Participants take a group picture for the 2018 Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The second Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition opened on Saturday, with 27 young musicians from home and abroad taking part in the event named after the late US violinist.

With a grand prize of $100,000, it offers one of the highest monetary awards among international music competitions.

Mayu Kishima, a musician from Japan, won the top prize in the event's first edition in 2016.

This year, the competition received a total of 174 candidates from 33 countries and regions. In April, these contestants completed the first round in the form of a video competition, with 27 of them entering the quarterfinals.

In the coming three weeks, they will play solo, chamber music and orchestra pieces, including a new composition by Chinese musician Chen Qigang.

The jury of 15 consists of David Stern, the son of Isaac Stern and an esteemed conductor, Professor Xu Weiling, an international award-winning violinist, as well as musicians, educators and music industry leaders from all over the world.

At the news conference on Friday, David Stern encouraged the contestants not to play it safe, but to "take a chance and a risk" and attempt to express themselves.