German violinist is first winner of $100,000 Warner prize
mainThe New York-based violinist Augustin Hadelich has been chosen as the first winner of the Warner Music Prize, worth $100 grand and a big career boost. Hadelich was chosen from 16 musicians aged 18 to 35 who played a solo at Carnegie Hall last season.
The others were mostly singers – Sarah Shafer, Jennifer Zetlan Jamie Barton, Rachel Calloway, Cecelia Hall, Alisa Kolosova, Peabody Southwell, Aubrey Allicock, Evan Hughes and Dominic Armstrong – plus violinist Itamar Zorman; cellist Brook Speltz; double bassist Roman Patkoló; harpist Sivan Magen; and pianist Behzod Abduraimov.
The run-up to the prize was soured by a boardroom bust-up between Carnegie Hall chairman, Ron Perelman, who later resigned; and the hall chairman Sir Clive Gillinson who had planned a gala with the prize founder, Len Blavatnik.
Hadelich, 31, is a popular artist who overcame severe burns and trauma in a family-farm fire in Italy when he was 15. He had to relearn the violin after a year’s enforced idleness.
We’re delighted for him.
One does notice that Blavatnik who happens to sit on the Carnegie board also
owns Warner- can there be a ……heavens no!
Cellist Brook Speltz joined the Escher Quartet – one of the finest of current quartets – this past summer.
And WHO is this “guitarist” he’s recorded with, this “violinist” as well as a whole list of other people I could be mentioning!? This business would be much improved if it was feeble, then one could at least put it to sleep, where it might willingly heal!