At the start of the event, Professor Rainer Kotzian, the university's president, welcomed the guests and thanked the Rotary Club of Nuremberg for their long-standing commitment to supporting our students. In his subsequent welcome address, Dr Rolf Müller, President of the Rotary Club of Nuremberg, emphasised the importance of such collaborations for young artists' work.
Prof. Wilfried Strehle, Prof. Andreas Willwohl, and Jun Li, accompanied by Edita Hakobyan on the piano, provided the musical entertainment. The programme included works by Johannes Brahms, Friedemann Bach, Béla Bartók and Franz Anton Hoffmeister. During the event, Prof Strehle and Prof Willwohl shared insights into the sound aesthetics and playing techniques of various violas, including the Rotary Viola and an instrument crafted by the violin maker Hiroshi Iizuka. Prof. Strehle in particular delighted the audience with memories from his time as principal violist of the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan.
Professor Willwohl also reported on this year's competition, reminding the audience that the Rotary Viola has accompanied students at the university since 2013. The viola was crafted in the Schade violin atelier in Halle (Saale), while the diamond- and gold-decorated bow hails from the Hans Karl Schmidt workshop in Dresden.
In the first movement of Hoffmeister's Viola Concerto in D major, Jun Li demonstrated the artistic strength that won him the Rotary Viola Competition. The audience applauded him and the Rotary Club of Nuremberg's sustained commitment.
The evening ended with drinks in the cafeteria.
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