PATHS TO SUCCESS
How music competitions are essential milestones along any artist’s road
Every summer, music colleges dispense a flood of graduates blessed with technical skills far superior to those common only a few generations back. Yet the old jobs equation – one of short supply and high demand – remains unchanged. Ambitious young musicians, no matter how good, are obliged to compete, whether by joining the queue for orchestral auditions, singing for casting directors or conductors, or sending demonstration recordings to concert managers and promoters. For a select few, music competitions offer a fast-track to fame; for many others, they provide experience and insights into life as a professional soloist. ‘There are so many ways to think about music competitions,’ comments Rob Hilberink, Director of the International Franz Liszt Competition in the Netherlands. ‘Some competitions believe that what they do is like a game for audience entertainment. But many nowadays see themselves as providing a crucial link in the chain that leads from music school to the stage.’ Competitions are about more than placing emerging talents on trial; they offer participants the chance to learn by doing, to discover what it takes to work as concerto soloist with a professional orchestra against the rehearsal-room clock, and communicate points of interpretation in clear and certain terms. ‘These are things you can’t learn from textbooks,’ notes Hilberink. ‘We provide guidance to our prize winners and help them grow and learn long after the competition is over. We enable them to make the next step.’ Idith Zvi, Artistic Director of the Tel Avivbased Arthur Rubinstein International Music Society, suggests that a good music competition should amount to a celebration of young musicians. A glance at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition archives reveals a laureate list worth celebrating, with Emanuel Ax, Janina Fialkowska, Kirill Gerstein, Boris Giltburg and Daniil Trifonov among its alumni. ‘We try to make it more of a festival than a competition,’ Zvi comments. ‘We want the streets around the competition to be festive.’ The triennial event’s next outing, set to run from 25 April to 11 May, is sure to attract a loyal and knowledgeable following. ‘Our audience contributes to our competitors’ artistic development,’ Zvi observes. She is certain that the experience of connecting with an audience over three weeks as recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist carries the highest value. ‘It allows young musicians to judge whether they’re capable of having a professional career. It tests their ability of accepting rejection or even success.’ Pierre van der Westhuizen, President and CEO of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, believes that competitions have grown more aware of their place within the wider music ecosystem. ‘People used to win major competitions and were all set for a career,’ he reflects. ‘That’s generally not the case now. The winners and the competitions need to figure that out. I don’t think the goal of competitions should be like American Idol or Britain’s Got Talent. As somebody who curates a piano competition, I believe we offer a tool for young musicians as they grow and develop. Yes, our $75,000 first prize is wonderful. But it’s what you do with it that really counts. Competitions are increasingly taking on a management role
‘Competitions offer a tool for young musicians as they grow and develop’
‘If you win the Van Cliburn, you’ll be an artist on the world stage’
today. That’s the key difference to how they were in the past.’ While the range of post-competition opportunities and support has never been broader, the process of selection stands as a constant of competition life. ‘Some say that one musician should not be compared to another, but there is competition in whatever we do,’ observes Rob Hilberink. ‘Competition is a way of drawing attention to young performers. It’s a starting point, like a job interview.’ Young musicians, adds Pierre van der Westhuizen, are now encouraged to be entrepreneurs as part of their training. ‘It’s very rare to find someone making their living just from giving recitals.’ Creating work by collaborating with others, seeking advice from established colleagues and converting fresh ideas into performance opportunities belong to their portfolio career mix. The same, he continues, applies to competitions. ‘We have to think outside the box.’ Fresh thinking is set to shape the future of the Leeds International Piano Competition. Its competition’s next edition, scheduled for September 2018, will be the first under the joint artistic direction of pianist Paul Lewis and arts administrator Adam Gatehouse. The latter explains that ‘The Leeds’ has invested in strengthening its prize package. ‘We’re building on the secure foundations left to us by Dame Fanny Waterman, the competition’s founder. We strongly believe that any 21st-century competition needs to engage with the broadest possible audience and with its competitors in the most personal and human way.’ Gatehouse is determined to widen his competition’s international scope. ‘We want the Leeds to be more outward facing.’ It is a matter, he explains, of cultivating audiences and guiding winners into the profession. The competition’s first rounds, to be held in Berlin, New York and Singapore in April 2018, will be recorded for subsequent streaming online. Its semi-finals and final, meanwhile, will be streamed live and broadcast on BBC Radio 3, with the final broadcast by BBC television. Leeds audiences will also be able to follow a series of masterclasses, discussions, films and education outreach sessions as the competition unfolds. ‘Depending on where they come from, players are sometimes markedly unprepared for the harsh realities [of the music profession],’ Gatehouse reflects. He notes how audiences love the cut and thrust of competitions, although both he and Paul Lewis harbour mixed feelings about pitching musicians into gladiatorial combat. ‘On the other hand, competitions are a very good way to come into the limelight.’ One of the three Leeds prize winners will receive representation from leading artist agent Askonas Holt and engagements with, among others, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras. Paul Lewis will provide postcompetition mentoring to Leeds laureates. The quadrennial Van Cliburn Competition, among the most coveted prizes in classical music, is set to run at its Fort Worth home during May and June. This year’s edition attracted 145 pianists, judged during an extensive round of international screening auditions and reduced to the 30 destined to contest for one of six final places. ‘The most important question today is how can we help our winners stay relevant and understand that winning a competition is only the first step,’ notes Jacques Marquis, Cliburn President and CEO. The answers, he hopes, rest with the prestigious Texas competition’s package of practical support, which offers its gold medallist a three-year mentoring deal with London-based Keynote Artist Management, and career support, professional advice and global media exposure to all its winners. ‘Our goal is to help them. We’re there to give them the tools to make progress. The Cliburn is well known for offering many concerts. We want these to lead to second, third and subsequent engagements and not be the last!’ An international advisory council, comprising artists, promoters and others, can offer Cliburn winners advice on everything from repertoire selection to schedule management. ‘We’re trying to improve all the time in the way we support people,’ observes Marquis. ‘If you win the Cliburn, you’ll be an artist on the world stage within weeks. We have to be very serious about helping young musicians make that transition. That’s why we stay close to them and why it’s such a privilege to do this job.’