SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN COMPETITION 2026: GRAND FINALS / Review

 

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL 

VIOLIN COMPETITION 2026

GRAND FINALS

Esplanade Concert Hall

Saturday (7 February 2026)

This review was published by The Straits Times on 10 February 2026 with the title "Ukraine's Georgii Moroz wins Singapore International Violin Competition 2026".

The Grand Finals of the Singapore International Violin Competition (SIVC) 2026 was a culmination of two weeks of intense violin virtuosity. Arguably the best final concert in four editions, three 20th century violin concertos were performed in partnership with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by Joshua Tan.

Organised by Yong Siew Toh Conservatory and judged by an international panel of ten violin pedagogues and performing artists, it was fortuitous that two of three grand finalists were either past or present students of the Conservatory. One can only conclude that good teaching here is a catalyst for great artistry and superior results.

Zou Meng (China), presently residing here, performed Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’ Violin Concerto in D minor (Op.47, from 1904-05), literally a re-run of his triumph at the 2023 National Piano & Violin Competition. If anything, he has progressed. 

Sculpting a robust and gritty tone for this granite-hard score, intonation was never an issue. A wider palette of colours enabled him to generate warmth in the central slow movement and later focus with laser-intensity in the thrilling and rhythmic finale.

Georgii Moroz (Ukraine), who graduated here in 2023 and now based in Berlin, upped the ante several notches for Bela Bartok’s Violin Concerto No.2 (1937-38). Influenced by Hungarian folk music, Moroz had the full measure of its lusty and gutteral voice. Also completely natural with its dissonant idiom, he mastered and overcame the accompaniment’s thorny textures with aplomb.

Photo: Jellal Koay

In the slow movement’s theme and variations, Moroz conjured a sense of fantasy and mystery despite its elusiveness. Nothing was ever routine, and in the rambunctious finale, he raced away with orchestra in tandem and never glanced back.

Michael Germer (Denmark) looked to dominate in Dmitri Shostakovich’s Violin Concerto No.1 (Op.99, 1947-48), now a staple of competitions worldwide but like the Bartok, heard for the first time here. Its very wide dynamic range suited Germer to a tee, brooding in bitterness for the opening Nocturne, and then furiously duelling with the winds in the Scherzo.

Photo: Jellal Koay

The third movement’s Passacaglia was a tour de force of building an arch-like edifice before climaxing in a cruelly-taxing cadenza. The Klezmer-influenced finale was a wild race to the edge of a precipice, with neither soloist nor orchestra yielding a step till its brilliant and breathless close. Cue an outburst of applause.

Fine margins separated Moroz and Germer, who were awarded first and second respectively, a fair decision, with Zou bagging third place. Fourth, fifth and sixth places were awarded to Karisa Chiu (USA), SongHa Choi (South Korea) and Qingshu Weng (China). The special prizes, for performances of J.S.Bach, Eugene Ysaye, chamber music, violin and piano recital and the commissioned set piece, David Loke’s Soliloquy, were shared by the top three.

Michael Germer and Georgii Moroz
find out their fates.

This might have been the most impressive finale in the competition’s short 12-year history but a question hangs over the SIVC’s future. Will it survive in this form? Only time will tell.

24+ VARIATIONS ON TONY YIKE YANG'S PIANO RECITAL @ CHOPIN SOCIETY OF SINGAPORE

Canadian pianist Tong Yike Yang was back in town. He performed an hour-long piano recital on Saturday (14 February 2026) inaugurating the Chopin Society of Singapore's Young Poets Series at the Victoria Park home of society president Dato Paul Supramaniam. This was Tony's fifth visit to Singapore, having performed here since 2020 in solo recitals as well as a concerto performance. 

The Chopin Society of Singapore aspires to elevate the status of classical music (and not just the music of Frederic Chopin) in the land. Through its cultural events such as this, it also hopes to promote young artists by presenting them in informal recitals where they can interact with the movers and shakers of local civil society. Tony's recital was just a beginning, and hopefully there will be more such events in the future. 

Tony considers Singapore almost a second home.

He opened the recital with the 
Five Preludes Op.16 by Alexander Scriabin,
who himself was a fan of Frederic Chopin.

He has a delicate touch which befits
the sensuality of the music, which later
morphed into big sounds and gestures
for the Fantasy in B minor, Op.28.

And now onto Chopin!

A majestic reading of the

Polonaise-Fantasy Op.61

In Tony's view, his performance

was more fantasy than polonaise.

Most of Chopin's performances were at salons,
where was most comfortable to make music.

You can see it was quite a full house.

The main course was
Chopin's Sonata No.3 in B minor, Op.58

It was refreshing to hear the 1st movement
exposition repeat performed in a live performance.

Everybody was all ears for the slow movement.

A finish with a flourish!

Chopin Society president Dato Paul Supramaniam
extends his congratulations on behalf of all.

Befitting the coming Chinese New Year,
Tony's first encore was Ren Guang's
Colourful Clouds Chasing The Moon.

His second encore was Chopin's
Valse Brilliante in A flat major, Op.34 No.1.
Everyone is taking a video!

More thanks from all of us!

Dato Paul thanks the soiree organising committee.

Tony with local pianists
Zhou Yun, Donald Law and Lin Hengyue.

Separated at birth?

After the crowd has cleared,
Zhou Yun plays some Liszt and Schumann.

One of the few Bosendorfer
Imperial Grands in Singapore.

CROSS-CURRENTS / Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute

CROSS CURRENTS

Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute

Conservatory Concert Hall

Saturday (14 February 2026), 7.30 pm

It seems that the Yong Siew Toh Orchestral Institute led by Jason Lai has perfected the art of crafting the short concert, one that tells a story by uniting the themes into a complete and coherent whole. All within the space of an hour, music is delivered in digestible doses, fulfilling the credo of quality not quantity.

The evening opened with the haunting sound of the solo flute, Debussy's Syrinx (1913) heard from high up in the dress circle by the Conservatory's new head of winds, brass and percussion, Eric Lamb. Its ambiguous and fluid tonality makes it sound mysterious, and the purity of the sonority a close to unforgettable impression.

Lasting all but three minutes, it segued into the third movement of Mahler's Fourth Symphony, an ode to nature. Opening quietly, the strings crafted an oasis of inner peace, living up to its direction of Ruhevoll (calm, literally full of rest), which gently rose in temperature and volume in a most subtle of crescendos as the other instruments joined in. A passionate climax later, it returned to the solace it opened with.

Night turned to day with strokes of a tam tam leading to the opening pages of Debussy's La mer (The Sea), in a most riveting performance yet to be heard from these young players. From Dawn to Noon on the Sea, the balance of sound came close to perfect, particularly vivid were the low strings whipping up the tension of undercurrents, and it was easy to be swept away by the fantastical musical imagery conjured. To quote another composer (was it Stravinsky?), I particularly liked the part at about quarter-to-ten. Or was it quarter-past-ten?

The Play of the Waves intrigued and titillated the senses, while the final Dialogue of the Wind and the Sea whipped up a storm which seemed perilous at the time. Sureness and safety were key as the voyagers securely navigated the squall as the work blew to a frenzied but impressive close. I can conclude that this young orchestra is already playing at a higher level than the nation's first professional orchestra during its early years, and that cannot be a bad thing.

Eric Lamb and his flute get the applause.