[APPLICATION]

ELIGIBILITY

The Competition is open to violinists of any nationality born on or after April 16, 1978 and on or before April 15, 1992.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

The application package with all required materials must be mailed to Seoul International Music Competition office no later than November 14, 2008. The official application form may be downloaded from our website at www.seoulcompetition.com or requested by sending us an e-mail(seoulcompetition@donga.com).
• Please Note: Applications must be typed or printed in English or Korean.

The following documents are to be included in the application package:

a) Application form
b) Two recent color photographs of the applicant, taken within six months before the date of application(width 5.5cm x height 6.5cm).
c) A photo copy of the applicant’s passport: the photo page or an official verification of applicant’s age and nationality.
d) Two recommendation letters from two musicians of acknowledged professional standing with, including whom specializes in violin. Only Korean and English languages are accepted. A letter written in any other languages must be translated into one of the two accepted languages(Korean or English) and submitted along with a copy of the original letter with the musician’s signature. Letters without signatures will be ineffective.
e) An unedited DVD for pre-screening(video tape, CD and cassette tape are not accepted) The recording must not exceed 30 minutes in duration, consisting of following works 1), 2) and 3).
1) Paganini: one work from 24 Caprices
2) J. S. Bach: one slow and one fast movement from Sonata No.1 in g minor, No.2 in a minor or No.3 in C Major
3) Select one piece from Romantic period songs

※Instruction for submission of DVD
1. Screen size: NTSC 640 x 480 or 720 x 480
2. File format in AVI, WMV, MPEG, MOV
3. Record each piece to be played by each track and indicate each piece title with duration time accurately in order as recorded in application form.
4. Avoid recording songs irrelevant to songs from pre-screening.

f) A letter of proof written from one of the musicians in ‘D’ that recordings in clause ‘E’ are performed by the applicant and are unedited.
g) International and national certificates of awards.
※ 1. No late application will be accepted.
※ 2. Documents you send will not be returned.
※ 3. No other materials(newspaper reviews, etc.) will not be accepted.

ADDRESS FOR APPLICATIONS

The Secretariat of Seoul International Music Competition
The Dong-A Ilbo, 7Fl.
139 Sejongno, Jongno-gu
Seoul 110-715, South Korea

• Tel 82-2-2020-0736, 0540 • Fax 82-2-2020-1639
• E-mail seoulcompetition@donga.com • Website www.seoulcompetition.com

ENTRY FEE

All applicants who have been selected to participate in the 1st Stage of the competition must submit a non-refundable entry fee of US $100 to the bank account shown below by February 16, 2009.

• Bank Kookmin Bank
• Branch Dong-A Media Branch
• Account Number 870-01-0150-981
• Account Holder The Dong-A Ilbo
• Swift Code CZNBKRSE
※ The arrival of the entry fee will be considered as a formal agreement between the applicant and the Dong-A Ilbo on his/her participation in the competition under the rules and conditions of Seoul International Music Competition.

TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION

Travel expenses are sole responsibility of the competitors. However, Non-Korean competitors who do not reside in Korea will be provided with financial aid towards their international airfare of US $400 for those coming from Asia and US $800 for those coming from outside of Asia. (Taxes will be deducted from the aid by applying the Korean tax laws. The applicable tax rate is about 22%. ) Non-Korean competitors who are not residents in Korea will also be provided with room and board at the specified lodgings from April 12, 2009 until the dates indicated below:

• 1st Stage competitors: until the next morning after 1st Stage
• 2nd Stage competitors: until the next morning after 2nd Stage
• Semifinalists: until the next morning after Semifinal stage
• Finalists: until the next morning after Final stage

※ All competitors are required to arrive in Seoul by April 13, 2009 to register with the Secretariat and to draw lots to decide the order of performance at the competition.

PRACTICE

Non-Korean competitors who are not residents in Korea will be provided with practice facilities, free of charge, for three hours everyday from two days before the 1st Stage until the end of the competition. Any competitor who does not bring own pianist will be provided with an official accompanist by the secretariat of the competition and will have the opportunity to rehearse with the assigned accompanist within the hours specified for practice above in the following manner: one session before the 1st Stage, one session before the 2nd stage and two sessions before the Semifinal Stage, two hours at a time except the 1st stage (one hour). Each finalist will have two rehearsals with the orchestra before the Final Stage.

PERFORMANCE RULES

The order of performance will be determined by random drawing on April 13, 2009. On the day of performance, each competitor must show up at the Secretariat office located in the concert hall by assigned time. Those who are unable to perform when called upon to do so may be disqualified. However, if any competitor is late for his/her performance due to unavoidable circumstances, the Jury may allow the competitor to perform at a different time, depending on how the competition progresses in terms of timing. Every stage of the competition is open to the public.

PERFORMANCE RIGHTS

The competitors will make contracts exclusively with Seoul International Music Competition while they are in Korea. All approaches to and from the media must be made through and with the approval of the Secretariat. The competitors will be required to be available for any media-related arrangements made by the competition.
The Secretariat reserves the rights to:

1. Broadcast all rounds and final concerts of the Competition including but not limited to rehearsals, the Opening Ceremony and Ceremony of Awards by any televised or radio broadcast means including the internet, cable networks, terrestrial or other broadcasting, live or pre-recorded in Korea or abroad, to record audio and video materials and carry out their further distribution without additional fees payable to the competitors.
2. Record, reproduce and arrange for the reproduction of performances in the competition on record, CD, SACD, sound track, audio cassette, video cassette, video disc or CD-ROM/CDI, DVD, minidisk, or any other existing future medium.
3. Arrange agreements with other parties for the realization of the above mentioned competition materials.

