A total of 124 young pianists and violists from 16 countries and regions worldwide will compete in the 4th Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians, which will take place from Sept 14 to 22 and be livestreamed across the globe.

The young participants will be divided into three groups in piano and violin according to their ages. Those age up to 12 years old will be in Group A, 13 to 16 in Group B, and 17 to 24 in Group C.

Among them are outstanding students from prestigious music colleges, such as University Mozarteum Salzburg in Austria, Hanover University of Music, Drama, & Media in German, the Curtis Institute of Music in the United States, as well as Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. The contestants also include award winners of world famous competitions like the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition and Tchaikovsky International Youth Music Competition, as well as influencers on YouTube. 

The two-week preliminary contest concluded recently and attracted more than 400 young musicians from countries and regions like the United Kingdom, US, Russia, Japan, Singapore, as well as Australia. Seven renowned musicians reviewed the participants' videos in Salzburg, hometown of Mozart. 

A previous concert of the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

Week-long on-site activities will be held in Zhuhai after the finals, starting from Sept 24 at Zhuhai Huafa & CPAA Grand Theater in Shizimen. They will cover concerts, operas, as well as keynote lectures to promote the integration of classical music and modern life. This year's award winners will join prior winners in staging performances, while the first original large symphony children's play on Mozart will debut in September. 

Undertaken by Huafa Group, the biennial Zhuhai International Mozart Competition for Young Musicians was established in 2015. The fourth edition was originally scheduled to take place in 2021 but was postponed to this September due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The competition is the only one of its kind for young musicians to have won recognition from both the World Federation of International Music Competitions and Alink-Argerich Foundation.