Live from the Queen Elisabeth Competition Violin 2024: the final roundup
BRUSSELS - Two wonderful young artists graced the podium on the fourth evening of the finals at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition 2024.
(Find the full list of winners and their rankings on this page. Find videos from the competition on this page. Here is the Youtube link with more videos.)
The only violinist brave enough to opt for a modern instrument, SongHa Choi gave a stylish interpretation of the compulsory work: Thierry Escaich’s "Variations Litaniques." Resplendent in silver glitter, it was not only her dress that dazzled but her ability to turn musical performance into storytelling.
Unfortunately in an arena where old Italian violins enticed listeners all week long, her Stefan-Peter Greiner (2005) was not up to par. Nonetheless, her Shostakovich First Violin Concerto proved that she is a masterful performer. She dared to expand her range of colors upholding the notion that vibrato is a matter of choice. Yet, another strong contender for a top prize violin notwithstanding!
The second performer that evening, Julian Rhee opted for a traditional QEIMC winner, the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Dancing both physically and aurally throughout, Rhee injected newfound whimsy into a chestnut. And, oh what a master of lush sound projection worthy of his wonderful Strad.
The fifth evening at the QEIMC in the magnificence of the Bozar concert hall in Brussels gifted the audience with two performances that transcended the competitive arena: both Kevin Zhu and Minami Yoshida soared into a stratosphere of musical greatness with their splendid Strads. And, to make matters more worth mentioning, there could not have been more contrast between the two.
The Juilliard graduate Kevin Zhu showed the intellectual prowess to deconstruct the score of Visions Litaniques and clarified many of its intricate mixed messages. Most of the other finalists played ‘safe’ by hiding under the composition’s massive orchestration, but Zhu contrasted fragility with robust fireworks.
If this was not enough to tantalize the ear, his rendition of Shostakovich Violin Concerto #1 transported the listener to a veritable battle between desperation and transcendent optimism. In contrast to Elli Choi’s beauteous ‘every note a pearl’ performance on the second night and SongHa Choi’s supremely intelligent rendition of that same piece, Zhu took massive risks by daring to plunge the depths of Shostakovich’s despair. From a Danse macabre chock-full devilish accents and coarse accents to the hushed, seemingly endless Passacaglia,one felt the angst of a composer who faced denunciation under Stalin’s regime. It took the audience a minute to recover after Zhu’s mind-blowing Burlesque, and then the hall burst forth in a chorus of bravos.
Minami Yoshida, a laureate of an impressive number of competitions worldwide opted for the Elgar Concerto, a full 50 minutes of English lushness with a tip of the hat to Brahms. Beckoning the audience into her magic mystery world of tonal sweetness, Yoshida convinced by providing an extra gloss to every phrase, especially audible in restatements of the opening movement’s poignant second theme. The Andante movement was a master class in sostenuto, and the fourth movement cadenza with its ala gitarra accompaniment provided her an opportunity to show that sweetness could coast into bravura with rare conviction.
The final evening showcased the last two finalists, Dmytro Udovychenko and Joshua Brown. It seems as if the first finalist did not pay much attention to the compulsory work saving himself for the Shostakovich's First Violin Concerto. A fragmented Nocturne in which there was a mismatch between vibrato and bow pressure was followed by greater problems in a cadenza that went astray in the Passacaglia movement. Following such a strong showing in other candidates' Shostakovich renditions, this particular performance fell short of the mark.
The poetic Joshua Brown showed his musical mettle in his rendition of Variations Litaniques and the Brahms Concerto. Generous cantilena and a wonderful sense of timing characterized the Brahms' first movement while the second movement opening needed more warmth and attention to intonation at the onset.
And now for that golden question, how does one second guess a distinguished jury's decision making? Is it really possible to achieve objectivity with regard to students past and present, even if jury members are prohibited to vote for their students? How can an Elgar Concerto vie against a Shostakovich or the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto? More significantly, does a daring performer such as Kevin Zhu’s curry favor or is the ultra-well-rounded panache of Elli Choi or Minami Yoshida rise to the very top of the prizes? Or perhaps, will the jury move toward a compromise between top runners?
From left: Elli Choi, Dmytro Udovychenko, Joshua Brown. Photo by Ben Bonouvrier.
The jury's final decision came as a total shock to the audience as there was little in Dmytro Udovychenko's performance that would have warranted a top prize. Also causing controversy was the fact that first-prize winner Udovychenko nodded to, but declined to shake hands with Russian judge Vadim Repin.
