Everyone realizes that, regardless of the outcome of this edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Piano 2021, the coronavirus crisis had a negative impact on the entire organization and, consequently, also on the candidates. A human matter, with little that can be done about it. Good courage is something, but not everything. That courage and perseverance were there – oh so necessary, more than ever – to hold the competition under these circumstances. It succeeded. Hats off to the entire organization, all its employees behind and in front of the scenes, the jury, the orchestra members and, of course, the candidates.
H.M. Queen Mathilde, the de Launoit family and the various governments of Belgium finance the prizes for the first six laureates of each Competition.
The ranking of the laureates of the Piano Competition 2021 was announced on the last final evening (Saturday 29 May 2021, around 23:00). Due to the prevailing safety measures, the organization was forced to adapt the Competition regulations: because only six finalists were selected instead of twelve, there were no unclassified laureates this year.
Prize Winners
Jonathan Fournel - Grand International Prize Queen Elisabeth
First Prize - Queen Mathilde Prize
€ 25.000
Sergei Redkin - Prize of the Belgian Federal Government
Second Prize, offered by Federal Science Policy - Arthur De Greef Prize
€ 20.000
Keigo Mukawa - Count de Launoit Prize
Third Prize
€ 17.000
Tomoki Sakata - Prize of the Community Governments of Belgium
Fourth Prize, this year offered by the Government of the German-speaking Community
€ 12.500
Vitaly Starikov - Prize of the Brussels-Capital Region
Fifth Prize
€ 10.000
Dmitri Sin - Prize of the City of Brussels
Sixth Prize
€ 8.000
With the support of The National Lottery and some Generous Donors
the six semi-finalists not selected for the final each receive
€ 2.000
Canvas/Klara Prize: Jonathan Fournel
Klara and Canvas invite their listeners, viewers and internet users to vote for their favorite candidate among the finalists.
€ 2.500
Musiq3 Prize
Musiq3 and La Trois invite their listeners, viewers and internet users to vote for their favorite candidate among the finalists.
€ 2.500
You can find all further information about the competition on the KEW website. You can also listen again to the semi-finals and finals there. You will find information about the laureate concerts and about the recording of the cd.
Final Reflection
Please note that I am expressing a personal opinion here and that, throughout the entire competition, just as in all previous years when I reviewed the competition, I have not listened to or read any commentaries. I do this deliberately to avoid having to make compromises; to prevent my opinion from being influenced in any way.
What you read here is not the opinion of the editorial staff of Klassiek Centraal, but only mine personally: reviewer, yes, but also an individual listener. Individual as never before, because yes, at home in front of the screen is really not what it is in a full hall. At home you listen to cds that are produced precisely to be listened to at home. Where any potential mistakes can be corrected and where the approach is the recording, not the stage performance. That is a different working method and sometimes a completely different inspiration.
I mention this to you because, as far as I am concerned, listening in domestic silence was actually more difficult than in a lively hall where someone always has to cough, rustle with paper, a program booklet that falls, but also that fantastic atmosphere. Seeing the orchestra musicians come on, tuning the instruments, the presenter raising the tension, someone from the royal court who encourages the candidates with their presence, the candidate and the conductor taking their places, the breathless silence at the start, deep breathing while listening, the applause and the stress we release with it, as if the audience takes a burden of stress off the candidates' shoulders. The hubbub and chatter, more or less excited in the hall after a candidate's performance. Leaving the hall in thick crowds, the queue waiting for the toilets and then heading home to put your notes into text and place them on the website in the middle of the night, because yes, you want to quickly give your readers your impressions.
All those things are not there. It is quite unreal: you feel involved, and yet you don't get the same excitement. If a candidate seems weaker to you, you have a tendency to let your attention drift to something else from household chores. Even if it's just refilling your cup of coffee, sipping from it…
For these and many other reasons that make listening at home so different, but which also make the performance in that empty hall never comparable with all other editions, I have decided not to prognosticate - as in other years - and to accept the verdict of the jury, which is sitting in that almost empty hall. A jury that now also listens differently because the hall, that large Henry Le Boeuf hall, must really sound different than when there are 2,000 people sitting in it. It can't be helped.
And yes, still a special word of thanks to the solitary queen Mathilde, who was present at every final evening. Her encouraging presence gave an extra dimension for the six laureates. That was of greater importance in this edition than in normal circumstances.
This closing reflection I wanted to share with you. I hope that all of you, dear readers, can understand me and are also more lenient towards the candidates – however sharp I sometimes was in my notes – and let us together hope that an event like the one we had to endure never happens again. Next year, in a packed hall. The young musicians deserve that in themselves. The entire organization with everyone involved, including those we do not see, deserve that. Music deserves that.
