History
Founded in 1957, the World Federation of International Music Competitions is a global network of internationally recognized organisations dedicated to identifying the most promising young talents in music. While providing a forum for dialogue and exchanges between its members, WFIMC provides guidelines, aiming for artistic excellence, integrity and fairness, and thus sets a globally recognized standard.
The Federation is currently comprised of over 120 international music competitions and 20 globally recognized associate institutions, representing 39 countries and 111 world cities, serving young musicians on their path to an international career. Member competitions offer a great variety of different disciplines such as conducting, composition, and vocal and instrumental performance. Founding members of the Federation include the Concours de Genève (Geneva, Switzerland), Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition (Warsaw, Poland), Queen Elizabeth Competition (Brussels, Belgium), Ferrucio Busoni International Piano Competition (Bolzano, Italy), ARD International Music Competition (Munich, Germany), as well as Prague Spring International Music Competition (Prague, Czech Republic).
The Federation is a member of the International Music Council an NGO official partner of UNESCO in Paris.
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Federation is supported by the Department of Social Cohesion of the Canton of Geneva.
Mission
The WFIMC brings together the world´s most important music competitions, striving for artistic excellence, authenticity, fairness, and equality to support young artists on the path to their international careers.
Who we are
FMCIM People
Founders
Henri Gagnebin (1886-1977)
Founding President
Frédérick Liebstöckl (1900-1979)
Founding Secretary General
Honorary members
Renate Ronnefeld
Former President and Secretary General
Marianne Granvig
Former Secretary General and President
Richard Rodzinski
Former Vice President and Board Member
Lottie Chalut
Former Executive Secretary
Philippe Languin
Former Board Member and Treasurer
Dame Fanny Waterman (1920-2020)
Former Committee Member
Idith Zvi
Former Committee Member
Former Artistic Director, The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition
Michael Frischenschlager
Former Vice President
Board members
Peter Paul Kainrath
President
Artistic Director, Ferrucio Busoni Intl. Piano Competition (Bolzano, Italy)
Elisabeth Kozik
Vice President
Managing Director, ARD Intl. Music Competition (Munich, Germany)
Sisi Ye
Vice President
CEO, The Schoenfeld International String Competition (Harbin, China)
Glen Kwok
Executive Director, The Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA)
Ariel Cohen
Artistic Director, The Artur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition (Tel Aviv, Israel)
Nicolas Dernoncourt
Secretary General, Queen Elisabeth Competition (Brussels, Belgium)
Kristin Reigstad
Executive Director, Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition (Trondheim, Norway)
SoHyun Kim
Director of Artistic Planning, Tongyeong Intl. Music Foundation (Tongyeong, South Korea)
Päivi Pousar
Secretary General, Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition (Helsinki, Finland)
Artur Szklener
Director, Fryderyk Chopin Institute (Warsaw, Poland)
Secretariat
Florian Riem
Secretary General (Geneva, Switzerland)
Sarah Bétrisey
Executive Assistant (Geneva, Switzerland)
Jinyoung Kim
Manager (Seoul, South Korea)
Hana Saito Kantová
Manager (Geneva, Switzerland)
Sponsors
FMCIM Sponsors
Main sponsor
