At the tender age of 19, Pauline van der Rest will represent Belgium in the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition 2024.
Set to be held from 6 May to 12 June at Flagey and the Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels, this twentieth edition specifically revolves around the violin.
She’s one of the 70 candidates chosen from a pool of 290 violinists aged between 18 to 31 years. Although several had to withdraw, leaving 63 participants in the running, the process saw each musician record four video pieces to apply.
Presided over by Gilles Ledure, the selection process occurred behind closed doors. The pieces selected consisted of Bach’s Sonata for Solo Violin, a Paganini Caprice, the first movement of a Sonata by Mozart, Beethoven or Schubert, and a piece of the musician’s choice.
These shortlisted candidates now face the first public competition from 6 to 11 May. Here, they will perform selected pieces or fragments that the jury, from prepared works that include pieces by Eugène Ysaÿe, Niccolò Paganini and more contemporary choices by Clara Schumann, George Enescu or Karol Szymanowski.
The semi-finals are set to take place from 13th to 18th May. The 24 semi-finalists will perform recitals with piano accompaniment and a Mozart concerto with the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, led by Vahan Mardirossian. Each performance should include a selection of works and a unique composition for the session titled “The Sun and Her Flowers” by Charlotte Bray.
The finals will be held from 27 May to 1 June. The twelve finalists will perform a concerto of their choice and a new piece composed by Thierry Escaich. They will receive this work on the day they are lodged at the Music Chapel and will have exactly a week to study it, unassisted. This mandatory piece will be performed with the Belgian National Orchestra, conducted by Antony Hermus.
Since its inception in 1937, the Queen Elisabeth Competition honours a different discipline every year. 2023 was geared towards singers, and saw South Korean baritone Taehan Kim be awarded the first prize (amounting to 25,000 euros) for his spectacular performance.
