Half the Queen Elisabeth violinists are American

Half the Queen Elisabeth violinists are American

News

norman lebrecht

May 19, 2024

The 12 violin finalists were named last night in Brussels.

Six are American, three Korean.

Most are seasoned competitors, aged 22-25.

Joshua Brown

· Hana Chang

· Elli Choi (pic)

· SongHa Choi

· Anna Im

· Julian Rhee

· Karen Su

· Ruslan Talas

· Dmytro Udovychenko

· Minami Yoshida

· Dayoon You

· Kevin Zhu

Comments

  • zandonai says:

    Fyi SD editor, you always need a hyphenated zqualifier when talking about Americans. In this case they are Asian-Americans.

    • Tiredofitall says:

      No, you don’t. Americans are Americans. The one hyphenated exception, of course, are Xenophobe-Americans. They occupy their own space, on earth and in heaven.

    • Todd says:

      One does not have to be a lefty woke racist,
      but one also does not have to be a classic type of racist which your comment kinda exemplifies.

  • Tweettweet says:

    I thought Julian Rhee, Kevin Zhu and Dmytro Udyvochenko played fantastic recitals in the semi-finals. I still have to watch back some others.

  • Gerry Feinsteen says:

    Most likely winner: Kevin Zhu. Brilliant. Beyond competition level.
    Most memorable artist: Dmitry Smirnov.
    They’ll definitely impact with or without The QE.

    Continue to be forgotten: winners from 2012, 2015, 2019.

    • guest says:

      They are my two least favorite candidates. Kevin Zhu has brilliant tone at times, but does not have the musical maturity of the other competitors and Dmitry just has a horrible tone.

  • Giora says:

    Kevin Zhu first prize!!!

  • Jeffrey Biegel says:

    Labeling “American” probably thirsts for focus. There are second, third and beyond generations American, or new citizens (perhaps dual citizens) who came to the US for studies more recently. It could help clarify each participant’s profile if country of origin is part of their application.

    • Kris says:

      Not to mention Americans living and working abroad..?

    • Tiredofitall says:

      What thirsts for focus is their performance before the jurors. Period.

      Shall we include sexual orientation and other information that is not relevant?

    • Homer says:

      A quick search shows they’re all born in the US. If they weren’t but became citizens, they’re still American. Do you want their blood type or something?

    • zandonai says:

      To further complicate things, can they compete for their parents’ native country like some Chinese-American Olympic skier who chose to compete for China? (presumably for big $$$$)

  • Marc says:

    Kevin does look and sound pretty special. Here’s a clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV-zjegN0Qc&t=14s

  • Dani says:

    I hope Julian Rhee wins 1st prize!

  • E Rand says:

    And 3/4 are Asian.

    White supremacy strikes again!!

  • guest says:

    I’m not sure if Hana Chang has a korean heritage, but five of the competitors are for sure either Korean or of Korean heritage.

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