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.