[JUDGEMENT]

PRELIMINARY ROUND

The Preliminary Jury will select candidates to participate for the competition from applicants by screening DVD and other required materials received. Results of the screening will be announced to the applicants by January 15, 2009. The Management Committee will exempt participants who had won up to 3rd prizes from Dong-A Music Competition which is a nationwide competition in Korea and also organized by the Dong-A Ilbo, held in Seoul, Korea in 2008 from the preliminary round.

JUDGEMENT PREMISE

1. A point system will be used by the Jury for Screening. Each juror judges and marks performances of all competitors but abstains from judging/marking performances of the competitors who were his/her own students for more than three months for the past two years.
2. The decisions of the Jury are final and will not be subjected to appeal.
3. Competitors may not communicate with any member of the Jury at any time of the competition with no exception. Any competitor who fails to comply with this rule will be disqualified and equally, any member of the Jury who fails to comply with the rule will jeopardize his/her own status in the competition.

[RRIZE]

PRIZES

1. There will be prizes in cash in a total amount of US $122,000.

First Prize: US $50,000
Second Prize : US $30,000
Third Prize: US $20,000
Fourth Prize: US $10,000
Fifth Prize: US $ 7,000
Sixth Prize: US $ 5,000
A) The Jury reserves a right to withhold an award.
B) In a case of a tie, the prize money of the prize and the following prize in the ranking will be added up and distributed equally. In that case, the following prize won’t be awarded.
C) Taxes will be deducted from the prize money by applying the Korean tax laws.

2. For the 1st Prize winner, there will be an offer to make recording from the NAXOS, the world famous recording company for free of charge. The round trip airfare to and from the place for the recording session, will be the prize winner’s responsibility. The NAXOS will pay for room and board while the prize winner is in the NAXOS’ recording place and the production cost for manufacturing CD. Professional engagements will be arranged for the prize winners. These may include concerts, recitals and recordings for CDs or DVDs. The 1st prize winner and other selected prize winners will be required to be available to perform for these engagements. For such engagements, round-trip airfare as well as room and board for a maximum of 7 days will be provided by the Secretariat. No performance-related fees shall be paid to the performer.

INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES AND CONDITIONS

Should any dispute arise regarding the interpretation of any part of the regulations and conditions of Seoul International Music Competition in 2009, the regulations and conditions written in the language of Korean in this body of information and the related laws and codes of the Republic of Korea will be the only legal basis. All decisions made by the Secretariat, Management Committee and Jury will be final and are not subjected to appeal. No negotiations will be considered.

[REPERTOIRE]

1st STAGE

Competitors must play
two works from group 1), one work from group 2) and one work from group 3)

1) Paganini: Caprice Op.1 No.2, No.11, No.12, No.15, No.17
2) J. S. Bach: Sonata No.1 in g minor, No.2 in a minor, No.3 in C Major(all movements)
3) F. Kreisler: Liebesleid
Schön Rosmarin
Caprice Viennois
M. Ravel: pièce en forme de “Havanera”
P. I. Tchaikovsky: Valse Sentimentale, Op. 51, No. 6

2nd STAGE

Competitors must choose one of the following concertos to play with piano accompaniment. The cadenza can be chosen by each competitor.
Mozart: Concerto No.1, No.2, No.3, No.4, No.5(all movements)

SEMIFINAL

Competitors must play one work from each group.

1) a new work for solo violin by a Korean composer, written for the Competition (approx. 10 minutes)
※ Commissioned pieces written for the competition by Korean composers will be sent out to the competitors who pass the Preliminary Round by January 15, 2009.
2) one work from the following Sonatas:
Beethoven: One of ten Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Schubert: Duo for Violin and Piano in A Major, Op.162(D.574) or
Fantasia in C Major, Op.159(D.934)
Schumann: Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 or No.2
Brahms: One of three Sonatas for Violin and Piano
Fauré: Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 or No.2
Bartók: Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 or No.2
Prokofiev: Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in f minor, Op.80
Debussy: Sonata for Violin and Piano
3) One music of competitor’s choice with 10-minute time limit(excludes solo pieces)
※ Competitor can’t include the same piece performed for 1st Stage as a choice of Semifinal Stage repertoire.

FINAL

Competitors must choose one of the following concertos to play with the orchestra. The cadenza can be chosen by each competitor.
Beethoven: Concerto in D Major, Op.61
Mendelssohn: Concerto in e minor, Op.64
Brahms: Concerto in D Major, Op.77
Tchaikovsky: Concerto in D Major, Op.35
Sibelius: Concerto in d minor, Op.47
Bartók: Concerto No.2
Prokofiev: Concerto No.2 in g minor, Op.63
※ All works must be performed by memory, with the exception of Sonata and Korean piece which is commissioned and written for the competition.

NOTICE

1. All works must be performed by memory, with the exception of Sonata and Korean piece which is commissioned and written for the competition.
2. Repeats will be left to the discretion of the candidate.
3. Changes in the submitted repertoire of all stages will not be permitted except for the first stage only by the approval of the Secretariat. Competitors must notify the Secretariat of the change for the first stage in writing no later than February 15, 2009.
4. For all stages, the order of the works performed can be decided by the competitor.
5. Performances exceeding the specified time limit can be cut off by the Jury.
6. The Management Committee will exempt participants who had won up to 3rd prizes from Dong-A Music Competition which is a nationwide competition in Korea and also organized by the Dong-A Ilbo, held in Seoul, Korea in 2008 from the preliminary round.

*updated April 2009