The competitive advantage

How can you win at a competition, even if you don’t pick up a prize? Charlotte Gardner gleans the advice of top figures in the music industry on how to make the most of the experience

Leonidas Kavakos shakes Ruggiero Ricci’s hand at the climax of the 1986 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. The jury also consisted of (left–right) Dorothy DeLay, Ilona Fehér, Stefan Gheorghiu, Franco Gulli, Yfrah Neaman and Igor Ozim

KAVAKOS PHOTO INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN COMPETITION OF INDIANAPOLIS

Leonidas Kavakos won the 1985 International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition and came second at the 1986 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. The Ébène Quartet triumphed at the 2004 ARD International Music Competition. Ray Chen and María Dueñas won the 2008 and 2021 Menuhin Competition respectively, and Johan Dalene the 2019 Carl Nielsen International Competition. With the careers of so many of today’s biggest names, both established and rising, launched courtesy of a competition, any musician entering one would surely dream of the same thing happening to them. Yet on sounding out wider industry figures with an interest in identifying emerging talent, one hears a consistent message that you don’t need to win a competition for it to move your career forward, and that while many young artists do understand that, fewer seem aware of all the things a competition can do for their careers, whether they make it to the final rounds or not. So how can you win, even if you don’t actually win a prize? Who better to ask for advice than the agents and jury members themselves – figures that any ambitious young artist is looking to impress?

A benefit that might not immediately be obvious is the competition model itself, with the inherent pressure of having to prepare and perform a huge amount of music in such a physically and psychologically taxing environment. It’s easy to view this as a negative, but there’s another way of looking at it, according to Alasdair Tait (right), chief executive and artistic director of the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCat) and former cellist in the Belcea Quartet, someone who is often a juror himself. ‘One of the things about being a performing artist at the highest level is the stamina required to hold a lot of repertoire in one’s body at any one time, prepared to an incredibly high level, within a very busy schedule,’ he says. ‘So what matters is how you take care of both physical and mental stamina. A competition condenses the experience – it’s a huge learning curve and, in a way, a rite of passage for many musicians.’

TAIT PHOTO KAUPO KIKKAS

Further valuable learning opportunities can come through jury feedback. While one couldn’t pick a more emotionally raw scenario in which to receive constructive criticism as crashing out early from a competition, Tait’s experience has been that this very rawness sometimes allows a young artist finally to understand advice that they’ve perhaps heard before, but not fully absorbed. ‘There’s something about the vulnerability in that moment,’ he says. ‘It reminds me of situations where my own teachers would say the same thing to me for years, and I would think I understood it, but it was only three or four years later, in a different environment, that I would suddenly realise what they meant.’ One further advantage he sees to feedback is that it also imposes responsible listening on the judges themselves, because if a performance falls short for them, they have to be able to articulate exactly why.

Exposure is often cited as a benefit of competitions, and while streaming allows young artists to be seen by a much wider audience, far more important is the mix of people physically present both in the auditorium and backstage at the most prominent competitions. They represent a cross-section of the musical world at large that cares most about young artists: managers, promoters, journalists, prominent musicians and enthusiasts. Not only will these people have their own opinions, regardless of judging decisions, but they can present a networking opportunity. For example, there might be a manager in the audience whom you would like to get to know. In this case, says Lydia Connolly, artists’ agent and a director of HarrisonParrott, ‘A little note to say, “It would be great to have a coffee,” could be productive. And be clear about your schedule so that it’s easy to fix a meeting. Any prospective manager will ask what you have coming up next, so have that information ready. And be ready for something quick to happen. A manager might say, “I’ve just had a cancellation. You don’t play such and such, do you?” So also have to hand a list of the repertoire you can play at short notice – and I mean what you can genuinely play.’

Another person deeply involved in the discovery and nurturing of rising talent, and with significant jury experience, is Stephen McHolm, director of the Verbier Festival Academy and former president and artistic director of the Honens Piano Competition. Far from creating barriers between competitors, the competition context represents an opportunity, says McHolm, for similarly gifted peers to meet, socialise and establish warm relationships.‘These are the people who are going to be in your life throughout your career,’ he says. ‘They are the ones who are going to talk about you – be your backers and your support system. So make friends!’