The choice for Joshua Brown as Second Prize raised the question: did the jury only wake up the last night of the competition? Audience favorites Elli Choi, Kevin Zhu, were ranked amongst the top six however other favorites including Ruslan Talas and SongHa Choi were not granted such favor.
Past history teaches that any prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition can lead to a golden future. Avid readers should check Zakhar Bron, Donald Weilerstein and other stellar musicians such as Mitsuko Uchida who were not awarded top prizes. Time will tell, the majority of the 2024 violin finalists were more than extraordinary, they were magical.
You might also like:
- Dmytro Udovychenko of Ukraine wins the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition
- Live from the Queen Elisabeth 2024: Atop the Pinnacle of Violin Competitions
- Finalists Announced in the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition
- Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition Names 24 Semi-Finalists
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Having a great instrument to play, whatever it is, does tilt things in your favor, in a competition and in auditions and anywhere you play. Finding and procuring a high-quality instrument is part of this journey. It might not seem fair, but if you don’t have one you do need to seek it out.
Heather was at this competition and I was not, but when I heard Dmytro’s playing in Montreal I found it to be top-notch and very moving. I was not surprised by this win. The level among these players is so high - I watched Joshua Brown’s Brahms and WOW! He played with so much ease and joy. I’m happy the competition fostered the kind of atmosphere that allowed these violinists to play at their best and also, as Heather mentioned in a previous story, to get to know and collaborate with one another. Those successes and connections, more than the final placement in any competition, will prove most meaningful for their futures as performing artists.
"Also causing controversy"
Tsk, tsk, tsk - Passive voice, Heather. Did it cause controversy, or were you personally scandalized and decided to pretend like it should matter to everyone, not just to you?
No, Christian, actually I will take responsibility for that wording as the editor of Violinist.com - Heather was reluctant to mention it but it was something that would be pretty remiss to leave out of the story. It would be hard to say that it has not caused controversy, both at the competition and now on the Internet. The subject came up repeatedly in hundreds of comments on the QE's Instagram page and now on Slipped Disc. Norman just put out a new statement from Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili (here's the link), who voices her support for Dmytro's decision not to shake Repin's hand.
To add a bit more context, Dmytro did bow politely to Repin, if not shake his hand. And for those who need more context than this, Dmytro's family has been directly affected by the war in Ukraine (you can read more in this interview) and his father still lives in Kharkiv. Among other things, Repin has worked very closely for many years with Valery Gergiev - certainly a fruitful musical partnership but there are some strong politics in this association. (See this article from the New Yorker.)
It's complicated, certainly.
I get it, Laurie, but the people that think this matters are already the kind of people that are part of Norman Lebrecht's panty-sniffing tabloid blog. As much as some people are REALLY riled up (and granted, some commentators seem to be), this seems like a tempest in a teapot, and a way for people to make insinuations against the competitor they don't like. But I guess I'm not above it all, since I'm putting my two cents in.
Maybe Dmytro saw that Repin had just picked a booger, or maybe he simply didn't want to shake hands with 2022 People's Artist of Russia, Vadim Repin; I wonder about the motivation of the people making an uproar about the handshake and not that other thing....
Here is what Dmytro told the Violin Channel: “This is just not a matter of any politics for me and I have personally nothing against Maestro Repin himself. He is a wonderful musician and part of the great history of this competition. But just ethically, I felt this was not the right thing to do. For me, whose parents are probably right now under bombing in the City of Kharkov (also known as Kharkiv) by the Russian Federation, to shake the hand of the person who [directs] a festival in the Russian Federation, supported by the Cultural Ministry of the Russian Federation...I just didn't feel that [it would be] the right thing [to do].”
"The jury's final decision came as a total shock to the audience as there was little in Dmytro Udovychenko's performance that would have warranted a top prize." Sorry but this statement is really not representative. It may be the author's personal appreciation but it is certainly not representative. I've followed the competition closely, been in the audience, heard the critics' opinions on national tv and radio, etc. It's nothing like that.
In the end it's just a beauty contest.
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June 3, 2024 at 07:23 AM · Apparently the wrong "wonderful" young artist won - "there was little in Dmytro Udovychenko's performance that would have warranted a top prize". That leaves me wondering what good competitions like this serve? And why three of the finalists chose the first Shostakovich concerto which is a fine piece but IMO not conducive to much technical showmanship or creative interpretation? And when three of the contestants are complimented on their "wonderful" or "splendid" Strads I can't help thinking that the playing field was somewhat tilted in their favour.