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High Spirits at the Sibelius Competition

Competitions

Sueye Park wins the 2025 competition with a spectacular rendition of Sibelius´and Knussens Violin Concertos

Five years after the spectacular win of Immo Yang in Helsinki, the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition took place once again in the Finnish capital. Six finalists appeared as soloists with both the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto, and- as a new feature of the competition- the candidates’ choice of a concerto from among Unsuk Chin, Magnus Lindberg, Oliver Knussen and Kaija Saariaho.
The jury awarded first prize to violinist Sueye Park, who won €30,000, plus a one-year loan of the 1777 G.B Guadagnini ‘Sasson’ violin, provided by Dr David Li through Beare’s International Violin Society.

Sueye Park, winner of the 2025 Competition

Born in Daegu, South Korea, Sueye Park is a graduate of Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, where she studied with Ulf Wallin. Having made her debut at 16 with a recording of Niccolo Paganini's 24 Caprices, her 2021 album "Journey Through a Century" was selected Editor's Choice and among the “Recordings of the Year“ by Gramophone. As winner of the competition, she will receive personal mentoring from Pekka Kuusisto and John Storgårds.
In an interview with the Seoul-based Korea Herald, Park said: “I did not have any expectations -- not to mention winning the first prize. I just focused on my music and wanted to leave the stage without regrets. This time, I really felt almost no stress and just enjoyed being on stage. The program was difficult, but I had built a strong routine and trained a lot leading up to the competition. I knew there were other chances and I thought I’d give it a try before it was too late. This was my first competition since the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition three years ago -- and I don’t plan on entering another.”

The six finalists of the competition- Gabrielle Després, Otto Antikainen, Claire Wells, Sueye Park, Minami Yoshida and Amia Janicki

Second prize was awarded to violinist Minami Yoshida, who also received a prize for the best performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto, awarded by the Sibelius family. Lastly, third prize went to violinist Claire Wells. The other three finalists, Gabrielle Després, Otto Antikainen and Amia Janicki, each received a recognition prize. Also, Janicki was awarded a prize for best performance of the commissioned work The Seasons Remembered, by Outi Tarkiainen, given by the Society of Finnish Composers.
An enourmously generous gesture, the Sibelius family donated a special prize of €1,000 to all 18 contestants who were accepted to the second round.

Prizes :
First Prize: Sueye Park
Second Prize : Minami Yoshida
Third Prize: Claire Wells

Jury:
John Storgårds (chair), Elise Båtnes, Levon Chilingirian, Jinjoo Cho, Sung-Ju Lee, Réka Szilvay, Jan Söderblom.

Artists:
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Dima Slobodeniouk, Conductor 
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Pietari Inkinen and Geoffrey Paterson, conductors
 

©WFIMC 2025/ FR. 
Photos ©Matias Ahonen/ SIVC, ©WFIMC