Queen Elisabeth’s Competition 2009!
I'm surprised because I only found a blog entry at v.com, and it's already archived, receiving no further comments....
The streaming doesn't seem to work ok from my place....any other suggestions apart from the official website? http://www.cmireb.be/en/
Could anyone having access to inside info could post here? I mean a thread like the one of the 2005 competition (wich was abandoned before the end of the competition, so there were no comments about the final results)...?
Also a blog like Caeli's for YTSO's concert, or Ben Chan insider clips....would be great, don't you think?
Replies (86)
Wow. Bram, we'd love to hear more about it from you!
I'll keep my fingers crossed for Birthe Blom -- she's Dutch.
On the podcast you could hear after some minutes that Nathan Giem is interrupted by the bell in his first piece Bach, but he could continue with the rest of the 1th round program.
It's because that he didn't stop where the players should stop.
this is what i don't like about classical music. at this level, why do you have to and how can possibly pick one winner and send the other equally brilliant ones home?!
ps. how can you (or the judges for that matter) appreciate at this level if the issue is not the player but the violin, because even to my ears, some "sound" slightly more,,,you know?
Greetings,
in this competition in the past the judges used to sit quite close to the competitor. the theory being that woudl help to neutralize part of the isntrument problem. Don`t know if they still do it but it must have scared the heck out of competitors to be faced with a line of great player sof the 20C
Cheers,
Buri
I've listened to all the competitors so far. Would someone please tell me when and how I can see them perform?
Pauline,
You can only see them from next week on (semi-finals)
http://www.cmireb.be/nl/p/2/10/82/95/internet.html
"Dankzij Belgacom kunnen de halve finales en de finales live en on demand bekeken worden op deze website. De videos on demand zullen 24u na elke prestatie beschikbaar zijn en dat tot 15 september 2009."
It says : "Thanks to Belgacom (Belgian provider), the semi-finals and finals can be seen live and on demand via this site (see link). The videos on demand will be available 24h after each performance and will remain available till 15 september 2009"
Any "must-have-heard" you encountered between the candidates so-far?
Thanks!
Thanks for the guidance and translation, Wim. I've been listening to radio4.nl as well as the QE competition, and I appreciate the good translation. Google doesn't always do so well.
While listening to the QE candidates play, I did hear a range of playing styles and abilities. There were some which sounded outstanding to me, but I didn't make notes on them because the only way I had of identifying the players was by the date, time, and order of the podcasts -- no names. In the future, I'll comment on those I especially like, and I hope others will do the same.
Woops! I just followed the link Bram gave, and there are names there.
Thank you all for the links. They have provided me with a dignified way to waste a lot of time :)
Of the violinists I have heard so far, I was most impressed by Lorenzo Gatto. When I add the Tiger, Poet and Monk scores I would have given him, he gets 28 out of 30.
For me, part of the fun is guessing the chances of the candidates. To judge an egg one does not have to be able to lay them, after all.
It is hard to say who I admire more: the candidates or the jury. It's exhausting to listen to the same music so many times, and it must be so very difficult for the jurors to listen to every participant with fresh ears. After three candidates I listen with only half an ear to the next, and the only things I notice are the occasional mistakes. But perhaps ever fresh listening is one of the things a great violinist is capable of.
Bart
Thursday I was there for the 4th time with a violinfriend. As Bart says hearing Bach and Paganini Caprice24 too much begins to irritate, so I am happy the 1th round is over and the people can hear different pieces in the semifinals. Within 1 or 2 hours the names of those 24 will be made public, because all 1th round partiticipants have played now.
I made some photo'sto give you an impression, but some are too dark or vague. www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=LTPPKDW7
Some remarks: the 3th balcon-row of the concerthall was open, so more people can see the competition. (I made some vague Photo's from that 3th balcon-row). The last 3 years they only opened the 1th and 2th balcon-row Queen Fabiola was there Thursday during the middaysession. They wait 20 with the frist candidate that day, because Queen Fabiola was too late. They had Belgian Maes-beer in the kantine and NO Vieux Temps-beer, that was a pity. I did not want to disturb the candidates so only one photo from great distance from the 2th balcon-row. The Concerthall looks bad and needs a lot of paint and plaster on the walls. In the beginning of the evening the concerthall was more crowded than during the midday session or after the break in the evening.
