Queen Elisabeth Music Competition
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The Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, a founder member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (1957) has been, since its foundation, considered the world over to be one of the most prestigious, but also one of the most difficult in existence. It is devoted to violin (since 1951), piano (since 1952), to composition (since 1953) and to singing (since 1988). It is named after Queen Elizabeth of Belgium.
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[edit] History
Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian concert-violinist, had wanted to set up an international music competition for young virtuosi showcasing their all-round skill, but died before he could do so. Queen Elisabeth, patroness of the arts and good friend of Ysaÿe, set up the competition in his memory in 1937. The prestige of Ysaÿe and Belgium's Royal Court (King Albert and Queen Elisabeth admired heroes of the First World War) assured that the first competition would draw great entrants.
The Soviet school was the resounding winner in 1937: the great David Oistrakh won first prize without the slightest discussion. In 1938, the competition was dedicated to piano; Emile Guilels won, and again, the Soviet school was victorious.
The competition did not resume until 1951; World War II and several royal scandals prevented the competition from taking place. In 1951, the competition was renamed for its patroness, Queen Elisabeth, and has taken place under that name since then.
Entrants are expected to learn a compulsory work written especially for the competition. (The work is picked during the composition competition.) Usually there is also a section where contestants are expected to perform a work by a Belgian composer.
[edit] Patronage
The Queen Elisabeth Competition generates income from its own activities, from private patronage and from sponsoring. Resources are varied: part of the funding for the prizes laureates receive is provided by public authorities and patrons, corporate sponsors, donors contributions, ticket and programme sales, advertising in the programmes and the sale of recordings. The Competition also benefits from the volunteer assistance of families who open their homes to candidates for the duration of the competition.
[edit] Winners: Piano
- Severin von Eckardstein 2003
- Vitaly Samoshko 1999
- Markus Groh 1995
- Frank Braley 1991
- Andrei Nikolsky 1987
- Pierre-Alain Volondat 1983
- Abdel-Rahman El-Bacha 1978
- Mikhaïl Faerman 1975
- Valery Afanassiev 1972
- Eketarina Novitzkaya 1968
- Eugene Moguilevsky 1964
- Malcolm Frager 1960
- Vladimir Ashkenazy 1956
- Leon Fleisher 1952
- Emile Guilels 1938
[edit] Winners: Violin
- Sergey Khachatryan 2005
- Baiba Skride 2001
- Nikolaj Znaider 1997
- Yayoi Toda 1993
- Vadim Repin 1989
- Nai-Yuan Hu 1985
- Yuzuko Horigome 1980
- Mikhaïl Bezverkhny 1976
- Miriam Fried 1971
- Philippe Hirshhorn 1967
- Alexei Micklin 1963
- Jaime Laredo 1959
- Berl Senofsky 1955
- Leonid Kogan 1951
- David Oistrakh 1937
[edit] Winners: Composition
- Ian Munro 2003
- Søren Nils Eichberg 2001
- Uljas Voitto Pulkkis 1999
- Hendrik Hofmeyr 1997
- John Weeks 1995
- Piet Swerts 1993
- Patrice Challulau 1991
- John Weeks 1982
- Michal Spisak 1953
[edit] Winners: Singing
- Iwona Sobotka 2004
- Marie-Nicole Lemieux 2000
- Stephen Salters 1996
- Thierry Félix 1992
- Aga Winska 1988
[edit] Prizes
First Prize: INTERNATIONAL QUEEN ELISABETH GRAND PRIZE HM Queen Fabiola Prize 20,000 euro - numerous concerts - recording on CD
Second Prize: BELGIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT PRIZE 17,500 euro - concerts - recording on CD
Third Prize: COUNT DE LAUNOIT PRIZE 15,000 euro - concerts
Fourth Prize: PRIZE AWARDED ALTERNATELY BY EACH OF THE COMMUNITIES OF BELGIUM 10,000 euro - concerts
Fifth Prize: BRUSSELS CAPITAL REGION PRIZE 8,000 euro - concerts
Sixth Prize: CITY OF BRUSSELS PRIZE 7,000 euro - concerts
