The Full Score
Leeds International Piano Competition winner heads list as 2019 intake announced
Pianist Eric Lu joins New Generation Artists recruits
Eric Lu, the winner of last year’s Leeds International Piano Competition, has been named among the latest batch of young musicians to be selected for BBC Radio 3’s much coveted New Generation Artists scheme. A rising star since becoming a prize winner at the 2015 Chopin International Competition in Warsaw at the age of 17, the Chinese-american pianist will follow in the footsteps of the likes of violinist Janine Jansen, soprano Elizabeth Watts and percussionist Colin Currie, all former New Generation Artists who are now internationally renowned performers.
Other artists invited to join the 2019-21 NGA roster alongside Lu are pianist Alexander Gadjiev, violist Timothy Ridout, mezzo Ema Nikolovska, violinist Johan Dalene, the Consone Quartet and jazz guitarist Rob Lu . In announcing the new names, Alan Davey, controller of Radio 3, says he hopes that ‘this amazing group of young artists will change the world for the better by making great music. From a string quartet using period instruments to a prominent UK jazz guitarist, we are proud to reflect all di erent types of music in this year’s selection.’
Each autumn, Radio 3 invites six or seven artists and ensembles to join the NGA scheme. Their time as NGAS lasts two years and typically involves high-profile concerts and broadcasts from various venues and events including the Aldeburgh, Cheltenham and Edinburgh festivals, plus the BBC
Proms. As well as o ering its members prestigious solo appearances, the NGA scheme also brings them together for performances, sometimes leading to long-term partnerships – violinist Alina Ibragimova and pianist Cedric Tiberghien, for instance, have gone on to enjoy huge acclaim on stage and in the recording studio since first joining forces as NGAS.
This coming season is a special one for the New Generation Artists scheme, as it will be 20 years since it took on board its first group of musicians – including violinist Lisa Batiashvili, cellist Natalie Clein, pianist Paul Lewis and the Belcea Quartet – back in 1999. There are plans to mark the occasion both on Radio 3 and, of course, in BBC Music Magazine.