Thanks for the latest link, Bram. I'm looking forwrd to seeing and hearing the candidates.
I noticed that Yura Lee did not play in the first round. This is unfortunate.
I had arm injury plus family issues that needed to be taken care of urgently. Very disappointed I couldn't go... Maybe in 2012. :)
Any "must-have-heard" you encountered between the candidates so-far?
Just heard Mozart Vc#5 by Lorenzo Gatto, was dissappointed, though technically without flaws I felt there was unappealing tone quality and lacking individuality. Of course for him and the audience it was a homerun.
So far I was very impressed with Yuki Manuela Janke.
Yura, gute Besserung! Good health to you.
I had planned to listen via radio WDR3 to you tonight, as you were scheduled to play the Pleyel D major concerto, but your comment explains why you had to cancel.
So I have "gained" some additional time for QE watching, not bad either.
Haj
>I had arm injury plus family issues that needed to be taken care of urgently. Very disappointed I couldn't go... Maybe in 2012. :)
Oh, Yura, how disappointing for you! So sorry to hear about things. You know we're always rooting for you here, whatever competition you're in. (Including the competition that's called life...)
I still can't find any videos on demand, although I keep looking. Does anyone have any information on that for me?
Until this moment the VODs are not available. They say at the CMIREB site that they will be 24hrs after the presentation. But I found that also they say that the VODs are not online yet due to a Monday technical problem. They say either that it is available at the Belgacom.tv but I found nothing there yet. A bit disappointing but I hope they will post the VODs soon before the competition ends. I am watcing what I can live. So far I liked a "littlelest" bit more Feng, Janke, Cho and the moldavian guy and the Ozim slovak (Jaroslav?) pupil.
? Dalibor KARVAY from Slowakia
who just finished playing a brilliant Carmen Fantaisie?
IMO one of the best Mozart performances: by Noah B-B. from the US.
Lucas, I tried all the same things you did and got all the same messages. Maybe some time I'll hit a live podcast by chance. If you or anyone else figures out how to get VOD, please post it on this discussion thread.
The times of the live concerts and the podcasts are given, but I can't figure out how to convert the time displayed to my time. Is the time displayed the time in Belgium? How can I convert the times posted to the time for the East Coast of the U.S.?
Thanks to everyone who has tried to help me.
Pauline, here in Germany like in Belgium we have Central European Time. The sessions and Video Live broadcasts start at 03:00pm CET, so deduct 6 hours and you have US east coast time!
Haj
Plus
a link to review comments by Nicholas Blanmont in French, brief summaries of 1
minute for each player:
http://blogrtbf.typepad.com/cmireb2009/
Haj
Link to <www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=48>. this is Brussels time. you can have all the world time. at this wonderful site.
Dalibor was at the edge. wonderful. so was, Feng, Cho and Jaroslav. Gatto was very good recital but the Mozart was not as good. I think the Feng Mozart Concerto 1 was a gem.
The worst I think is the kew.klara.be site. they do not answer a thing none of their links works...etc...
There are some nice pictures ot the persons that participate in this site all laughing..I wonder if they are laughing of us the world community that cant have access at all to their information..
Finally the VODs are online. At CMIREB site and at the same link of the Live Video.
Yes, in the left-hand Search column click
Semi-final, then on artist's name !
Sometimes buffering takes some time, and it seems, not all are yet uploaded.
Haj
I am sorry to hear this Yura and I do wish you, your arm, and your family all the best ! Without you, the Queen Elisabeth Competition ain't the same...
A note from Noah Bendix-Balgley. "Hey- here's the review of yesterday. It's very good. There wasn't one in the other paper yet. . . . Anyhow, from Le Soir is good."
http://www.lesoir.be/culture/musiques/reine-elisabeth-le-lyrisme-de-2009-05-15-706723.shtml
Maybe someone else can translate.
