The jury of the 10th International Violin Competition Leopold Mozart selected Julen Zelaia from Spain as the winner of the special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work, Soleos, by Elzbieta Sikora. Having not made it into the finals of the competition, the Spanish violinist decided to withdraw from performing the work at the prizewinners’ concert in Augsburg, ignoring the competition rules accepted by all participants. He thus refused the prize and left Augsburg.
About such an inacceptable and incomprehensible attitude, the press release calmly says: « The competition management very much regrets the decision. However, in the interest of a fair competition for all participants and out of respect for the jury and the composer, the current regulations make this ruling necessary. We are pleased to announce that the special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work, endowed with €1,500 and donated by Aumüller Aumatic GmbH, will now be awarded to the Japanese violinist Kaoru Oe, who will play Soleos in the prizewinners’ concert on June 8 (7 p.m., Kongress am Park), at which the composer will be present. »
