A big Thank you! to Oslo for a fantastic Menuhin Competition 2010

We are extremely grateful to our hosts, sponsors and supporters. Without them, the Menuhin Competition Oslo 2010 would not have been possible!

We thank the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Barratt Due Institute of Music, the Norwegian Council for Schools of Music and Performing Art, the Oslo Opera House and all sponsors for putting together a fantastic event.

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Menuhin Competition 2010 was hosted in Oslo

It took place in Oslo from 16 to 25 April 2010 and was also a celebration of the 200th anniversary of Norway's great violinist Ole Bull.

The competition was hosted by four of the leading Norwegian Music Organisations - the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra , the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Barratt Due Institute of Music, the Norwegian Council for Schools of Music and Performing Art  and the Oslo Opera House.

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What was new in 2010?

To celebrate the great Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, we have for the first time replaced Paganini's works in the repertoire with works by Ole Bull.

We also have, for the first time ever, added a short piece for improvisation to the Junior repertoire. We know this is quite unusual but improvisation has a long tradition and forms an important element in artistic performance. It was practiced and developed by composers and performers such as Tartini, Mozart, Liszt and Ole Bull through to Ysaye and Kreisler. These days when most players are not composers and few composers are performing artists it is important to introduce young musicians to improvisation as a means to explore their own musicality.

The competition is devoted to Yehudi Menuhin’s philosophy of nurturing musicality by encouraging spontaneity and individuality in young musicians. Inspired by the celebration of Ole Bull, the competition and its Norwegian hosts feel a strong sense of responsibility to encourage the nearly lost tradition of improvisation in classical music. It is the first time we include improvisation in the competition repertoire. We would like it to be another artistic skill for our competitors to learn. However, knowing the challenge this poses, it will not be pivotal in determining who passes into the Finals.

We have also introduced a quick study element to the Senior repertoire. It has given competitors an opportunity to show their creativity, spontaneity and musical individuality. Competitors had 30 minutes to prepare a newly commissioned three minute work on their own before performing it for the jury and audience.

And with Arne Nordheim’s contemporary Partita für Paul, a work for violin and digital delay unit, we  introduced the use of electronic equipment in the competition for the first time.