History

Founded in 1957, the World Federation of International Music Competitions is a global network of internationally recognized organisations dedicated to identifying the most promising young talents in music. While providing a forum for dialogue and exchanges between its members, WFIMC provides guidelines, aiming for artistic excellence, integrity and fairness, and thus sets a globally recognized standard.
The Federation is currently comprised of over 120 international music competitions and 20 globally recognized associate institutions, representing 39 countries and 111 world cities, serving young musicians on their path to an international career. Member competitions offer a great variety of different disciplines such as conducting, composition, and vocal and instrumental performance. Founding members of the Federation include the Concours de Genève (Geneva, Switzerland), Fryderyk Chopin International Piano Competition (Warsaw, Poland), Queen Elizabeth Competition (Brussels, Belgium), Ferrucio Busoni International Piano Competition (Bolzano, Italy), ARD International Music Competition (Munich, Germany), as well as Prague Spring International Music Competition (Prague, Czech Republic). 

The Federation is a member of the International Music Council an NGO official partner of UNESCO in Paris.

Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Federation is supported by the Department of Social Cohesion of the Canton of Geneva.

Who we are

FMCIM People

Founders

Henri Gagnebin (1886-1977)

Founding President

Frédérick Liebstöckl (1900-1979)

Founding Secretary General

Honorary members

Renate Ronnefeld

Former President and Secretary General

Marianne Granvig

Former Secretary General and President

Richard Rodzinski

Former Vice President and Board Member

Lottie Chalut

Former Executive Secretary

Philippe Languin

Former Board Member and Treasurer

Dame Fanny Waterman (1920-2020)

Former Committee Member

Idith Zvi

Former Committee Member

Former Artistic Director, The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition

Michael Frischenschlager

Former Vice President

Board members

Peter Paul Kainrath

President

Artistic Director, Ferrucio Busoni Intl. Piano Competition (Bolzano, Italy)

 

Elisabeth Kozik

Vice President

Managing Director, ARD Intl. Music Competition (Munich, Germany)

Sisi Ye

Sisi Ye

Vice President

CEO, The Schoenfeld International String Competition (Harbin, China)

Glen Kwok

Executive Director, The Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Indiana, USA)

Nicolas Dernoncourt

Secretary General, Queen Elisabeth Competition (Brussels, Belgium)

Kristin Reigstad

Executive Director, Trondheim International Chamber Music Competition (Trondheim, Norway)

SoHyun Kim

Director of Artistic Planning, Tongyeong Intl. Music Foundation (Tongyeong, South Korea)

Päivi Pousar

Päivi Pousar

Secretary General, Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition (Helsinki, Finland)

Artur Szklener

Director, Fryderyk Chopin Institute (Warsaw, Poland)

Ariel Cohen

Artistic Director, The Artur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Secretariat

Florian Riem

Secretary General (Geneva, Switzerland)

Sarah Betrisey

Sarah Bétrisey

Executive Assistant (Geneva, Switzerland)

Jinyoung Kim

Manager (Seoul, South Korea)

Hana Saito Kantová

Manager (Geneva, Switzerland)

Sponsors

FMCIM Sponsors

Main sponsor