Review of the day: BBC Young Musician of the Year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.BBC Young Musician of the Year 98
Ulster Orchestra, conducted by Barry Wordsworth; Belfast, Waterfront Hall, Sunday 29 March
For those inclined to the view that the female teenager has far outstripped the male of the species, sunk as he is in terminal laddishness, the final concert of BBC Young Musician 98 would have provided food for thought. Four out of the five finalists were women, each radiating composure and command in equal measure. By contrast, the one male, a percussionist heaven help us, rampaged around the stage like a Tasmanian Devil.
The effect for those watching at home was not a patch on reality. The acoustic of the Waterfront is, on the whole, very favourable for soloists, and the sheer excitement of seeing these young people at work produced a very complete experience. There were staggering contrasts between the works on offer; how do you decide between the quality of experience derived from Nielsen's understated flute concerto, and Schwantner's much less interesting percussion concerto which, nevertheless, is designed to bring the house down?
It is tempting to dwell on individual performances, for example, the superb rapport between Juliette Bausor and the orchestra in the Nielsen, the concentration and energy of Adrian Spillett in the Schwantner, or Alison Farr's remarkable delicacy in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, but the tortuous detail of deciding the winner was, thank goodness, up to the judges (they went for the 19-year-old percussionist, Adrian Spillett).
The important thing to appreciate is that these young performers have relatively little experience of playing with orchestras, and great credit must go to the Ulster Orchestra and Barry Wordsworth, who gave them such sympathetic support.
And there is the question of whether listening to them performing with an orchestra is the best way of judging young soloists who have still to develop. But in the end the accolades were well deserved. Perhaps more importantly, the message was underlined that, for all the expert comment and soft-focus television can supply, music is always best experienced live.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments