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Inspiration of Japan- the 2023 GA in Hamamatsu

Federation

The World Federation is finally back in Asia

 

Delayed for several years due to the pandemic and subsequent closure of Japan, June 1-4 saw the 67th General Assembly of the World Federation of international Music Competitions (WFIMC) in the Japanese instrument maker capital Hamamatsu. Ancient trading crossroads of the “Tokaido” road, the city of Hamamatsu today houses piano makers Kawai and Yamaha as well as Roland electronic musical instruments, and is part of the UNESCO Creative Cities network. Despite being more than 250km away from Tokyo, it can be reached in little more than an hour from Tokyo thanks to the Shinkansen high-speed trains passing through the city.

Hosted by the Hamamatsu intl. Piano Competition, the Assembly took place in the iconic ACT City complex- a state-of-the art concert hall and conference center with an attached 45-floor high-rise hotel in the shape of a harmonica. “No matter where you come from, Japan is very far, and so we are all the more excited that so many colleagues from all over the world have come to our city” said the chair person of the Hamamatsu Competition, renowned pianist Noriko Ogawa.

Peter Paul Kainrath, Tisa Ho, Sisi Ye, Sungwon Yang and Junichi Nihei

Rob Hilberink, Yukine Kuroki, Ariel Cohen, Jacques Marquis

Peter Paul Kainrath, Wataru Ito, Noriko Ogawa, Seiko Terada, Satoko Oishi and Florian Riem

Sisi Ye, Yeong-Ping Chen, Iryna Polstiankina

Ariel Cohen and Sieghart Rometsch

Bastien Ferraris, Lisa Elias and Sandy Kasper

Shabu Shabu for dinner!

Visited by nearly 100 delegates from around the world, the assembly saw dedicated meetings for Japanese and Chinese music competitions; a piano maker’s round table, bringing representatives from Steinway&Sons, Kawai, Yamaha and Hailun Piano together on the same stage; a panel discussion on equality and privilege in the classical music world; working groups on innovative marketing, denationalisation, and the recent rise of (fake) online competitions; and many more discussions related to music competitions.

“Japan is a country of inspiration, and this meeting has brought a wealth of inspiration and motivation to our organisation”, said Peter Paul Kainrath, President of the WFIMC. The 2023 General Assembly was only the third such meeting in Asia since the foundation of the WFIMC in 1957. 2024, it will be held in Parma, Italy, before returning to Asia (Harbin, China) in 2025.

©WFIMC 2023

Note: Federation members can find further documents, working group reports and photos in the member section of the WFIMC website.