Judging the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition

It goes without saying that the finalists in the Queen Elisabeth International Violin Competition had their work cut out, having to perform a concert comprising a sonata, a newly composed, unpublished work that they had just one week to study and then a concerto. And all that after the various, rigorous requirements of the semi-final, the first round and the qualifying rounds. 

But what about the jury’s task? I’m not sure that was much easier to be honest. For the finals, they listened to and judged 12 performances spread out over six consecutive evenings. How on earth the jury manages to first select the finalists and then rank them is beyond me, especially when so much about music and its interpretation is subjective. One finalist produces a seductive sonata, the next a show-stopping concerto and the only work that is truly comparable is the unpublished work (this year Agens by Cho Eun-Hwa).

Yet they did choose a winner: Ray Chen, the Taiwanese-born Australian who at 20 was this year’s youngest finalist and certainly the finalist with the cheekiest smile! That smile seemed to reflect how at ease he was, not only with his own solo part, but also with the orchestra accompanying him and performing in front of a packed Bozar hall.

Chen’s was unfortunately not one of the finals I was able to watch live, but I did listen to it via the competition’s video on demand service, where all the finals and semi-finals are available until September 15. The video may not replicate the atmosphere in the hall that evening, but it is wonderful to be able to hear and watch him. It’s a lesson in how to play in a relaxed manner, as he even manages to flash a smile the conductor’s way in the middle of his cadenza in the Tchaikovsky concerto!

In fact he seemed to enjoy the entire performance, which the audience greeted with a standing ovation. And his reward was 1st prize, 20,000 euros, numerous concerts, a CD recording and the loan of a Stradivarius violin for three years, in short what may turn out to be the key to launching a solo career. Second prize went to Belgium’s Lorenzo Gatto (whose final I was lucky enough to see live) and third place to Moldavia’s Ilian Garnet.