Shanghai Symphony Orchestra postpones Isaac Stern international competition

Shanghai Symphony Orchestra (SSO) announced on April 20 that the 2020 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition will be rescheduled to 2021.

The difficulties brought by the epidemic do not guarantee a safe competition in the previously planned timeframe, the organization committee said in the official announcement.

The year 2020 marks Isaac Stern (1920-2001)'s 100th birthday, and in order to commemorate Stern's centenary, the committee decided that although the new competition dates will be in 2021, it will still be titled the "2020 SISIVC".

The American violinist was one of the first Western musicians to visit China in 1979, who influenced and guided many young musicians of China to achieve international recognition. SSO launched the first SISIVC in 2016, offering the highest prize of $100,000 for the top winner among all the violin contests in the world at that time. The competition is designed as a biennial event, with the second installment taking place in 2018, and the third scheduled for 2020.

Isaac Stern's belief in music obliges us to respect his commitment to excellence, and any attempt to hold the event under duress would not uphold his standards, said the organization committee. "We are all currently under attack by this pandemic, and we must remember that while a society without culture can survive, a society with culture elevates us."

All the submitted online applications will remain valid, and the competition will not accept new applications. The competition is open to all nationalities, now between the ages of 16 and 33 (one year added because of the delay). Contestants born after 2003 must be accompanied by a guardian for the whole competition period in Shanghai.

Competition videos that have been uploaded will remain valid, but the video submission channel will reopen. Qualified contestants who have been unable to prepare and submit their pre-selection videos due to the pandemic will be allowed to submit their videos by the new deadline which will be announced by August 2020. For the contestants who have submitted their pre-selection videos, it is permitted to replace the video previously uploaded, if desired.

The pre-selection round of 2020 SISIVC will be rescheduled to March 2021, with results to be announced in April.

Contestants will be expected to arrive in Shanghai on Aug 7, 2021. The competition will officially open on Aug 10, with the final round take place from Aug 27 to 29.