“The biennial Menuhin Competition concluded Saturday in Richmond, VA, naming 18-year-old violinist María Dueñas of Spain as the first-prize winner of the senior division, and 15-year-old violinist Keila Wakao of Japan (currently Boston-based) as the comparable junior-division winner,” writes Nicholas Beard in Monday’s (5/24) Musical America (subscription required). “Top prize winner in the senior division takes home $20,000; the junior winner receives half of that. There are many additional award categories, the cash prize for each covers a wide range, beginning at $1,000. The competition, held in the U.S. for only the second time in its 38-year history, was originally scheduled for May of 2020; competitors selected to participate at that time did so this year, virtually. The first and semi-final rounds are viewable on the competition website. The jury: Pamela Frank (Chair, USA), Joji Hattori (Vice Chair, Japan/Austria), Noah Bendix-Balgley (USA/Germany), Aaron Dworkin (USA), Alf Richard Kraggerud (Norway), Piers Lane (UK/Australia), Valentina Peleggi (Italy), Soyoung Yoon (South Korea/Switzerland) and Angelo Xiang Yu (China).” This year’s virtual competition was co-hosted by the City of Richmond, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University, and VPM TV and radio.
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