Many competitions are increasingly adopting a festival format, with an audience – another positive development. McHolm recalls being at one of these, the Banff International String Quartet Competition: ‘The audience was really going nuts for these musicians: stopping them in the street, cheering them on. Those intimate encounters are so important. So get out and talk to the public.’

‘EVEN IF YOU DON’T WIN, PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO GET A GOOD TASTE OF WHO YOU ARE AS A COMPLETE MUSICIAN, AND TO BECOME YOUR FA N’

The Leonkoro Quartet performing at the 2022 Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, where the ensemble won first prize

CREDIT

Of course, making the most of these advantages begins with choosing to enter the right competition in the first place, and for McHolm, the most interesting ones are those that give space for each musician to be genuinely heard, via a full solo recital and perhaps also a collaborative chamber recital. ‘Even if you don’t win, people will be able to get a good taste of who you are as a complete musician, and to become your fan.’ He also emphasises the importance of looking at who’s on the jury – whether it’s musicians, teachers or a mix of other influential people, such as record label representatives, presenters and journalists. A conductor’s presence, he says, is invaluable. ‘One of the things that a lot of managers ask of young artists looking for representation is, “Which conductors have heard you play?”’

Tait, meanwhile, stresses the importance of choosing a competition that fits with an artist’s own style. ‘Every competition has its own character and type of participating musician,’ he says. ‘You can sense it in the same way that you can with a festival or concert series. There’s no point in going to a competition where every winner for the last 20 years has been from a completely different school of playing from yours.’

Now that you have chosen your competition and made it on stage, how do you impress the people who matter? Alain Lanceron (below), president of Warner Classics and Erato, who has sat on many a jury, always arrives at a competition hoping to find a special talent to record. ‘We don’t have to say yes when we’re invited to a competition,’ he says. ‘But we do because it’s interesting and, of course, we are always hoping to find that rare pearl.’ Hence, Lanceron is well attuned to the fact that it’s not always the winner who ends up with the major career. His advice? ‘Don’t do things superficially to please the public,’ he says. ‘Do things that go deep into the music. I’m looking for an artist – someone who brings something new to music I know by heart. I want to be shocked, so to speak – and interested.’ What, however, of that oft-repeated criticism that competitions focus on technique first, and personality second? ‘Any artist who’s going to sustain a career has to have the chops,’ says Connolly (below), ‘but it’s not the chops themselves that necessarily make the biggest impression. It’s what the performer does with that technique. Do you hear incredible virtuosity and at the same time that compelling musical narrative? Is this person a poet, a storyteller? When you hear the real thing it can make you catch your breath.’

‘I find that my job as a judge is, first and foremost, to be an audience member,’ agrees Tait. ‘If I find myself at the end of a performance having not looked at the score in front of me then that’s a really good sign, because someone’s connected with me.’

LEONKORO PHOTO PIERRE PLANCHENAULT/VIBRE! 2022 LANCERON PHOTO JB MILLOT–QOBUZ.COM

Hayoung Choi, first prize winner at the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition

‘I’M LOOKING FOR AN ARTIST – SOMEONE WHO BRINGS SOMETHING NEW TO MUSIC I KNOW BY HEA RT. I WANT TO BE SHOCK ED, SO TO SPEAK – AND INTERESTED’

Just be an artist. Connect with your audience. It all sounds so easy. But, of course, it’s not. Even the most natural, joyous musician may find themselves almost paralysed with fear faced with a venue bigger than anything they’ve previously played in and a jury of players they’ve worshipped for years. Similarly, it can be disconcerting for a competitor to be suddenly working with and voicing interpretative opinions to a professional orchestra and a conductor who have more experience than they are used to, and with limited rehearsal time to acclimatise. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet for this challenge, except perhaps simply to anticipate every possible scenario. Or, as McHolm puts it, ‘Prepare yourself psychologically for every eventuality.’

