Rules 2016

Download the Application Form

1. THE ORGANIZER

The Fourth International Violin Competition – Toruń 2016 is organized by the Toruń Symphony Orchestra, with offices at Rynek Staromiejski 6, 87-100 Toruń, and will last from 19 February 2016 till 28 February 2016.

2. THE JURY

The Competition Jury will be chaired by Konstanty Andrzej Kulka.
The list of the jury members will be made public before the opening of the competition.
The verdicts of the jury are final and indisputable. The detailed working procedure of the Jury is contained in the Regulations of the Jury.

3. PARTICIPANTS

The competition is open to violinists born after 20 February 1983 regardless of their nationality.

4. APPLICATIONS

1. The application form for the prospective participants in the Fourth Competition is published electronically in .pdf file at the top of the page. Completed application forms should be sent via e-mail at the address: violintorun@tos.art.pl no later than on 30 October 2015. Signed application forms should be delivered to the Competition Office no later than on 30 October 2015 (date as postmarked).

All candidates are required to add the following attachments:

– a portrait photograph (file format: .jpg),
– a short artistic biography (written in English, file format: .doc, .docx., .odt or .pdf)
– documents certifying musical accomplishments (awards, reviews, diplomas etc.),
– a photocopy of the candidate’s passport or other identification document stating the date of birth and the nationality of the candidate,
– two up-to-date portrait photographs sized 3,5 x 4,5 cm signed on the back,
– a DVD recording of the following pieces:

a) J. S. Bach – Adagio and Fuga from Sonata No. 1 in G minor for solo violin (BWV 1001) or Grave and Fuga from Sonata No. 2 in A minor for solo violin (BWV 1003) or Adagio and Fuga from Sonata No. 3 in C major for solo violin (BWV 1005) or Chaconne Partita No. 2 in D minor (BWV 1004),

b) N. Paganini – one of the Caprices from Op. 1 chosen by the candidate,

c) W. A. Mozart – one part of a Violin Concerto with the cadenza, recorded with a piano: either the Violin Concerto in G major (KV 216) or in D major (KV 218) or in A major (KV 219).

The recording must present the whole figure of the candidate, filmed from no further than 5 m distance. The DVDs will not be returned. The recordings are the only form of admission to the competition.

2. The admission procedure will be carried out anonymously on the basis of the submitted recordings by the Organizer. The candidates will be informed of the decision on admission no later than on 16 November 2015 and the list of admitted candidates will be published on the website www.violintorun.tos.art.pl. The candidates selected for the first stage of the competition are obliged to pay the entry fee in the amount of 100 EUR (or the equivalent in PLN in accordance with the exchange rate on the date of transfer) and specify the transfer with the title KONKURS SKRZYPCOWY (“VIOLIN COMPETITION”) to be made into the account of Toruńska Orkiestra Symfoniczna (“The Toruń Symphony Orchestra”):

IBAN PL 49 1160 2202 0000 0000 6171 9276
SWIFT code: BIGBPLPW

In the case of resignation from taking part in the competition, the entry fee will not be returned. The decision to take part in the Competition amounts to entering into the contract concerning the participation in the Competition on conditions specified in these rules and regulations. The entry fees must be paid no later than on 10 December 2015.

5. TRAVEL EXPENSES AND ACCOMMODATION

1. The costs of travel to Toruń and back are covered by the participant.

2. The Organizer will provide the participants with accommodation and meals (three meals a day) until the last day of their participation in the competition.

3. The participants are requested to check if they need a visa to travel to Poland. If a visa is necessary, the Organizer will issue the invitation.

6. THE ORDER OF COMPETITION PERFORMANCES

1. The participants are obliged to register in the Competition Office on the day of the Competition opening ceremony, i.e. 19 February 2016, no later than at 1 p.m., and present proof of their identity.

The drawing of lots carried out to establish the order of performances will take place on 19 February 2016 at 3 p.m.

