BBC Young Musician of the Year Finals - BBC Four

[Alison]

Perhaps not until Laura figures on Sky Arts will Mr P give the huge credit surely deserved now.

[Barbirollians]

I do agree. The cellist rightly won tonight, but it wasn't a vintage final. And as for the presentational style, I also agree- I don't know who those two were with CBH, or who the other presenter was doing the backstage interviews- or whether she had any musical knowledge whatsoever; but they all seemed to be chosen as much on looks as anything else. And a little constructive criticism wouldn't have gone amiss, rather than insisting that every performance was the greatest in the history of classical music.

I really hope the BBC rethink their approach to Young Musician before the next contest, but I fear it will just get worse rather than better.

I could not disagree more about the cellist . I thought her performance was far from " contained " it was quite superb.

She also goes to a comprehensive school so three extra cheers for her !

[Barbirollians]

HS I did not look at the rest of the panel very closely but Paul Lewis is surely one of the very best UK pianists around ?

[ardcarp]

how on earth did that recorder player win the woodwind section and then get through the semi final? Excrutiatingly out of tune. No evidence to me of any musicianship or musical phrasing.

Oh dear HS. While I respect your views about the rceorder (without necessarily sharing them) I think you're a bit harsh about the young, talented player. I personally enjoyed her playing very much. And a bit of 'note-bending' is part of the recorder player's art. The competition is called Young Musician of the year; so it is perfectly possible to be a fine musician playing something outside the 'standard' set of symphony orchestra instruments plus piano. How about an organist next year????

[mercia]

CBH and the two blokes with her- (who were they?)

Eric Whitacre
Milos Karadaglic

I think

[amateur51]

Perhaps not until Laura figures on Sky Arts will Mr P give the huge credit surely deserved now.

[Barbirollians]

I do agree that the BBC TV's choice of experts - a choral composer of incredible inanity and a pretty boy guitarist hardly matched Angela Hewitt who i think they had last but Nicholas Daniel was good on Radio 3.

[Mr Pee]

Perhaps not until Laura figures on Sky Arts will Mr P give the huge credit surely deserved now.

Really rather pathetic. I have not mentioned Sky in this thread. You have.

But I'm sure BSkyB are grateful for the publicity.

And whilst I congratulate Laura on her win, I do not believe that this was a vintage final. The Walton was a good performance but not outstanding, the pianist was mechanical, and the recorder player was, as HS mentioned, frequently out of tune.

[Flosshilde]

I totally agree with this comment, Mr Pee.
Regarding the final itself, how on earth did that recorder player win the woodwind section and then get through the semi final? Excrutiatingly out of tune. No evidence to me of any musicianship or musical phrasing.

Just novelty value, I suppose, but what the decision says about the judges sums up the whole contest for me.

Wanabe experts judging wanabe virtuosi.

HS

Ah well, maybe they'll ask you to be on the panel next time.

[salymap]

I am glad my earlier choice, the cellist won. I had to leave before her performance [sciatica pain] but hope to hear the Walton concerto today.
And I thought the recorder player was all over the place, but a brave try.

[Hornspieler]

HS I did not look at the rest of the panel very closely but Paul Lewis is surely one of the very best UK pianists around ?

Yes. Agreed - but who were the other judges and what were their qualifications?

Was Paul Lewis on the judges' panel for the woodwind section competition? Or any of the other judges who judged the final?

A low budget exercise, it seems to me - and an insult to all those gifted and hard working contestants.

In typical BBC/TV fashion, the credits were run through so fast at the end that it was impossible to read any of the names. Would we have recognised them if we could?

A great result. The winner deserved her triumph in the end.

So that's all right then? Not for me!

HS

[Mary Chambers]

Guy Johnston's quite a well known cellist, isn't he? He was one of the judges for the final.

[Bax-of-Delights]

I missed the recorder finalist but caught the piano and cello concertos. I've always liked the Walton and is not overplayed on R3. Good luck to the winner.

However I was intensely irritated by the bellowing, hyperventilating, adjectival verbosity of CB-H who crashed in a nano-second after each soloist to tell us what a stupendous performance we had just heard. Thanks for letting us know CB-H but I think we can make up our minds. And the inane backstage interview immediately after each performance. I turned to Mrs B-o-D and said: "I know just what she is going to ask." And on cue she did:
"What a stunning performance! How do you feel?"

[Mary Chambers]

Agree the presentation is all very silly. The interviews are like the ones at Met Opera cinema showings, where they interview the singers as soon as they come offstage. It's the same at Wimbledon - "How does it feel to have just lost the final?". A stupid media fashion.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I turned to Mrs B-o-D and said: "I know just what she is going to ask." And on cue she did:
"What a stunning performance! How do you feel?"

One of these days, someone is going to say exactly what he/she feels about being asked that stupid question.