The three finalists will perform several concerts from 16 to 22 June
The three finalists of the 2025 Antonio Mormone International Prize have been announced. They are: Elli Choi, Hawijch Elders and Anna Im. They were chosen from ten semi-finalists.
The semi-final rounds took place over the past year, with the last round taking place on 14 April at the Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, where competitors presented a 25-minute programme in front of three jury members: the competition’s artistic director and chair of the jury Edoardo Zosi, and violinists Anna Tifu and Mark Gothoni, with the support of Enrica Ciccarelli Mormone, president of the Fondazione La Società dei Concerti, which organises the event.
Following the results, Mormone commented: ‘The Prize reaffirms, for the second time, its ability to recognise musical excellence. I am pleased that the three selected artists are talented women, a sign for classical music that confirms the growing gender equality in the field. We will see what happens at La Scala.’
The finals will be held in Milan from 16 to 22 June 2025. It will include chamber music, solo and historical violin rounds at the G. Verdi Conservatory, as well as a final round on 22 June at the Teatro alla Scala with the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala Academy.
US violinist Elli Choi (b.2001) is a graduate of the Juilliard School and has studied with Ida Kavafian and Zakhar Bron. She is a laureate of various international competitions including the Classic Strings Competition, Fritz Kreisler Competition and Qingdao Competition, and she won third prize at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition. As a soloist, she has performed with orchestras including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, Novosibirsk Philharmonic, Salzburg Chamber Soloists and Philadelphia Orchestra.
Dutch violinist Hawijch Elders (b.1998) is a laureate of the 2023 Paganini Competition in Genoa. She is currently an artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, where she studies with Augustin Dumay. She has played in venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Bozar in Brussels, and with orchestras including the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, Orquestra Clássica da Madeira, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra and Odessa Philharmonic Orchestra.
South Korean violinist Anna Im (b.1997) is a first-prize winner of both the 10th Michael Hill International Violin Competition and the Stuttgart International Competition. She is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Royal Academy of Music in London. She currently studies with Janine Jansen at the Kronberg Academy. She has played with various leading orchestras and has released two solo albums.
The finalists are competing for a first prize package comprising €30,000 cash, a recording of an album with Universal, plus three years of artistic management coordinated by the Fondazione La Società dei Concerti, with engagements in Italy and abroad. The runners up will receive a cash prize of €5,000. The audience will also vote for their favourite performer, who will perform a concert hosted by the Friends of the Antonio Mormone International Prize Club.
The finals jury will consist of Edoardo Zosi, Anna Tifu, Michail Stille, Silvia Marcovici, Ning Feng, Nazzareno Carusi and Mark Gothoni.
The Antonio Mormone International Prize was created in honour of Antonio Mormone, founder of La Società dei Concerti di Milano and a leading figure in discovering and promoting emerging talents. It is held every four years and the editions take place over the course of ten months, during which all competition evaluations are made in live concert settings. Some rounds include anonymous jury members in the audience.
Read: Semi-finalists announced for the 2025 Antonio Mormone International Prize
Read: Winners announced for the inaugural Ion Voicu International Violin Competition
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