The David Popper International Cello Competition will be held for the 10th time in 2023, from 10–14 October in Várpalota. In the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture programme series, the cello competition is included as a special event of the City of Várpalota.
The David Popper International Cello Competition was founded in 2000 by two private individuals, Gabriella Szili, cello teacher and director of the competition, and Csaba Onczay, cello player and permanent jury president. The basic idea and purpose of the competition was to give the young (9-23 years old) generation the opportunity to show their skills, competence, and talents in an international competition.
The first competition took place in 2000, and the 10th anniversary will take place in 2023 thanks to the Municipality of Várpalota, which in 2013 became the main sponsor of the event, together with the Várpalota Music School and Thury Castle.
Among the Hungarian winners of previous competitions, István Várdai is the only one to have won first place three times at the Popper International Cello Competition, in 2007 he was third at the Tchaikovsky Competition, and in 2014 he won the ARD Competition. Among the foreigners, the Romanian Andrei Ionita was awarded first prize in 2009 in Várpalota and won the Tchaikovsky Cello Competition in 2015.
„This competition is an important stage in the development of future artists. Among the applicants, the best from different countries come to Várpalota, many of them winners of national and international competitions. The past years have proven that the Popper International Cello Competition has a prestigious place and role in the international competition scene. This is very important to highlight, as only a few countries in Europe can claim to have an international youth cello competition. This recognition is due to the high professional quality of the event and the expertise of the international jury, which has been spread around the world by the visitors, the competitors, and the preparation teachers”, said Gabriella Szili, the competition’s director, in an interview.
The 7-member international jury is chaired by Csaba Onczay, Kossuth Prize winning cellist, professor emeritus. The members or the jury are: Szabolcs BENKŐ, cellist; Zdzislaw LAPINSKI, cellist, professor, Poland; Kangho LEE, cellist, professor, South Korea; Susan MOSES, cellist, professor emerita, USA; Matias de OLIVEIRA PINTO, cellist, professor, Germany; László Pólus, cellist, professor.
