The Reine Elisabeth competition officially started this Monday afternoon at the Flagey Cultural Center in Brussels on Monday afternoon. The competition, dedicated this year to the piano, opens with a first public test. Sixty candidates aged between 18 and 31 participate. Among them, two Belgians: Valère Burnon and Roeland Vermeulen.
During this first test, the pianists will perform the works or fragments of works that the jury will have selected from several prepared parts (the first movement of a sonata by Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven; a work of your choice; and a study by Chopin, Liszt, Ligeti or a composer of your choice). These first qualifying services will extend until Saturday, May 10, when the 24 semi-finalists will be proclaimed.
The semi-final will then take place from May 12 to 17, also in Flagey. At each session, the public will hear four different semi-finalists. The first two will perform a Mozart concerto. They will be accompanied by the Wallonia Royal Chamber Orchestra, led by Vahan Mardirossian. After the break, two other pianists will present their recital, made up of works of choice and the unprecedented work imposed, “Two Studies for Piano“, Written specially for this session by Ana Sokolović.
After the semi-final, the 12 finalists will be hosted at the Reine Elisabeth musical chapel, in particular to study an unprecedented work without external help: “Music for the Heart“, Composed for the occasion by Kris Defoort. The final will be held from May 26 to 31 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Each of the finalists will therefore play this imposed work and a concerto of his choice, with the Brussels Philharmonic led by Kazushi Ono. The proclamation of the results will take place after the last performance, Saturday evening May 31 around midnight.
The event will end with the concerts of the winners in June in Flagey and at the Palais des Beaux-Arts.
