Paris Violin Contest Withholds First Prize After Gender Parity Dispute

The jury of the 2025 Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris withheld first prize after a mid-contest dispute over gender balance, according to a report on Slippedisc. The second prize was split equally between two violinists: Italy's Francesco Papa, 20, and Russia's Stefania Pospelikhina, 19.

The conflict centered on Gérard Bekerman, president of the Long Thibaud Foundation and of the competition's main sponsor. Midway through the contest, Bekerman made public what the report describes as "forthright personal views about 'feminists' and 'wokists'."

What happened at the final?

The violinists selected for the final round were three women and one man. Bekerman then demanded the reinsertion of two more men into the final, in order to achieve gender parity, Slippedisc reports. The report's author notes wryly of the eventual outcome: "Gender parity was thus achieved."

The jury's response was to withhold first prize altogether — an outcome the report links to the turmoil surrounding the final's composition.

Who sat on the jury?

The competition attracted jurors of major international standing:

• Gidon Kremer
• Maxim Vengerov
• Corina Belcea
• Boris Kuschnir, described by the report as a veteran competition wrangler

The presence of these names underscores how far the contest's standing has fallen relative to its judging panel: the Long-Thibaud, the report notes, "used to be one of the world's most prestigious contests," but has been "held with little fanfare" in this century.

What does this mean for the competition?

The report characterizes the Paris event as having become "a forum for festering conflicts" rather than a celebration of violin artistry. The account is based on what the report's author says was heard about this year's events — "Here's what we hear went on in Paris this year" — and Slippedisc does not name additional sources for the details.

The tangible results stand regardless. No first prize was awarded. Papa, 20, and Pospelikhina, 19, share the second prize equally. The prize list carries a three-woman, one-man final — later expanded at the president's insistence — into the competition's record.

For a foundation whose leader also controls its main sponsor, the episode raises unresolved questions about governance. Whether the Long-Thibaud can rebuild its earlier prestige while its leadership and jury operate at cross purposes will determine its place on the international circuit in coming editions.