The Full Score
Pianist wows judges and TV audience with staggering Prokofiev performance
Lauren Zhang takes BBC Young Musician 2018 title
Pianist Lauren Zhang has been crowned BBC Young Musician 2018, making her the 21st winner of the renowned competition, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. To take the title, the 16 yearold played Prokofiev’s fearsomely di cult Second Piano Concerto with the CBSO and conductor Mark Wigglesworth in front of the BBC TV cameras at a packedout Symphony Hall in Birmingham.
‘I like the character of the piece and the combination of the “bizarre” as well as the romantic qualities of the music,’ Zhang told BBC Music Magazine, ‘I’ve been playing it for quite a while and thought it would be great to play in the final.’
In the final, Zhang was joined by cellist Maxim Calver and saxophonist Robert Burton, both 18. ‘Lauren’s performance le us all breathless!’ said Kerry Andrew, chair of the jury. ‘Her exceptional level of technical skill and intelligent musicality shone through in a beast of a piece. We see great things in her future!’
The occasion marked Zhang’s debut with a professional orchestra. It was also a win on her home turf, as she studies at the Royal Birmingham Junior Conservatoire, having moved from the US nearly a decade ago. She also plays the violin, and when not mastering fiendish piano concertos is a chamber music enthusiast.
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-mason, winner of BBC Young Musician in 2016, returned to play the finale of Elgar’s Cello Concerto and to present Zhang with her trophy. Zhang also wins £3,000 and, if the experiences of recent winners are anything to go by, the performance opportunities will roll in too – appearances at BBC Music’s The Biggest Weekend and at the BBC Young Musician 40th-anniversary concert at the BBC Proms are already in the diary. But first there is the small matter of school exams. ‘I’d like to learn some new repertoire during the summer,’ she says, ‘but I haven’t really thought much further than my GCSES right now.’