Violinist.com

Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition Begins Thursday in Florida

January 6, 2026, 10:40 PM · The 2026 Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition (EOIVC) officially begins Thursday at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla. with the start of its Quarterfinal Round, featuring 19 violinists ranging in age from 18 to 30 and representing 11 countries.

All rounds will be live streamed by the EOIVC’s YouTube Channel and the Violin Channel. Find a schedule of the events here.

The Quarterfinal Round will take place over three days (January 8-10), followed by the Semifinal Round January 13–14 and the Final Round on January 18 at the Keith C. & Elaine Johnson Wold Performing Arts Center. For those in Florida who wish to see the performances live: admission to the Preliminary and Semifinal rounds at Amarnick-Goldstein Concert Hall is free; tickets for the Final Round are available here. Keep reading...

Comments (1)

The Week in Reviews, Op. 531: Benjamin Beilman, Renaud Capuçon, Maxim Vengerov

Laurie Niles

January 6, 2026, 12:57 PM · In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. This time we have several weeks in review! Click on the highlighted links to read the entire reviews.

Benjamin Beilman performed Dvorák's Violin Concerto in A minor with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and Andris Nelsons.

Seen and Heard International: "Beilman exhibited marvellous musicality on his ‘Ysaye’ Guarneri del Gesu violin of 1740 and was matched by magnificent playing from Dohr’s horn and Pahud’s flute."

Keep reading...

Making Violin Goals Come True This Year

Laurie Niles

January 5, 2026, 11:26 PM · Happy New Year! As we look over our resolutions for 2026, I thought I'd offer some practical advice on how to achieve big goals - beginning with a story about a rather impractical one.

Years ago, when I was studying violin pedagogy with the wonderful British violin teacher Helen Brunner, she posed the following question to the aspiring teachers in her class: "How would you go about eating a bicycle?"

We all laughed. What strange goal. She had to be joking, right? Eat a bicycle! And what does this have to do with the violin?

But she didn't bat an eye. Eyebrows went up. "Are you serious? You can't eat a bicycle!"

"Yes you can," she said. "How would you eat a bicycle?"

We went around the circle, each trying to answer this question. Hmmm...start with the tires - cut them up and put them in a salad? No. Melt down all the metal? But then it would be too hot, you'd burn your tongue. And it would cool into a massive lump - still inedible. We were stumped. Pretty soon we were begging her for the answer. Keep reading...

Comments (5)

Year in Review: Violinist.com's Best Reads of 2025

Laurie Niles

December 27, 2025, 4:00 PM · Holiday greetings from Violinist.com headquarters in Pasadena, Calif.! As 2025 comes to an end, I'm taking a little time to wind down, visit friends and family and take stock of a year that has seen some serious ups and downs. While I take some time from writing, I wanted to present to you some of our best reads of 2025 - from news events to think pieces, interviews to stories about technique and a deep dive into new repertoire. All of them are full of that human touch that we hold so important here at Violinist.com - in art, music and communication. So enjoy some good reading, and Happy New Year!
- Laurie

Keep reading...

Interviews