Here are the finalists:
http://www.cmireb.be/data/presse/Final%202009.pdf
Anybody knows the teachers of the 12 finalists?
It is a pity that Solenne Paidassi is not in the final. Also Dalibor Karvay did not make it.
You could probably find out from someone who has a program.
Greetings,
Lucas,
Kishima studied under Hayashi, Togami and Toshiya Eto. She is now , I think, studying with Machie Oguri and also at the Cologne Hoschule with Zhakar Bron.
Cheers,
Buri
Here the 6 boys and 6 girls. Quite even. Who will win the battle of the sexes?:
Much more photo's (126), sometimes bad quality (too dark or moved) on www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=LTPPKDW7
Is it just me or nearly all of them use Evah Pirazzi...?
does anybody know what violin exactly who uses/used? Any info would be cool.
About Noah Bendix-Balgley:
He studied with Anne Crowden at The Crowden School in Berkeley, Mauricio Fuks at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, and Christoph Poppen at the Munich Hochschule, Germany.
He plays a Lorenzo Storioni violin (Cremona, 1779) from the Deutsche Musikinstrumentenfonds (German Music Instrument Fund) on loan from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.
Soyoung Yoon and Mayu Kishima are with Bron at the Musikhochschule in Cologne. Yoon's Mozart was so lovely. And what a wonderful player Bendix-Bagley is. Kishima is a firecracker. And why does Ray Chen remind me of Elvis, so cool. Podcasts were great through musicq3 for semi-round, and live streaming perfect reception in New York but took awhile to figure out. One would think this stuff would have easy access in the day and age. Thanks to Hugo's V.C blogging and FBing which was faster than any other source. Can't wait for next week.
Has anybody had as much trouble as I've had getting the VODs to work properly? Sometimes the videos stop in the middle and don't continue...
Eugene,
Yes, I have the same. Really irritating sometimes.
VODs not working so far ..
Both of the GARNET, Ilian concerto and recital do not play to the end. NADRZYCKI, Jaroslaw recital VOD only plays a few minutes. Most VODs are working fine. I will post the ones I am having problems.
VODs not working so far ..
Both of the GARNET, Ilian concerto and recital do not play to the end. NADRZYCKI, Jaroslaw recital VOD only plays a few minutes. Most VODs are working fine. I will post the ones I am having problems.
Had this problem, too, my solution simply was to click on the Pause/Stop button, restart again and click on the arrow bar at the place or a little before the interruption occured. Normally then there's no further trouble. The buffering/re-buffering pace maybe the problem, simply be patient and start again!
Haj
Perhaps a question for another thread - but one thing which keeps bugging me at the moment is that when one is considering violinists who are obviously at a very high level technically and musically, how much does the instrument they are using influence final judging decisions? I mean, not everyone is lucky enough to have a fantastic sounding fiddle of their own, or on loan from a foundation/government/teacher. I just wonder how often someone who is a great musician with say a $10K fiddle (amount picked out of top of my head!) that they have to work really hard with to get a good sound can compare with the kid playing a Strad on loan from a foundation.
Just idle thoughts. I also have to add I am very disappointed that Dalibor Karvay didn't get through to the final...
Rosalind,
The jury sits very close to the stage.
I'm surprised nobody has pointed out that Han Soojin snapped a string during her semifinal recital...
It's great to see Jiafeng Chen joined this thread. Jiafeng, Jia-you!
As today I can not watch anymore the VODs(they do not load). Anyway most of the VODs don't play until the end stopping at will...the quality too is awful...if you try to watch them full screen is terrible. Anyone could try and give a feedback of what happens.Maybe they are reloading the VODs again with better quality..
Thanks
It appears the server is doing an RTMP handshake but otherwise rejecting new connections. I do hope you're right about reloading with higher quality, Lucas, but I think their problems have been more than just the video data -- the servers look like they've been getting hammered.
Hello all,
I've posted a few weeks ago all information on:
http://www.violinist.com/blog/hugodepril/
About the broadcasting: all information 'how and when' at:
http://www.concours-reine-elisabeth.be/en/p/2/10/82/97/televisie.html
And last but not least via the group on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50836604449
kind regards
Hugo
Oh my ... Choi Ye-Eun just lost the orchestra behind her...
