From 24 to 29 August 1920, in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of the master Henry VIEUXTEMPS and on the initiative of his disciple Eugène YSAYE, a series of concerts was organised at the Grand-Théâtre de Verviers, in the presence of H.M. Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. A violin competition is part of this musical week. On 25 August 1920, on the occasion of this preliminary competition, a “Queen’s Prize” was awarded to the famous violinist Alfred DUBOIS, a pupil of Eugène YSAYE, himself a teacher of the great Arthur GRUMIAUX. The “Prix Vieuxtemps” was introduced three years later, after acceptance of a donation and ratification of the rules of the event by the municipal council of the City of Verviers.

Instituted by royal decree of 2 October 1922 under the patronage of Queen Elisabeth and the Municipal Administration of Verviers, the first Competition awarding the “Henry Vieuxtemps Prize” took place on 16 February 1923 and rewarded the Liège violinist Hector CLOCKERS, first prize winner of the Conservatoire national de Paris the same year and violin professor at the Royal Conservatory of Liège from 1925.

Apart from an interruption during the world conflict of 1940-1945, which was “corrected” by the close editions of the Competition in 1945 and 1947, the Competition was organised every four years until 2006. After an edition organised in 2011, it has been associated since 2015 with the Edouard Deru National Competition, a competition for violinists (aged 23 or less) who have obtained a distinction in a musical establishment subsidised by the Belgian public authorities.

In order to restore it to its former glory and to allow it to regain the place it deserves within the most prestigious European Competitions, the board of directors of the non-profit organisation of the Artistic Prizes of the City of Verviers has decided to organise the 2025 edition of the Henry Vieuxtemps Competition without associating it with another national competition.

The Henry Vieuxtemps Competition has crowned among others : Carlo VAN NESTE, Arthur GRUMIAUX, Marcel DEBOT, Georges OCTORS, Pierre JETTEUR, Clément QUATAKER, Henri-Emmanuel KOCH, Léopold DOUIN, Mayumi FUJIKAWA, Charles JONGEN, Janos MATE, Ginette DE CUYPER, Eric MELON, Jean-Gabriel RAELET, Tatiana SAMOUÏL, Hrachya AVANESYAN, Claire DASSESSE, Vilmos CSIKOS, Leonid ANIKIN.