Carl Nielsen International Music Competition


Carl Nielsen International Competition is a competition for classical musicians held in Odense, Denmark in memory of the composer Carl Nielsen.

Overview

Competition was established in 1980 under the patronage of Queen Margarethe of Denmark. It became a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions in 1981. Initially a violin competition, its first President was Henryk Szeryng. Later the competition added special editions for organists, clarinetists and flutists. At various times jury members included Max Rostal, Joseph Gingold, Norbert Brainin, Arve Tellefsen, Milan Vitek, Dorothy DeLay, Tibor Varga, Jean-Jacques Kantorow.
Since 2012, the organ competition is no longer part of the Carl Nielsen Competition, but is instead held as a separate competition. But the violin, clarinet and flute competitions have,
after nearly four decades, established themselves as some of the most demanding and rewarding in the world, each offering winners the chance to launch a significant international career. From 2019, the Carl Nielsen International Competitions for violin, clarinet and flute will be held concurrently for the first time. Representing the 2019 competition as Artistic Advisors are three of the world’s leading musicians in their fields – Nikolaj Znaider, Emmanuel Pahud and Martin Fröst.

Prize-winners

Violin

1980

Flute Competition