Bucharest, April 7 /Agerpres/ - The first edition of the 'Ion Voicu' International Violin Competition, organized by the 'Ion Voicu' Cultural Association in partnership with the Romanian Cultural Institute, the National University of Music Bucharest and the 'George Enescu' Philharmonic Orchestra in Bucharest, debuts on Monday.

The competition, which will take place from Monday to Saturday, in two stages, at the National University of Music Bucharest, is open to young violinists from over 13 countries, offering them a platform to make themselves known on the international stage, informs the ICR, on its Facebook page.

The grand final of this competition will take place on Saturday at the Romanian Athenaeum, where the finalists will be accompanied by the 'George Enescu' Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of maestro Gabriel Bebeselea.

The jury is composed of renowned violinists Mihaela Martin, as president, George Tudorache, artistic director, Lucie Robert, Pavel Vernikov and Alexandru Tomescu, custodian of the Stradivarius Elder-Voicu violin.

The competition offers prizes worth a total of 12,000 euros, including special distinctions for the best performance of a solo work composed by Ion Voicu and for 'The Most Promising Young Talent.'

The 'Ion Voicu' International Violin Competition aims to honour the legacy of the renowned Romanian violinist Ion Voicu and to provide a platform for young violinists to demonstrate their skills.

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A former student of George Enescu, Ion Voicu (October 8, 1923, Bucharest - February 24, 1997, Bucharest) was born into a family of Roma musicians: his grandfather, Nicolae Voicu, was a cellist, and his father, Stefan Voicu, played the violin and double bass.

In his 50-year career, Ion Voicu performed hundreds of concerts all over the world: in Paris, New York, London, Rome, Vienna, Tokyo or Berlin.

He performed alongside Yehudi Menuhin, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan or Igor Oistrakh.

By Decree no. 3 of January 13, 1964 of the State Council of the Romanian People's Republic, the concert soloist Ion Voicu was awarded the title of People's Artist 'for outstanding merits in the activity carried out in the field of theatre, music and fine arts.' The Romanian state gave the maestro a 'Stradivarius' violin, manufactured in 1702, which belonged to Joseph Joachim.

Ion Voicu was the director of the 'George Enescu' Philharmonic in Bucharest for 10 years. He contributed to the creation of the 'Chamber Orchestra' in 1969, known throughout Europe and present at the most important international music festivals. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Popescu, EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)