Fifteen-year old Australian violinist Edward Walton has won 2nd Prize in the Junior finals of the prestigious 2021 Menuhin Competition. This year’s event, which was run out of Richmond, Virginia, took place digitally, culminating on Sunday 23 May with a Gala Presentation.

Accompanied by his regular pianist, 25-year-old Melbourne-based Laurence Matheson, Walton played Szymanowski ‘s Mythes Op. 30, No 1, La fontaine d’Arethuse, the Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, Allegro moderato, and Bound Away, a new commission written specially for the competition by the popular American composer Mason Bates.

Edward Walton performing in the Junior Finals of the 2021 Menuhin Competition

As Limelight followed his successful journey through the competition, Walton – who studies with Dr Robin Wilson Head of Violin at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne – spoke to us after the first round, as he prepared for the semi-finals, and after the semi-finals.

Speaking to Limelight again after winning 2nd Prize in the Junior competition, he says: “It is very hard to compare this competition to others as the experience was so different. I have attended competitions where you have one go playing...