Please help, I had hoped to watch finals Live online when coming home late from rehearsals, but there was nothing.
A friend of mine had tuned in to Sat-TV (rtbf/sat ledeux), but black screen, no sound. Wondering what's wrong. Thanks for any advice.
Will belgacomTV make VOD of the finals available as they partially did with semi-finals? There still seem to be problems there.
http://video.cmireb.be/live#
some of the finals video is showing up here (session: final)
They have Vineta Sareika's and Ye-Eun Choi's videos up now.
it's interesting how different in feeling this competition is to the Indy Competition of 2006. Not to mention the noticeable absence of rabid cheerleaders and trolls on this thread. Even thought the QE is supposedly more prestigious and clearly better staged and filmed than Indy, I don't feel the same excitement that i felt for Indy. Perhaps because Indy was the first competition i watched online and then attended in person (Is boredom with competitions creeping in?) But i think it's also the competitors. I certainly don't see another on par with Augustin Hadelich among the 12 finalists picked. Having said that the one finalist i've really enjoyed hearing AND watching is Jiafeng Chen. (There are some others whose facial expressions i just can't bear to follow, i won't say more) Go Jiafeng!
Jim, I totally agree! The Indy competition seemed so much more exciting. I guess, for me, I feel like I'm not terribly overwhelmed with the level of playing in this QE competition whereas maybe 3 years ago I was more impressionable!?
Also, I'm right with you on the questionable facial expressions. One player in particular, I couldn't bear to watch for more than 5 minutes. I found myself yelling at him to stop!!
At this point, I'm rooting for the Belgian hometown hero - Lorenzo Gatto! I was most impressed by his Enescu the other night. I also thought that, even after playing that huge sonata and a modern piece he learned in a week, his Paganini concerto was really fantastic!
I agree that this time, the QE Violin Competition lacks the excitement of some of the previous editions. There is no standout competitor, there is no divisive individual, and there is no scandal in sight, and there was - so far- no memorable performance. For the judges it will come down to choosing between a little more instumental ability versus a little more musical involvement. Some will argue that this is always the case, but here it just appears to be more pronounced.
Ahahaha. totally know who you guys are talking about in terms of facial expressions :). I've really enjoyed Jiafeng chen's performances. In truth, I haven't been able to enjoy Eun-Hwa Cho's Agens. I just don't get it - but perhaps I haven't given it enough of a chance. what do you guys think?
i am sort of disspointed with the level of the finalists. i think, on average, much lower than previous editions of QE. I wasn't very musically stimulated by anyone for some reason.. That said, I think the two Chens are the strongest players and their interpretations are the only ones that seem clear to me, conveying something specific. they should probably win the highest prizes awarded.
I was deeply touched by Ilian Gârnet's interpretation of the Schosta Vc inspite of his somewhat distracting facial expressions, but I'm sure its only us and not the jury that's being sidetracked by this due to the camears zooming in to bring out these physical details.
Also Soyoung Soon's Brahms I felt was far more impressive than the rocksolid yet sterile rendering by Noah B-B.
A pity that Suyoen Kim had a blackout in her otherwise stunning Beethoven concerto. Its so nice to watch conductor Gilbert Varga as he never fails to encourage the young soloists and also his orchestra with their challenging jobs.
Haj
>it's interesting how different in feeling this competition is to the Indy Competition of 2006. Not to mention the noticeable absence of rabid cheerleaders and trolls on this thread. Even thought the QE is supposedly more prestigious and clearly better staged and filmed than Indy, I don't feel the same excitement that i felt for Indy.
Agreed. For me it's because the videos for the QE are such a hit and miss proposition. I'm just gnashing my teeth in frustration, getting bits and pieces of performances. So far I've only been able to watch one clean movement of one sonata (but, fortuitously, it was the Fauré Sonata no. 1, which I love love love). Maybe, as mentioned, it is due to their server getting too much traffic. Very frustrating, though. The Indy website and archived performances seemed incredibly easy to access, so it was easier to feel involved.
Here's an antidote.
