The 30th International Johannes Brahms Competition took place from September 1–8, 2024, featuring categories in piano, violin, viola, and chamber music. Finalists in the violin and viola categories performed with the Euro Symphony SFK under the baton of conductor Ernest Hoetzl.
The awards and public gala concert were held on the final day at Austria’s Casino of Velden am Wörthersee.
The winners for 2024 are:
Violin:
1st Prize: Stefan Aprodu (Romania)
2nd Prize: Ryota Higashi (Japan)
3rd Prize: Eduard Steude (Austria)
Viola:
1st Prize: Hiroki Kasai (Japan)
2nd Prize: Zeyang Kan (China)
3rd Prize: Otoha Tabata (Japan)
Piano:
1st Prize: Timur Mustakimov (USA)
2nd Prize: Elia Cecino (Italy)
3rd Prize: Hiroshi Katsurahara (Japan)
Chamber Music:
1st Prize: Duo Droom-Kunst (Junnosuke Kikuno and Michiko Yoshimura/Japan)
2nd Prize: Duo Suono (Sato Hiroki and Eimi Wakui/Japan)
3rd Prize: Accio Piano Trio (Christina Scheicher, Anne Sophie Keckeis, and Clemens Böck/Austria)
Prizes for the piano, violin, and viola categories are as follows: first prize is €3,000, second prize is €1,500, and third prize is €750. For chamber music, the prizes are: first prize €4,000, second prize €2,000, and third prize €1,000.
A special audience prize of €750 was awarded to Stefan Aprodu. As the violin first prize winner, Aprodu will perform the Brahms Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 with the Savaria Symphony Orchestra on February 23, 2025, at Vienna’s Ehrbar Hall.
Timur Mustakimov, the piano first prize winner, will perform the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on April 19, 2025, at Prague’s Smetana Hall.
The 2024 jury for the violin included Aric Braude, Linnea Hurttia, Anna Kandinskaya, JongEun Lee, and Orfej Simic. The viola jury consisted of Sophie Arbuckle, Krzysztof Komendarek-Tymendorf, Ivan Podyachev, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg, and Qi Wang.
For the piano, the jury included Lehel Both, Johannes Kropfitsch, Jura Margulis, Shiran Wang, and Zhang Wei. The chamber music jury comprised Jiří Hlaváč, Catalin Ilea, Elisabeth-Jess-Kropfitsch, Qi Wang, and Byron Yue.
The competition organizers expressed their gratitude on Facebook, saying, “We would like to thank all participants for their efforts and moving performances, as well as for the friendly atmosphere among the participants. Our heartfelt thanks also go to our sponsors and everyone who helped make this cultural highlight possible!”
