Canada produces more hot talent under 30 than anyone else
OrchestrasNo country is producing more young classical talent at the moment than Canada. Every year, the CBC publishes a list of rising under-30s.
This week, one former nominee tragically died, another won a concertmaster post. Such is life.
Here’s the latest crop of under-30s.
Pictured: Cellist Marion Portelance, presently studying in London.
“Canada produces more hot talent under 30 than anyone else”
Source?
Well more so than Britain….who seem intent on shutting young talent down or ignoring them. Unless they’re black or trans or female.
Not certain being female (XX) is helpful these days.
…or poor or didn’t study at the Royal Academy/College or don’t come from a landed gentry family or didn’t go to Eaton… list goes on really.
Rather inflammatory headline…..
Where is the world-wide take-over by Canadian audition winners to support the assertion?
Is it hyperbole? Yes. I will note, however, that two of the hottest young pianists at the moment, prize winners at the Chopin competition, are from Québec. As are numerous high-profile young singers (Philippe Sly, Rihab Chaieb, Emily d’Angelo, Étienne Dupuis, etc.). Then there’s Kerson Leong on violin, for instance. Is every musician a Canadian? Of course not. There is, however, a strong tide of young musicians.
Where are the lists from other countries?
No such list can be taken serioussly if it does not include young phenom cellist Bryan Cheng. Those who attended his recent Berlin Philharmonie debut with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester know what I mean.
Bryan Cheng made the list in 2015. And yes, he is terrific. The list has a new crop of young talent put forward every year.
Bryan was on that very list back in 2015…at age 18.
He was included many years ago, this list highlights NEW talent and Bryan Cheng was included when he was still a breakout star.
Maybe so. But let’s hope that they are given sufficient time to grow and mature as artists.
It is true that Canada is strong in this department, but South Korean successes and those of young Finns (per capita that is) are not too shabby either.
There are indeed!
Here are few names that come to mind:
Yaanick Nezet-Seguin
James Ehnes
Bruce Liu
Jan Lisiecki
Timothy Chooi
Blake Poulliot
Kerson Leong
Marc Andre-Hamelin
Jon Kimura Parker
Leila Josefowicz
Bryan Cheng
Julliette Kang
Glenn Gould of course
And…
Stewart Goodyear
Charles Richard-Hamelin
Barbara Hannigan
Russell Braun
Gerald Finely
Gryphon Trio
St. Lawrence Quartet
New Orford Quartet
Emily D’Angelo
Ema Nikolovska
Michael Schade
Marie Nicole Lemieux
Karina Gauvin
And living composers:
Sammy Moussa
Dinuk Wijeratne
Nicole Lizee
Stewart Goodyear
Poor, provincial Canada.
Holiday time? Such an uninteresting and unclarified ‘news item’.
Looks like the future of classical music in Canada, at least, looks especially rosy! They must be doing something very right!!!
Indeed, it’s quite surprising given that musical instruction is not particularly strong (Québec’s conservatoires, for instance, are grossly underfinanced). But then there are some top-class institutions. In Québec, McGill’s Schulich music school is outstanding, as is the Université de Montréal’s school (Dang Thai Son, the 1980 Chopin winner teaches there, where he taught Bruce Liu). There are a number of excellent academies at Orford, Lanaudière, Domaine Forget, Banff, etc. Finally, Canadians – especially francophones – have the advantage of being able to reach both the American market and the French one to start their careers.
But more generally, Canada has a lot of smaller, regional orchestras which may not attract world-class soloists but will readily invite young Canadian emerging talents. Also, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain have consistently promoted and supported young rising soloists.
What is making a talent ‘HOT’. A nice (sexy) dress? Her makeup? A nice hairdo? Because someone is telling me she is ‘hot’. I looked at some photos of Marion Portelance in ‘daily’ life, and she seems quite a normal ‘neighbour’ person. I thought this ‘sexist’ approach (sex sells) is in the past, guess not. It still works.
I remember once a review of pianist Helene Grimaud, the reviewer expected a glamorous ‘hot’ musician, and not the ‘bus boy’, yes she was ‘dressed’ as one. Simple (though classy) blue outfit with pants and for sure no heels. The music spoke, not her.
The adjective “hot” has many, many definitions, only one of which has any sexual connotation. I believe the CBC’s use of the word is more fitted to this Oxford definition: “Extremely good, splendid; very skilled, knowledgeable, or successful.” A perusal of the list should prove that there is no emphasis on physicality, and one would be better served to seek out audio examples than to focus on Facebook photos.
*According to the CBC. State media. No surprises here.
The children under Trudeau will not be so lucky 10-20 years from now.
I wasn’t aware that Mr Trudeau was giving music lessons or that the Federal Government was in charge of education. I thought it was a provincial matter.
Canada supports its young classical musicians better than almost any other country.