Music Competitions

Competitions are an essential way of discovering the next generation of brilliant performers. Here you can read about a selection of the finest from around the world

There’s something irresistible about music competitions. Their appeal is about more than watching young musicians as they strive to win prizes, although the elimination process is usually compelling, often controversial. Audiences at the world’s top competitions can later savour the ‘I was there’ moment, the thrill that comes from catching rising stars at the start of their careers. Those who heard Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Bryn Terfel in BBC Cardi! Singer of the World competition final thirty years ago, the great Battle of the Baritones, will never forget it. Daniil Trifonov has likewise become a household name among classical musicians. But he will always hold a special place in the hearts of all who heard his winning performance at the Moscow International Piano Competition eight years ago.

The cut and thrust of competition does not suit everyone. Some contestants struggle with nerves, others react against what they imagine juries want to hear. The music competition pressure cooker, like its counterpart in sport, can unsettle even the coolest of customers. Many of today’s best competitions, though, are looking for all-round musicians, emerging talents with the chops required to deliver a grand concerto and the sensitivity to perform chamber music. The past decade has seen a broadening of set-piece repertoire lists and, in some places, room for contestants’ own compositions. The combination of pieces large and small, new and old, has proved positive for competitors and audiences alike, not least by avoiding the tedium of hearing six performances of the same work in rapid succession.

In their final stages, competitions have become much more like concerts. While initial rounds are there to test technical mastery and measure a certain fearlessness, semi-finals and finals cast the spotlight on musicianship. Seasoned competition watchers and jury members know that the latter has always been in short supply. Look at the names of competition laureates since the early 1960s and you’ll see that the likes of Maurizio Pollini, Vladimir Ashkenazy,

Lisa Batiashvili, Vadim Repin, Gustavo Dudamel and countless other top-rank artists launched their careers with prizewinning performances.

It’s the job of competitions to separate technical wizards from true artists, a subjective business that sometimes sparks heated jury room arguments and draws audience sighs when the winners are announced. Seen from the perspective of a performer’s career development, however, falling short in a competition can often prove more valuable than victory. There are lessons to be learned here about artistic freedom, about letting go of ideals of technical perfection in pursuit of a complete vision of a composition, stamped with personal insight and imagination. Set those things in order and the prizes will follow.

No matter what happens on the night, the great thing is that competition audiences are always on the side of contestants, always willing them to do their best.