The 1958-1959 “season” of the World Federation
Budapest (Liszt), Geneva, Genoa (Paganini), Liége, Munich (ARD), Naples (Casella), Paris (Long-Thibaud), Poznan (Wieniawski), Prague (Prague Spring), Vercelli (Viotti), and Warsaw (Chopin). Later on, everything was laid out in a set of simple but concise statutes covering but one page. Annual meetings, usually on the weekend after Easter, were alternatingly held in Geneva and a foreign city, each hosted by a different member competition. “Switzerland has an enormous about to contribute in this kind of setting,. Because we have a deep-rooted tradition of dialogue, of compromise, of participatory democracy. It´s natural in Switzerland. And it’s no coincidence that Switzerland is home to the headquarters of many federations. It’s a quality we’ve built up over time. We’ve been lucky enough to be spared wars, to be a decentralized country where politics has to be very pragmatic: you have to get things in all areas: religions, different cultures….We’re obliged to make it all work together. And it works!” - Didier Schnorhk (Duchene-Thégarid: “Une certaine idée de la musique”, 2014) Once established, the Federation began to grow rapidly. From 13 members in 1957, it expanded to 35 members in 1970, 54 members in 1980, and 83 members in 1990. Today, the number is around 120 competitions worldwide. From time to time some competitions are discontinued, or they simply disappear due to lack of funding, or reorganization of the organizing institution. But on the other hand, there seems to be no lack of newly created competitions either.
Pierre Colombo
Didier Schnorhk
The Federation and its history
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