The 58th edition of the Premio Paganini confirms the positive participation data of the candidates, reaffirming itself as one of the most prestigious events on the international violin scene. Despite this year’s overlap with other prestigious competitions, 110 applications were submitted. Of these, 107 violinists were admitted: eighty from Asia, twenty-four from Europe (including eight Italians, double compared to 2023), five from North America, and one candidate with Australian citizenship.

Women are in the majority, representing 55% of the applications.

The age range of participants is diverse, with an average age of twenty-two. The youngest candidate is just fifteen years old.

Nine candidates - more than in previous years - will gain direct access to the Competition in Genoa, bypassing the pre-selection stage due to their prior successes in competitions of the Geneva International Federation (WFIMC).

The pre-selections will take place in Genoa (April 3/4), Guangzhou (April 12/13), Seoul (April 16), New York (April 29/30), and Berlin (May 6/8).

Artistic Director Nicola Bruzzo states: “I am very pleased not only with the number of applicants but especially with the truly high quality of the submissions, despite a more complex test structure compared to previous editions. The next winner of the Premio will need to demonstrate diverse skills: Paganinian virtuosity, chamber music sensitivity, and the ability to share their musical vision with the audience. The 58th edition is off to a great start. I would like to thank the jury who will work with me during the pre-selections and all those involved in various capacities, starting with the relevant Italian Cultural Institutes.”

Below the list of 107 admitted candidates:

1      ABOUZAHRA MARIAM (*)
2      AKHEMETZHANOVA AMINA
3      ALEXANDER CALVIN
4      ANGELOV JULIA
5      BAIK SEOYEON
6      BORREANI INDRO
7      BROOKE RABIA
8      CANSEVER ELIF
9      CHANG SUNG CHI
10    CHEN YIGE
11    CHEN YU HSIN
12    CHEN ZHANGBO
13    CHENG I-HAO
14    CHUNG WONBEEN
15    CNOCKAERT EDITH
16    DI LORENZO SALVATORE
17    DRAGAN SARA (*)
18    ELIAS ELIAS 
19    FAN HIU SING
20    FENG LINGXIAO
21    FRAGUAS JOSE
22    FURUSAWA KAORI
23    GALANO KRISTINE
24    GIANNOTTI VERONICA
25    HAN ZIJIN
26    HIRAI MIU
27    HONG YOOJIN
28    HOU YIYANG
29    HUANG YUE
30    JIN YEYEONG JENNY (*)
31    JU AHYEON
32    JUKNEVICIUTE LINA
33    KAKIUCHI EMIRI
34    KANG SEUNGHYUN
35    KANG YOOKYUNG
36    KARAPETYAN GOR
37    KARLS LORENZ (*)
38    KAYEDPOUR ALBERT
39    KIM DAYEON
40    KIM HYUNSEO (*)
41    KIM JIIN
42    KIMURA WAKANA 
43    KO SOHYUN
44    KWON HOJUNG
45    LEE ALICE
46    LEE DAISY (MYUNG WEON)
47    LI HAO
48    LI JINZHU (*)
49    LIM DONGMIN
50    LIN ZIXIANG
51    LU TIAN TIAN
52    LUNDINA MARIA
53    MA TIANYOU (*)
54    MATSUMOTO HIROKA
55    MAZZON ULISSE
56    MILENKOVIC TEOFIL
57    MIYAMOTO TAICHI
58    MKRTICHIAN SERGEI
59    MORISHITA MASAKI
60    NAKAJIMA MITSUKI
61    NAPOLITANO FLAVIA
62    NAYA JAIME
63    OBOLASHVILI MARIAM
64    OK SUNJAE
65    PAPUSHEV ALEKSANDR
66    PIRES CATALINA
67    PYO JUYOUNG
68    RODINA INGA
69    SAITO AOI
70    SAKAMOTO REIKA
71    SASAKI MIO
72    SCARANO VALERIO
73    SERINO YUKI
74    SHEN ZIXUAN
75    SHIM JAKE DONGYOUNG (*)
76    SMEU PETRE ABRAHAM
77    STAMENOV YASSEN
78    STARC ANNIKA
79    SUN XIAONA
80    SUZUKI ANNA
81    TAGUCHI HINATA
82    TAKEMOTO KAHO
83    TENG MING-CHUN
84    TOTH KRISTOF
85    VAN HOEIJ MAXWELL
86    VILLARIN EMANUEL JOHN
87    WANG HAOCHEN
88    WANG JINYU
89    WANG RUIYI
90    WANG YAOZHANG
91    WANG YIMING
92    WEE JAEWON
93    WU JITONG
94    WU YULUN
95    XU JINGXUAN
96    YANG ESTHER
97    YANGXIN SONG
98    YOSHIDA KAORUKO
99    YOSHIMOTO RINO (*)
100  YUE MINGNAN
101  YUMIBA YUMIKO
102  ZHANG AOZHE
103  ZHANG CHENGRUI
104  ZHANG ZHIXIN
105  ZHAO YNAN
106  ZHENG ZIMO
107  ZOU MENG

(*) Candidates admitted directly