QUEEN ELISABETH 2024 for VIOLIN: Personal reflection

Huge applause for the Belgian National Orchestra...!

“The violinists were accompanied by the Belgian National Orchestra, conducted by conductor Antony Hermus, with masterly skill and extraordinary adaptability.” (DHnet)

“Titanic work, meanwhile, is being done by the Belgian National Orchestra and its principal conductor Antony Hermus. Chapeau!” (Trouw)

15 scores prepared, 16 full orchestra rehearsals, 1 recording-session, 2 days of me visiting the 12 finalists in the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, and finalemente 6 incredible finalist evening concerts at Bozar—all in just TWO weeks… 😅

What a deeply inspiring wild ride it has been…! 🍀

Curious as I was to find out about each of the finalists, I met these 12 extraordinary young musical personalities for the first time at the Chapel, a little before their orchestra-rehearsal. Most of them were already in isolation, and over two days, we bonded over interpretations of their chosen concertos (and of course over the “#garnalenkroketjes” at lunch). 😋

Dayoon and Minami had chosen ELGAR, one of the longest violin concertos written, not belonging to the standard repertoire of our orchestra, very challenging in terms of rubato and balance (and in normal circumstances needing a lot of rehearsal time - leaving me a little worried). But on my heartfelt question “For goodness-sake, why Elgar?…” Minami (6th prize) responded with the only right answer: “It’s my dream to play this piece with orchestra...”. And as Walt Disney already said: “All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them”. Well, both Minami and Dayoon did - brilliantly - as did the others, in sometimes very personal interpretations of their beloved concerto. 💥

The compulsory work, “Variations Litaniques” by Thierry Escaich tested everyone’s mettle, causing some initial panic, but ultimately leading to collaboration and mastery. The piece was rhythmically and ensemble-wise quite tricky, and during one of our dress rehearsals, Joshua (2nd prize) revealed to the orchestra that all finalists had real fun practicing the Escaich TOGETHER, in order to get grip on it… So, truly inspiring teamwork: one of them playing the solopart, and the others performing some orchestra parts on their instruments and a piano (and someone even attempting to conduct it…)! 🎻

Every final-evening in BOZAR was a special experience, but behind the scenes there was so much more than what the audience saw. 🌟

30 minutes before every dress rehearsal and during its break between candidates, I met up with each finalist in their dressing room, to discuss Escaich and to plan their 100-minutes-rehearsal in detail. Of course there was always a highly professional exchange, but especially these intimate moments revealed to me also their vulnerability, ranging from "quasi-self-confidence" to extreme exhaustion, from cold hands to hugely worrying, from control-freak to laissez-faire. And therefore sometimes some little (or even more decisive) pep-talk before entering the stage was highly appreciated. 🤗

The pressure on these young violinists has been immense. After a week in isolation (no phone, no TV, no nothing), they performed in front of the entire musical world, showcasing both the compulsory work and their chosen concerto. The media coverage—across TV, newspapers, and social platforms—has been great and extensive. One thing I learned for myself is, that while everyone is entitled to have their opinion (of course, it's a competition), it's important to remember to always express it with the respect these talented musicians and their musical partners deserve. 🧐

The mission of the Belgian National Orchestra and me was to get to the essence of each candidate's unique interpretation in the very short rehearsal time that was available. We aimed to give them confidence, peace of mind, and some inspiration to really shine on stage, also adapting with phenomenal flexibility to many of their "in-the-moment" decisions during their concert (that occasionally in the case of Escaich even meant: “skipping a few bars”…) 😅

On this place I want to throw a huge virtual bouquet of flowers to ALL of the amazing musicians of our Belgian National Orchestra. Not only because of their extraordinary and very disciplined playing in the whole competition, but also because of their unwavering support of all finalists—both musically and mentally. They played the obligatory work of Escaich at least 100 times, always with patience, always with an encouraging smile and sometimes even a naughty joke (ask Ruslan: Marc and Olsi had a very funny change-of-violin-trick with him!). Special thanks to our concertmasters, Alexei and @Misako, who leaded the orchestra with such great musical conviction and who always started a nice welcome talk to the young virtuosi. To our tireless staff that organized everything so well, from little sandwiches to costume issues. To Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg who helped me balancing all concertos. To Bram for writing such an interesting BLOG about his experiences. And also a special thanks to Ignacio, Robby, Anouk, and Isabelle (maybe also others?), who played really e-ve-ry single note of their parts of e-ve-ry piece in e-ve-ry rehearsal and e-ve-ry concert - on Saturday even making time to record a video with Twoset Violin (stay tuned!) 🙏

Huge congratulations to the great organization and the jury of one of the best and toughest music competitions in the world. And a massive shout-out to all finalists (Anna, Dayoon, Dima, Elli, Hana, Joshua, Julian, Karen, Kevin, Minami, Ruslan, @SongHa) and to all sensational musicians of our Belgian National Orchestra. Here’s to the music, the dreams and the unforgettable journey! Good luck to all of you on your highly promising path. You are all stars, and it was a true honor to be your conductor for the marvelous Concours Reine Elisabeth 2024. 😊