And now there are six...

Queenstown played host to the first two rounds of the semi-finals of the biennial Michael Hill International Violin Competition from Thursday 4 June to Saturday 6 June, 2009. From a field representing 30 nationalities that entered the competition in December, 18 semi-finalists aged between 18 to 28 years performed demanding programmes of solo and piano-accompanied works including Wakatipu, a specially commissioned solo work from Gareth Farr.

A prize of NZ$2,000 will be awarded to Yoo Jin Jang of Korea (pictured at left with the composer) as the semi-finalist whom the judges assessed as giving the best performance of Wakatipu.

Gareth was commissioned to write the work by Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra , co-hosts and facilitators of the competition, while he was Composer in Residence with the orchestra in 2007 and 2008. This is the fifth such commission: in previous years, solo violin works have been commissioned from Gillian Whitehead, John Rimmer, David Farquhar and Ross Harris. 

The six will perform piano trios in Auckland on June 8 and 9, with cellist Ashley Brown and pianist Michael Houstoun. From these, three will advance to the final concertos round on Thursday, June 11, performed live in the Auckland Town Hall accompanied by the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

Competition sponsors Christine and Michael Hill with the six performers going through to the third round.  From left to right,  are: (top) Yoo Jin Jang [Korea], Dami Kim [Korea], Danbi Um [Korea]; (bottom) David McCarroll [USA], Tessa Lark [USA], Josef Spacek [Czech Republic]

With regard to the commissioning of a New Zealand composer to write a solo test piece for violin for each competition, MHIVC Director Anne Rodda comments:

"Most major music competitions commission new work for their competitors to learn and perform.  What makes the MHIVC commission so effective is that it has always been a short and unaccompanied work from a New Zealand composer.  We have found that the competitors regularly programme the New Zealand work in their post-competition performances which indicates that they have judged the compositions to be of value and of practical use.

"I have a particularly strong appreciation for Bright Silence, the Gillian Whitehead commissioned work of 2001.  It was our inaugural competition and the piece was purposefully evocative of the Otago landscape.  I had just flown with 18 competitors from Christchurch to Queenstown and we had all looked out the window as we flew over the Remarkables.  I am quite certain the visual image was able thus to be conveyed in the performances.  It certainly was for this listener."

[NB: Update to this article: Josef Spacek [Czech Republic] was the eventual winner of the 2009 Michael Hill International Violin Competition.]