Head rolls at Joachim violin competition

Head rolls at Joachim violin competition

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norman lebrecht

October 29, 2018

The founder of the Joachim violin competition and its artistic director, Professor Krzysztof Wegrzyn, has given up his positions, according to Hannover reports.

Lavinia Francke, secretary-general of the Stiftung Niedersachsen, the competition’s funding body, will stay on.

This might suggest that all did not go to plan at this month’s competition, which was fairly won by an unfancied Canadian outsider.

UPDATE: Here’s the full paragraph:

Allerdings wird es bei der Ausgabe 2021 erhebliche Änderungen geben: Die Stiftung hat nach Worten von Generalsekretärin Lavinia Francke bereits beschlossen, eine neue künstlerische Leitung für den Joachim-Wettbewerb zu suchen. Damit ist Krzysztof Wegrzyn ausgebootet, der den Wettbewerb gegründet und über zehn Ausgaben geleitet hat. Wer den Wettbewerb künftig leiten soll, welche weitere Änderungen es geben wird und welche Rolle Wegrzyn in künftigen spielen kann und soll, ist aber noch nicht entschieden. Der 65-jährige Geigenprofessor ist von den Zukunftsplänen der Stiftung nicht begeistert: Für ihn endet das Geigenfest wohl mit einem Kater.

Comments

  • Ursula says:

    Hi Norman – where could you read in this article that “Lavinia Francke is also departing”? She announced the decision to continue without W. Don’t believe Google translator …

  • Emmy Kim says:

    Fantastic! Goodbye! Now he needs to NEVER be hired for any other juries. Sketchy! Sketchy! Sketchy!

  • Juilliard Kid says:

    Wegrzyn’s jury rigging has f*CkEd over so many young violinists over the years. This really is the best thing the foundation could do. Any competition who hires him moving forward does so at their own peril and their own loss of credibility and integrity.

  • christine lee says:

    KW is a really mean guy. One day he screamed at me for no reason until I cried. I think he liked it.

  • “Unfancied?” Well hardly, where he’s from anyway!
    Timmy and his brother Nikki have been headed for the top since they were teens. Finally I can retire my old Heifetz LP….

    • aj says:

      I wouldn’t retire the Heifetz just yet . Whatever top
      you refer to is long gone,there was only oneHeifetz
      as there was only one Kreisler , this lot is way
      down the list..and one can safely say will never
      reach the same heights just by what they show here in performance.

  • Freddynyc says:

    Is this in any way connected to his student actually winning a prize (3rd place) at the competition…..?

    https://www.facebook.com/164357596971557/posts/2400512393356055/

  • Peter Johnson says:

    Many readers would very much like to know the authoritative opinion of the magazine on the important topic of PUBLICITY (under the conditions of the unlimited technical possibilities of the modern Internet) of all without exception the rounds of international violin competitions and even, until now, the SECRET DVD preselection.

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