Sini-Maaria Simonen reaches final round of Sibelius Violin Competition

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Finnish violinist, 19-year-old Sini-Maaria Simonen, has made it into the final round of the Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. The second round concluded on Sunday evening at the concert hall of the Sibelius Academy.
      Another Finn, Minna Pensola, did not make it into the finals, and two other Finnish violinists were eliminated after the first round.
     
Eight competitors were chosen for the final competition. Each of them will play the Violin Concerto of Jean Sibelius and another concerto to be chosen from a number of options.
      The final round begins on Tuesday and ends on Friday. The winners will perform in a gala concert on Saturday. In addition to the mandatory Sibelius Violin Concerto, which she will perform on Thursday, Simonen will play the Violin Concerto of Johannes Brahms on Tuesday.
      The Finnish finalist is in her second year at the Sibelius Academy, where she majors in the violin.
      Simonen says that she is pleased with the experience in performing that the competition has brought her, as well as the good period of rehearsal.
      "I am also happy with my second-round performance, except for the last few minutes."
      To conclude her programme, Simonen chose the exceptionally difficult The Last Rose of the Summer by Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst. Slight flaws in the performance did not drop her out of the final round.
     
The Jean Sibelius Violin Competition appears to have increased in popularity. A total of 2,900 people attended four days of performances of the second round, and 3,300 attended during the four days of the first round.
      The performances of the second round displayed extraordinary talent. In the view of 80-year-old Professor Tuomas Haapanen, this year's competitors have been better than at any time in the 40-year history of the Sibelius Violin Competition.
      However, Professor Haapanen also complained that the competitive situation encourages the use of whimsical effects at the expense of genuine musical expression. He adds that musically, the Finnish competitors played quite well, even though they were not the greatest virtuosos of the competition.
     
Minna Pensola, who was dropped from the third round, took the news calmly.
      "After this I will go to China with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. My boyfriend Antti Tikkanen is on the tour as concert master, and I am one of the violinists.
     
There were also some surprises at the competition.
      "It would be a scandal if Germany’s Augustin Hadelich does not get into the final", warned concert master Tero Latvala already before the performance of the last violinist.
      Hadelich ultimately was dropped out of the competition. Also failing to reach the final was Russia’s Nikita Borisoglebsky, who had been seen by some as a potential winner of the whole competition.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Two Finns reach second round of Jean Sibelius Violin Competition (24.11.2005)
  Eight Koreans start Sibelius Violin Competition (21.11.2005)

Links:
  The 9th International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition
  Sibelius Violin Competition - Finnish Broadcasting Company website - including music clips

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