work for this edition is Chinese-American Grammy-nominated composer, Zhou Tian's second violin concerto. It was commissioned by SISIVC and is set to receive its premiere at the competition.

• Official website