Helsinki - International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition

Since its inception in 1965 The International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition has established itself as one of the most prestigious music competitions in the world. Every five years the competition invites young violinists under 30 years of age from all over the world to demonstrate their musical talents. The 2025 edition of the competition will be arranged on 18.-29.5.2025 in Helsinki, Finland.

All three rounds of the competition are open to the public. Finland has a strong position in the international contemporary music scene and Finnish audiences are known for their appreciation of new music which shows on the competition’s obligatory repertoire. The second round includes a piece by Outi Tarkiainen, commissioned for the competition. In the final round the participants play the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and one of four pre-selected concertos composed between 1994–2015 with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra or the Radio Symphony Orchestra.

The Sibelius Violin Competition in 2022 also saw the launching of a new prize category providing mentorship by two internationally acclaimed Finnish artists to support the development of successful violinists as artists and help them thrive in their careers. The members of the Jury have always been internationally well-established violinists and violin teachers. Throughout its history, the competition has been chaired by acclaimed Finnish composers, conductors and professors Tauno Hannikainen, Joonas Kokkonen, Tuomas Haapanen, Aulis Sallinen, Mikko Heiniö, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Veli-Matti Puumala and Sakari Oramo. The 2025 competition will be chaired again by a conductor while John Storgårds kindly accepted the invitation.

The International Sibelius Competition was founded by the Sibelius Society of Finland in honor of the 100th anniversary of Sibelius’ birth. The Honorary Committee invited to set up the competition was an impressive group of distinguished names in music including Sir John Barbirolli, Herbert von Karajan, Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh, Eugene Ormandy, Igor Stravinsky and Henryk Szeryng. The committee was chaired by Aino Sibelius. Today the competition is organized in collaboration by the Sibelius Society of Finland and the Sibelius Academy.

For more information, please visit www.sibeliuscompetition.fi