2. The participants will perform according to their drawn number.

3. The established order will be preserved until the end of the Competition.

7. AUDITIONS

1. The Competition programme consists of three stages that are open to the public and the participants are required to perform from memory (apart from the Sonatas in the second stage) the following pieces:

The first stage (20-22 February 2016)
(24 participants maximum)

– J.S. Bach – Sonata or Partita for solo violin,
– Ysaye – one of the Sonatas for solo violin,
– one of the Caprices for solo violin by N. Paganini or H. Wieniawski.

The second stage (23-24 February 2016)
(12 participants maximum)

Every participant will perform a recital of 40-45 minutes. The repertoire chosen by the participant must include one twentieth-century piece by a Polish composer. Performing concerts for violin and orchestra is inadmissible. The order of pieces in the performance is decided by the participant.

The third and final stage (26-27 February 2016)
(6 participants maximum)

Every participant will perform one of the following concerts for violin and orchestra.

  1. Lalo – The Spanish Symphony op. 21,
  2. P. Czajkowski – Violin Concerto in D major op. 35,
  3. K. Szymanowski – Violin Concerto No. 1 in D minor op. 35,
  4. F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy – Violin Concerto in E minor op. 64,
  5. H. Wieniawski – Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor op. 22.

Prizewinners’ Concert – 28 February 2016

2. In all stages the jury will judge the participants anonymously after their presentations.

8. ACCOMPANISTS

1. The Organizer will provide a pianist to accompany every participant upon his or her request stated in the application form. The participants are entitled to one rehearsal with an official competition accompanist that will be free of charge, whereas the finalists to one rehearsal with the orchestra.

2. The participants may, at their own expense, take part in the competition with their pianists.

9. PRIZES AND COMMENDATIONS

1. The Jury will award three prizes and the titles of the Competition Winner.

First Prize – 12 000 EUR and the Copernicus’ Astrolabe
Second Prize – 8 000 EUR
Third Prize – 5 000 EUR

2. According to the Polish law all prizes and commendations are subject to taxation. The taxes will be remitted by the Organizer.

3. The prizewinners of the top three prizes will receive the title of a COMPETITION WINNER. The remaining three finalists will receive commendations of 1 000 EUR each. The Jury reserves the right to change the number and the composition of the prizes with the proviso that the total worth of all prizes cannot be changed. If two equal prizes are awarded, then the following prize will not be awarded.

4. All participants will receive commemorative diplomas. The prize-giving ceremony will take place during the Prizewinners’ Concert on 28 February 2016 in Toruń. The Prizewinners must collect their prizes in person and take part in the Prizewinners’ Concert.

5. All other prizes funded in cash or in kind by other institutions or individuals must be notified to the Competition Director before the Competition opening. All such prizes will be out of the ordinary and will be given on 28.02.2016.

10. COPYRIGHT

1. The Competition participants, with no remuneration, transfer to the Toruń Symphony Orchestra their copyright to the recordings of their performances recorded at all stages of the Competition including the Prizewinners’ Concert. The participants performing in the concerts do not receive honorariums.

2. The Competition participants agree to use their images taken during the Competition and supplied to the Organizer.

3. The Competition participants agree that their personal data are processed by the Organizer with reference to the Competition and in accordance with the statutory objectives of the Organizer.

11. OTHER

1. The participants and their pianists must arrange on their own to insure themselves and their instruments for the duration of the Competition. If the participants possess an antique instrument (older than 55 years), they must declare its entry to Poland to customs officers on crossing the Polish border. If the participants play a borrowed instrument of considerable value, they should carry a document confirming their right to use it.

2. All disputes arising from these rules and regulations will be resolved only on the basis of the Polish language version.

3. In all organizational matters beyond the competence of the Jury the decisive voice lies with the Competition Director whose decisions are final and cannot be sued.

4. All correspondence should be sent to the address of the Organizer:

Toruńska Orkiestra Symfoniczna
VIOLIN COMPETITION 2016
Rynek Staromiejski 6
87 -100 Toruń, Poland
tel./fax +48 56 622 88 05
violintorun@tos.art.pl