2nd INTERNATIONAL YOUNG ARTISTS COMPETITION

PROGRAMME:

Vilmos Csikos violin

GRAŻYNA BACEWICZ (1909–1969): Polish Caprice for violin solo, IGB 28 (1949)

GEORGE ENESCU (1881–1955): Ménétrier from “Impressions d’enfance” for violin solo, Op.28 (1940)

EUGÈNE YSAŸE (1858–1931): Sonata for violin solo No.5 in G major, Op.27 (1923)

I. L’Aurore

II. Danse rustique

Munjung Heo violin & Stephanie Gurga(piano accompanist)

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862–1918): La fille aux cheveux de lin (1909–10, arr. for violin and piano by A. Hartmann)

HENRI WIENIAWSKI (1835–1880): Fantasia on Themes from “Faust”, Op.20 (1865–66)

DUO JAYUS (Pippa Sieppala violin & Bónis Kozák–Sólyom piano)

NIKOLAI KAPUSTIN (1937–2020): Sonata for violin and piano, Op.70 (1992)

I. Allegro

CLARA SCHUMANN (1819–1896): 3 Romances, Op.22 (1853)

I. Andante molto

EDVARD GRIEG (1843–1907): Violin Sonata No.3, Op.45 (1887)

III. Allegro animato

Benjamin Kautter violoncello

LUCIANO BERIO (1925–2003): “Les Mots Sont Allés” for violoncello solo (1979)

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750): Cello Suite No.5 in C minor, BWV 1011 (1717–1723)

I. Prelude,

IV. Sarabande,

VI. Gigue

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937): 2 Mélodies hébraïques, M.A 22 (1914)

I. Kaddisch

Stelios Mastrogiannis violin & Stephanie Gurga (piano accompanist)

EUGÈNE YSAŸE (1858–1931): Sonata for violin solo No.5 in G major, Op.27 (1923)

I. L’Aurore

II. Danse rustique

Francis Poulenc (1899–1963): Sonata for violin and piano, FP 119 (1942-43, rev.1949)

I. Allegro con fuoco

ARTIST RÉSUMÉS:

Vilmos Csikos obtained his Master’s degree with great distinction in 2019 under the guidance of Yossif Ivanov at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels and completed a Pedagogical Master’s degree at Arts² – Royal Conservatory of Mons in 2021.

An award-winning violinist, he has distinguished himself in numerous international competitions from a young age. Among his notable achievements are First Prize at the Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in Fermo (Italy), First Prize at the Remember Enescu International Violin Competition in Sinaia (Romania), First Prize at the Arthur Grumiaux Competition for Young Violinists in Brussels, and First Prize at the Leonid Kogan International Competition for Young Violinists in Brussels. He also received Third Prize at the Louis Spohr International Violin Competition in Weimar (Germany) and First Prize at the Henry Vieuxtemps International Violin Competition in Verviers (Belgium). More recently, he won the Audience Prize at the Sendai International Music Competition in Japan (2025).

In 2023, two exceptional violins by Giovanni Battista Rogeri and Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume were loaned to him by Florian Leonhard Fine Violins for a CD recording with the Naxos label. Since 2025, he has been performing on a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin generously loaned by Tarisio Fine Instruments & Bows.

As a soloist, Vilmos has appeared with orchestras including the Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra, the Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ataneres Flanders String Orchestra. He has collaborated with conductors such as Nicolas Pasquet, Dmitry Filatov, Gábor Werner and Junichi Hirokami.

He regularly performs throughout Europe and Asia and has participated in masterclasses with renowned musicians including Augustin Dumay, Mihaela Martin, Sergey Khachatryan, Pierre Amoyal and Zakhar Bron.

Munjung Heo is a South Korean violinist based in London. Her work spans international performances as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral artist.

She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at the Royal College of Music as a scholar under the guidance of Professor Emily Sun. She recently graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, where she was awarded a Bachelor of Music degree with First Class Honours.

Munjung has recently performed a solo concert with the Camden Philharmonic and has gained insight through masterclasses with leading artists, including James Ehnes, Sergei Khachatryan, Marc Bouchkov.

She is the first violinist of the Meraki Quartet, performing at venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, St James’s Piccadilly, and the Schiermonnikoog Festival. The quartet represented the Royal Academy of Music at the 2023 CAVATINA Intercollegiate Chamber Music Competition at Wigmore Hall. Meraki Quartet has received coaching from members of the Quatuor Danel, Pavel Haas Quartet, and Chilingirian Quartet, and the Alban Berg Quartett.

Munjung’s orchestral experience includes performances under conductors such as John Wilson, Edward Gardner, and Ryan Bancroft. She has also performed with the New Era Orchestra at the Kennedy Center alongside Joshua Bell.

A 2024 Benedetti Foundation Ambassador, she is deeply committed to music education and outreach. She holds the Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM) and has taught at Eton College and the Stellar Strings Summer Festival at Haberdashers’ Boys’ School. She has also performed as part of the “For Crying Out Loud” 2023–24 concert series at Wigmore Hall.

Founded in January 2026, Duo Jayus were recently awarded the 3rd Prize in the Luigi Nono International Chamber Music Competition in June 2026, and concerts have taken them performing around Switzerland, Hungary and Italy. As individuals, both have received support from different organisations and competitions, such as the Rahn Kulturfonds, DOMS Stiftung Stiftung Melinda Esterházy de Galantha, and both take part in various festivals frequently.

In their concerts, the Duo is looking for ways to bring together programs that alongside traditional repertoire include pieces that offer a bit of a different perspective to the classical repertoire. With both of them having taken lessons at the Jazzcampus Basel and Pippa having done her Minor in Jazz Violin, they have found interest in this style of music and how it affects and mixes with the classical.

Having grown up in a family of musicians, Benjamin Kautter was surrounded by music from an early age and began playing the cello at the age of six. His musical journey led him from multiple prizes at the Jugend musiziert competition to studying at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts (HMDK Stuttgart), where he completed his Master’s degree with highest distinction under Conradin Brotbek in February 2026.

Benjamin is an exceptionally versatile musician, performing in a wide range of ensembles and exploring diverse forms of musical expression. His work spans from Baroque music on historical instruments to the classical orchestral repertoire with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra and the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, as well as contemporary music with his piano trio, trio marcel.

Interdisciplinary collaborations also play an important role in his artistic work. He regularly collaborates with a hip-hop dance company and has developed an original performance format that combines solo cello music with his own photography.

Stelios Mastrogiannis was born in Athens in 2004 and moved to Austria in 2015 to study with Christos Kanettis at the Tyrolean State Conservatory, while also attending the Music High School in Innsbruck. In 2024, supported by the Ismene Carter Legacy Scholarship from the Laskaridis Foundation, he began his studies at the Mozarteum University Salzburg in the violin class of Benjamin Schmid. Since 2013, he has been a member of the Strings in Motion String Academy and has appeared as both a soloist and chamber musician in numerous concert halls across Europe. Stelios has participated in international masterclasses and has been artistically influenced by distinguished musicians such as Pavel Berman, Thomas Riebl, Boris Brovtsyn, Barnabás Kelemen, and Jonian Ilias Kadesha.