This Competition had a very high evaluation due to various factors; The first factor is trustworthiness in management and organization. The second factor is the program centered on concertos. The third factor is fair judgment by the jury. The fourth factor is the Sendai citizen's high interest and active support for the Competition. Aiming at increasing the participation of talented musician in the auditions held abroad, and eventually to have more who finally come to Sendai, this time we added Moscow as a new audition site. As a result, through high level auditions in abroad, we believe we could have even more talented violinists to compete in Sendai, and thus a competition of a very high level was carried out in deed.

(Excerpt from his comment at the awards ceremony)

I think this time there were more young musicians who are not only capable of handling their instruments very dexterously, but also of performing with a keen sense of ensemble. Because of this, the selection of semifinalists has given me the most difficult time, almost to the point of mental torment in having to narrow down to only 12 contestants. So I do have to mention that among those who were not selected as the semifinalists, there were quite a few who have left very strong impressions on me.

(Excerpt from his comment at the press conference)

I am convinced that all 6 finalists selected this time are surely to become the real topflight musicians, if they maintain their good work, and continue to love music and the violin throughout their trainings.

(Excerpt from his comment at the press conference)

The contestants had to exercise 100% of their ability even in the elimination round. In the semifinal round, they had to play rather difficult pieces; and in the final round, they had to compete with the piece they themselves picked by drawing from the two pieces of their pre-selection. Only those who have succeeded in overcoming many hurdles as such could finally reach the goal on this stage now. And as a jury chairperson, I am very happy and would like to congratulate you for having accomplished the very challenging task of playing those difficult pieces.

(Excerpt from his comment at the press conference)

What is required to play a concerto?

Pianist should be excellent not only in performance capability and handling instrument, but also in capability to communicate in dialogue with orchestras and conductors. With the volume and tune, they should not just unilaterally question or get complacent, but should have capability to respond to the call or inducement from the orchestra, to the tune from different instrument groups and communicate in the rhythm. Also another big factor is to understand the role of a conductor who is coordinating performers as a whole.

(Except from his comment at the awards ceremony)

Even in the rounds before the finals, it was already evident that these contestants were gifted with excellent techniques. As I listened to their performances in the final round, however, I felt they have proven to us that they also have the superb musicality as well.

(Excerpt from his comment at the press conference)