Japanese violinist Yanai Mana receives a scholarship worth €7,000 and a Fabio Piagentini violin
The tenth edition of Il Piccolo Violino Magico International Competition for Young Violinists took place from 28 June–5 July in San Vito al Tagliamento, Italy. It was open to violinists up to the age of 13. As part of the celebration of its tenth anniversary, the competition concurrently hosted the fifth edition of the Tibor Junior International Violin Competition – read the results here.
For the final round of Il Piccolo Violino Magico competition, candidates performed at the Auditorium Comunale with the Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) Orchestra, conducted by Giancarlo Guarino.
The first prize was awarded to Japanese violinist Mana Yanai, 10, receiving a scholarship worth €7,000 and a Fabio Piagentini violin worth €9,000. The second prize went to French violinist Lavorgna Sora, 12, winning a scholarship worth €4,000. The third prize was awarded jointly to Korean violinist Baek Suhyeon, 13, and British violinist Talbot Michael, 13, each receiving a scholarship worth €1,500.
Yanai began learning the violin at the age of four, studying with Mami Teshigahara, and made her orchestral debut aged 9 as the winner of the Japanese String Teachers Association’s competition. She has also won the first prize at competitions including the Toho Gakuen National Junior Music Competition, the Czech International Music Competition and the Japan Violin Competition.
This year’s jury was chaired by Pavel Vernikov and comprised Michael Guttman, Sunny Lee, Silvia Marcovici, Marco Serino, Tatjana Sotriffer and Mami Teshigawara.
The competition celebrated the results on social media:
A big round of applause for the Piccolo Violino Magico 2026 winners! The level of this year’s competition was truly exceptional, making the jury’s decision an incredibly difficult one. Thank you to every young musician who made this tenth edition so special.’
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