The Van Cliburn PIano competition is being webcast right now. It's the semifinal rounds. Someone is about to start rehearsal with the Takacs quartet this instant and they're airing it!!!!
Now this is exciting!
www.cliburn.tv
Does anyone know if DVD's will be available for sale?
Yes on the DVD's. Go to the main website and there's a link. Pasted from it: "A CD box set of the highlights of the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition 2009 will go on sale on Saturday 6 June 2009."
Yay, finally catching some live feed. Ray Chen is on right this minute. The final performer, the final night of the finals. Cool!
Oh, Ray Chen's Tchaikovsky VC was WONDERFUL to watch. I so got into it, and clearly so did he. Can't judge his performance technically, but I will say that the performance really, really stirred me. I'm sad it's over! : ( (Yes, I know, that's what the VOD is there for...)
I can't imagine how disappointed I'd feel if I were a contributing member to this forum, AND had made it into the competition, maybe even become a finalist, to have other contributors on this site publicly voice THEIR disappointment that they aren't 'moved' by the performers. Could we NOT write everything we think, people? Of course we're all entitled to our opinions, we can discuss it amongst our friends, but I'm embarrassed by the lack of respect and consideration toward people who are doing their best at an extraordinary level. they're the ones who made it in, not the armchair experts who feel it is important that a lot of people know what they think of the players.
And congratulations to Ray Chen - only australian and the youngest finalist, as I may have mentioned once or twice.
Oh, and there's some good video's on you tube under 'theviolinchannel' s account.
Congratulations to Ray Chen on winning the first prize! Your performance was a joy to watch.
>Congratulations to Ray Chen on winning the first prize!
OMG, that was the news I was hoping for after seeing him play!!!
> I can't imagine how disappointed I'd feel if I were a contributing member to this forum, AND had made it into the competition, maybe even become a finalist, to have other contributors on this site publicly voice THEIR disappointment that they aren't 'moved' by the performers.
I think, in truth, that this is a reality to making it to the top tier. Your performance becomes fodder for public opinion. (Ask Joshua Bell.) I'm grateful that ppl here have been a lot more tasteful in their comments than they were for the Indy last year (where sure enough, some of the winners did view those derogatory comments and feel hurt/deflated). But, in truth, If I'd found someone's performance to be disappointing, I would probably have mentioned it here (plz forgive me, Sharelle!), b/c I'd want to see if other v.com members felt the same. Thank goodness, though, that my experience was the opposite. (Wow, for only getting the chance to watch one final concerto, I sure picked the right one!)
And let me take a moment, in light of what Sharelle said, to extend my congratulations and well wishes to every finalist and semi-finalist for the competition. This is indeed the top of the top and I've heard stories of how grueling it is for the competitors, so you all have my complete admiration and respect. And a special congrats for the top winners. Go, Ray Chen!
Congratulations to all the winners and especially Ray Chen who is best of the bests!
I can't imagine how disappointed I'd feel if I were a contributing member to this forum, AND had made it into the competition, maybe even become a finalist, to have other contributors on this site publicly voice THEIR disappointment that they aren't 'moved' by the performers.
Yes, it may be dissapointing to a performer but this is the nature of our business. We put ourselves out in front of an audience to stimulate a reaction. Music isn't very worthwile if there is no audience. We, just like the jury or the audience members that are there in person, are part of the audience too and we all have a right to our opinions. I haven't seen any comment on this thread that was purely negative - we've all got good things to say. Those of us that have been following the competition really closely all also had very high hopes that may or may not have been met. At any rate, as much as it sucks to read negative criticism, it is a part of the job and we can't rid ourselves of it no matter how hard we try. Competitors at this level are probably the ones most used to it.
>Competitors at this level are probably the ones most used to it.
Yup. The QE is not for the faint of heart. I'm agog at the thought of the stress (but publicity as well) of the competition.
Aw, I'm so glad Ray Chen won! We were at Aspen together this past summer, so I was really happy when I saw him in the finalists! He certainly deserves this.
Congrats on all the winners and laureates! Personally I enjoyed Ye-Eun Choi's performance the best for her musicality and intensity.
