Violin competition rescheduled until next year

The biennial Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition has been rescheduled from August to next year, due to the ongoing pandemic.

Organizers also said the year 2020 would be retained in the event title, in memory of the maestro’s centenary.

Stern was among the first major international musicians to visit China in 1979 as the country started reform and opening-up. The monumental trip was recorded and turned into the Oscar-winning documentary “From Mao to Mozart” by Murray Lerner.

The competition was originally scheduled to be held the third time this year. Applications filed online by the original deadline of the end of January will remain effective. No new applications will be accepted.

Deadlines for video-performance uploads will be extended for those who were affected by the pandemic and were unable to submit videos earlier. The new deadline will be announced by this August.

Pre-selection is rescheduled until next March, with results to be announced next April. Top candidates will be invited to Shanghai next August for competitions spanning three weeks.

"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," the organizing committee said in its announcement.

"We are all currently under attack by this world pandemic, and we must remember that while a society without culture can survive, a society with culture elevates us."