The International Harp Contest in Israel

Susanna Mildonian winner of the 1st International Harp Contest in Israel, 1959

The International Harp Contest in Israel is a harp competition. Founded in 1959 by Aharon Zvi Propes in the city of Jerusalem, it was the first competition for the harp in the history of the instrument.

Past competitions winners[]

1959

1st prize: Susanna Mildonian, Belgium

1962

1st prize: Lynn Turner, United States
Special prize for best performance of Toccata composed by Ami Maayani: Bogumila Lutak, Poland

1965

1st prize: Martine Géliot, France

1970

1st prize: , France

1973

1st prize: Nancy Allen, United States

1976

1st prize: Ivan Ion Roncea, Romania

1979

1st prize: Emily Mitchell, United States

1982

1st prize: Alice Giles, Australia

1985

1st prize: Naoko Yoshino, Japan

1988

1st prize: Isabelle Moretti, France

1992

1st prize: Marie-Pierre Langlamet, France

1994

1st prize: not awarded

1998

1st prize: Gwyneth Wentink, Netherlands
2nd prize: Christina Bianchi, Italy
3rd prize: Kyo-Jin Lee, Korea

2001

1st prize: Letizia Belmondo, Italy
2nd prize: Jessica Li Zhou, China
3rd prize: Lavinia Meijer, Netherlands

2003

1st prize: Varvara Ivanova, Russia
2nd prize: Julie Bunzel, Israel
3rd prize: Albane Mahe, France
- Gulbenkian prize: Etsuko Shoiji, Japan
- Israeli Composition prize: Julie Bunzel, Israel
- Contemporary Piece prize: Varvara Ivanova, Russia
- Chamber Music prize: Julie Bunzel, Israel

2006

1st prize: Sivan Magen, Israel
2nd prize: Cécile Maudire, France
3rd prize: Etsuko Chida, Japan
- Israeli Composition prize: Sivan Magen, Israel
- Contemporary piece prize: Cécile Maudire, France
- Mario Falcao prize: Teresa Zimmermann, Germany
- Renie prize: Sivan Magen, Israel

2009

1st prize: not awarded
2nd prize: Ina Zdorovetchi, Moldova
3rd prize: Remy van Kesteren, Netherlands
- Chamber Music prize: Ina Zdorovetchi, Moldova
- Israeli Commissioned piece prize: Ina Zdorovetchi, Moldova
- Mario Falcao prize: Remy van Kesteren, Netherlands
- Renie prize: Emily Levin, United States

2012

1st prize: Anais Gaudemard, France
2nd prize: Agne Keblyte, Lithuania
3rd prize: Mai Fukui, Japan
- Semi-Final Prize: In memory of Yona Ettinger: Anais Gaudemard, France
- For best performance of R. Murray Schafer: The Crown of Ariadne: Anais Gaudemard, France
- Aharon Zvi and Mara Propes Prize: Agne Keblyte
- For best performance of Israeli composition by Zvi Avni, Fantasy for harp: Agne Keblite, Lithuania
- Mario Falcao Prize: Mai Fukui, Japan
- For best performance of a Free Choice Contemporary Work, in Stage II: Mai Fukui, Japan
Semi-Final Round Competitors
- Maiko Enomoto, Japan
- Mai Fukui, Japan
- Anais Gaudemard, France
- Agne Keblyte, Lithuania
- Stefania Saglietti, Italy
- Noël Wan, USA
Second Round Competitors
- Bass, Elizabeth, UK
- Enomoto, Maiko, Japan
- Fukui, Mai, Japan
- Gaudemard, Anais, France
- Gott, Michelle, USA
- Guiraud, Alexandra, France
- Keblyte, Agne, Lithuania
- Loei, Yi-Yun, Australia
- Panizza, Martino, Italy
- Saglietti, Stefania, Italy
- Sidyagina, Oksana, Russia
- Vernia, Inbar, Israel
- Wan, Noel, USA
- Yoon, Jane, USA
- Second Round Repertoire:
  - Légende, Henriette Renié
  - Prélude, André Jolivet
  - Choice of Sonata:
    - Dalvimare
    - Viotti
    - Marin
  - Free choice contemporary (to be written after 1985)
First Round Competitors:
- Alquati, Tatiana, Italy
- Amstutz, Nathalie, Switzerland
- Bass, Elizabeth, UK
- Dimitrova, Denitza, Bulgaria
- Enomoto, Maiko, Japan
- Fukui, Mai, Japan
- Galo-Place, Claire, France
- Gaudemard, Anais, France
- Gott, Michelle, USA
- Guiraud, Alexandra, France
- Keblyte, Agne, Lithuania
- Loei, Yi-Yun, Australia
- Montes, Mateo Cristina, Spain
- Panizza, Martino, Italy
- Saglietti, Stefania, Italy
- Sato, Rieko, Japan
- Scholten, Nick, The Netherlands
- Shemesh, Sarah, Israel
- Sidyagina, Oksana, Russia
- Vernia, Inbar, Israel
- Vreeburg, Liesbeth, The Netherlands
- Wan, Noel, USA
- Widi, Rama, Indonesia
- Yoon, Jane, USA
- Young, Tamara, UK
- Zdorovetchi, Ina, Moldova
- First Round Repertoire:
  - Sonata in G, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
  - Rhapsodie, Marcel Grandjany
  - Choice of Suite:
    - Suite for Harp, Benjamin Britten
    - Suite in Classic Style, Lynn Palmer
    - Suite pour Harpe, Jean Francaix
  - Fantasy for Harp, Tzvi Avni

2015

1st prize: Yuying Chen, China

2018

Winners

1st prize: Lenka Petrović, Serbia
2nd prize: Joel von Lerber, Switzerland
3rd prize: Marina Fradin, Israel

Semi-final prize:

Alisa Sadikova, Russia
Tjasha Gafner, Switzerland
Tatiana Repnikova, Russia

Irina Kaganovsky prize:

Lenka Petrović, Serbia
Joel von Lerber, Switzerland
Nadja Dornik, Serbia

Mario Falcao Prize: Joan Rafaelle Kim, USA Ropes prize: Joel von Lerber, Switzerland

External links[]

Official website