The Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium was launched in 1951. It quickly became one of the most famous competitions in the world and has been won by such renowned virtuosos as Fleisher, Ashkenazy, Laredo and Repin. When Queen Elisabeth of Belgium agreed to be the patron of the musical competition created in 1951, she gave a new lease of life to the Ysaÿe competitions held in Brussels in 1937 and 1938, which had been won by the great Soviet virtuosos David Oistrakh and Emil Guilels. But could she have imagined that, fifty years on, this competition would still be the most prestigious of the international competitions that appeared in their hundreds after the Second World War? For this is the great achievement of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, supported by Belgian radio and television and an enthusiastic and loyal audience.
This story has been told in several books but, as the exceptionally intense moments in the finals show, music needs to be seen as well as heard for optimum impact. For 2001 all the elements required for an unprecedented journey into the past have been assembled. Cypres has joined forces with the Competition and Belgian radio and television to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Queen Elisabeth in grand style. For the first time, the story of the famous competition is told in all its intensity using restored and digitalized sound recordings spanning half a century.
All the early winners, but also a selection of notable later laureates, the finest Belgian laureates, the finest unreleased concerto recordings: these 12 CDs, presented as a luxurious boxed set, follow the history of the Competition in sound. From 1951 to 2000, more than 900 minutes of music have been chosen, remastered, and, often for the very first time, released on CD. The boxed set includes a specially written introduction, in which the history of the Competition, its venues, juries and repertories, is allied with the history of the media that ensured its popularity (radio, television, record).
In 50 years, the Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium has been the vehicle for revealing immense talents. Listen to these young laureates in performances, most of which have not hitherto been released.
Artists
Leonid Kogan (violin), Julian Sitkovetsky, Berl Senofsky, Eugène De Canck, Jaime Laredo, National Orchestra of Belgium and Franz André, Jaime Laredo (violin), Charles Castleman, National Orchestra of Belgium and Franz André, Charles Castleman, Frank Braley, Stephen Prutsman and Brian Ganz, Frank Braley (piano), Stephen Prutsman, Brian Ganz, Valery Afanassiev (piano), Daniel Blumenthal, National Orchestra of Belgium and Georges Octors, Daniel Blumenthal (piano), Markus Groh, Vitaly Samoshko, Alexander Ghindin (piano), Vadim Repin, National Orchestra of Belgium and Georges Octors, Vadim Repin (violin), Aga Winska, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Sylvain Cambreling, Aga Winska (soloist), Thierry Félix, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Marc Soustrot, Thierry Félix (soloist), Jozef De Beenhouwer, Stephen Salters (soloist), Andreiana Rosca-Geamana, Ana Camelia Stefanescu (soloist), Eleni Matos (soloist), Olga Pasichnyk, The Academy of Ancient Music and Paul Goodwin, Olga Pasichnyk (soloist), Marius Brenciu, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Marc Soustrot, Marius Brenciu (soloist), Marie-Nicole Lemieux, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Marc Soustrot, Marie-Nicole Lemieux (soloist), Lazar Berman (piano), Leon Fleisher, National Orchestra of Belgium and Franz André, Leon Fleisher (piano), Malcolm Frager, National Orchestra of Belgium and Franz André, Malcolm Frager, Vladimir Ashkenazy, National Orchestra of Belgium and Franz André, Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano), Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Evgeny Moguilevsky, Symphony Orchestra of the RTB/BRT and Daniel Sternefeld, Evgeny Moguilevsky, Philippe Hirshhorn, National Orchestra of Belgium and René Defossez, Philippe Hirshhorn, Gidon Kremer (violin), Marina Bondarenko, Peter Zazofsky, National Orchestra of Belgium and Georges Octors, Peter Zazofsky, Alexei Michelin, National Orchestra of Belgium and André Cluytens, Alexei Michelin, André De Groote, National Orchestra of Belgium and René Defossez, André De Groote, Ekaterina Novitskaja, Yuri Egorov, Andrei Nikolsky, Mitsuko Uchida, Symphony Orchestra of the RTB/BRT and Daniel Sternefeld, Mitsuko Uchida (piano), Abdel Rahman El Bacha, National Orchestra of Belgium and Georges Octors, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Mikhaïl Bezverkhny, Bella Rakova, Edith Volckaert, National Orchestra of Belgium and Michael Gielen, Edith Volckaert, Yuzuko Horigome, Pierre-Alain Volondat, Johan Schmidt, Mikhaïl Faerman, Symphony Orchestra of the BRT and Irwin Hoffmann, Mikhaïl Faerman, Nai Yuan Hu, National Orchestra of Belgium and Georges Octors, Nai Yuan Hu, Miriam Fried, Symphony Orchestra of the RTB/BRT and René Defossez, Miriam Fried, Yayoi Toda, Dana Protopopescu, Nikolaj Znaider
National Orchestra of Belgium, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, Academy of Ancient Music, Symphony Orchestra of the RTB/BRT, Symphony Orchestra of the BRT, Franz André, Georges Octors, Sylvain Cambreling, Marc Soustrot, Paul Goodwin, Daniel Sternefeld, René Defossez, André Cluytens, Michael Gielen, Irwin Hoffmann