>Personally I enjoyed Ye-Eun Choi's performance the best for her musicality and intensity.
She's the one who did the Fauré Sonata no.1 for her recital in the finals, yes? I was only able to watch half of it before the video froze, but the first movement (which I love, love, love to begin with) was done so sublimely. It was in my head for the rest of the day. She's so beautiful to look at, as well. I was sorry she didn't place higher.
Love her Shostakovitch as well, too bad that orchestra got lost in the 4th mvt. Can anyone please post ALL her clips from the competition on YOUTUBE??? Thanks.
Ye-Eun Choi for me was the overall number 1
> Love her Shostakovitch as well, too bad that orchestra got lost in the 4th mvt.
It was not the orchestra who got lost in the 4th mvt. It was Choi who had skipped more than one page (Sikorski's edition) of the 4th mvt...!
Can someone post how to download the videos from the competition? I tried using DownLoad Helper on Fiorefox and did not work.
Allen, the servers hosting the video are not standard HTTP webservers; they use the Adobe proprietary protocol RTMP instead. Very few working implementations are available as the protocol speficiation has not yet been made open, although Adobe announced at the beginning of the year that the specification would be made available "in the first half of 2009".
And yes, Choi skipped a good minute ahead of the orchestra in the Burlesque. Very unfortunate, as I thought she was doing quite well up to that point.
From Yura Lee
Posted on May 14, 2009 at 05:52 PM
Posted on May 14, 2009 at 05:52 PM
I had arm injury plus family issues that needed to be taken care of urgently. Very disappointed I couldn't go... Maybe in 2012. :)
It is great your arm injury is over now and the urgent family issues, because I see you on the list of Hannover:
2009 Participants
• Miroslav Ambroš (Czech Republic)
• Birthe Blom (Netherlands)
• David Coucheron (Norway)
• Luis Esnaola (Spain)
• Yusuke Hayashi (Japan)
• Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä (Finland)
• Petteri Iivonen (Finland)
• Yoo Jin Jang (South Korea)
• Stephanie Jeong (USA)
• Jonian-Ilia Kadesha (Albania)
• Clara-Jumi Kang (Germany/South Korea)
• Byol Kang (Germany)
• Haik Kazazyan (Armenia/Russia)
• Yevgeny Kutik (USA)
• Hyuk Joo Kwun (South Korea)
• Li Lao (China)
• Yura Lee (South Korea)
• Mari Lee (South Korea)
• Šimon Michal (Czech Republic)
• Fumiaki Miura (Japan)
• Sayaka Nagahara (Japan)
• Nadja Nevolovitsch (Germany)
• Solenne Païdassi (France)
• Hyeyoon Park (South Korea)
• Erin Schreiber (USA)
• Vlad Stanculeasa (Romania)
• Airi Suzuki (Japan)
• Mai Suzuki (Japan)
• Evgeny Sviridov (Russia)
• Chiharu Taki (Japan)
• Yan Tong (China)
• Jing Wang (Canada)
• Ying Xue (China)
• Jung Yoon Yang (South Korea)
• Itamar Zorman (Israel)
This discussion has been archived and is no longer accepting responses.
Violinist.com is made possible by...
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins
Laurie's Books
Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine
May 7, 2009 at 05:19 PM ·
I have been there on parts of the first 3 days. You can hear all (till yesterday) candidates on the postcast: podcasting.rtbf.be/previsu/index.htm Bachpieces and Paganinicaprices they also play in 2005, but now also 1th violinconcerto Bartok with piano, a rare violinconcerto. For strange reasons the 2th violinconcerto of Bartok is more populair in concerthalls. Now they had video preselections and dimished the potential competitors form 142 to 83. Now only 68 competitors take part, 15 withdrew after the videoselection.
In 2005 they dismissed 2 candidates who were not good enough. 1 candidate could play 1 piece and the other one 2 pieces and than the bell rings. To a flabbergasted Japanese competitor the jury said blunt: "You may leave."
Now again the bell rings during a Bach-piece of a candidate (who plays it although very well), but the competitor could continue and played after that the rest of the pieces.