Johan Dalene, winner of the 2019 Carl Nielsen Competition

DALENE PHOTO KNUD ERIK JØRGENSEN. MCHOLM PHOTO VERBIER FESTIVAL

Of course, thorough preparation is key to feeling free enough on stage to respond to the music and the moment, and to communicate. For Tait, this preparation includes having a sound structural, analytical grasp of the score. ‘As a jury member, I often find that people end up focusing 90 if not 100 per cent on physical delivery, and the thing that gets lost is the ability to create a unique, creative performance on the spot. For me, that’s about having a clear understanding of what the indisputable parts are of your performance, the music’s relationships, proportions, structure. It’s into these that you can then fit the colours and emotional content that change depending on the day, the hall, the acoustic, the audience.’

‘HAVE PEOPLE YOU TRUST IN THE HALL WITH YOU TO GIVE YOU THE FEEDBACK THAT YOU NEED. EVEN THE GREATEST ARTISTS HAVE THOSE PEOPLE AROUND THEM’

While it may be tempting for a chamber ensemble to do repeated run-throughs as the competition draws closer, if a group that Tait is coaching is already on top of the musical vocabulary and how the music might sound in potentially different performance environments, he sometimes suggests they spend the final week on fine-tuning alone. ‘In the case of a quartet, that’s picking passages and thinking about balance, intonation, negotiation of musical corners, pulse, texture,’ he says. ‘It’s not doing long run-throughs, but just taking small bits and using those to create fresh perspectives. This can free up the musicians so that when they get on stage they really create and perform, because they can trust that the machine is going to work.’

Bringing in another pair of ears can be helpful, too. ‘Have people you trust in the hall with you when you’re practising,’ says Connolly. ‘Mentors, teachers and peers who can hear what’s going on will give you the feedback that you need. Even the greatest artists have those people around them throughout their careers.’

It’s not just your powers of musical communication that need to be in full working order, either. ‘Eat well, get lots of sleep, get into a routine,’ says McHolm (above). ‘You’re preparing in a repetitive way, so you have to exercise and take time to rest to avoid injury. It’s like being an athlete.’

Ray Chen in 2008, the year he won the Yehudi Menuhin Competition

Augustin Hadelich at the 2006 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, where he won the gold medal

CHEN PHOTO YEHUDI MENUHIN COMPETITION. HADELICH PHOTO DENIS RYAN KELLY JR

‘TAKE THE CRITICISM WITH DIGNIT Y. YOU DON’T HAVE TO AGR EE WITH EVERYTHING’

Creating the right impression at a competition doesn’t stop with the playing. Some believe that it takes just seven seconds to form an opinion of someone when meeting them for the very first time. In a competition, this amount of time will have passed before a musician has even lifted their instrument into position. Don’t, therefore, underestimate the importance of visual impact. ‘If someone appears professional and confident the minute they walk out on stage,’ says Tait, ‘both audience and jury will already have a certain confidence that they are well prepared and have considered the performance that they’re about to share.’

Think, too, about what you wear. It may seem obvious, but it’s something that often gets overlooked, according to Connolly: ‘It’s not great to watch an artist come on stage and think, “Well, they just haven’t bothered.” For the sake of the audience and yourself you need to show you’ve made an effort.’ Connolly also advises considering how your clothing looks and works when you walk, bow, sit down, get up again and, crucially, play your instrument. ‘Are you going to be comfortable and at ease?’ she asks. ‘You don’t want whatever you’re wearing to distract from your concentration for a second.’

Just as important is behaviour towards others. A competitor who takes out their stress on staff or audiences will linger in people’s memories afterwards, as will one who clearly takes unfavourable results with bad grace. ‘Think about what your reaction is going to be, because only you can control that,’ says McHolm, who still remembers musicians who were so bitter at not making it through to the Honens competition final that they refused to listen to the judges’ feedback. ‘What a mistake it was. They actually played very well and probably something really could have happened for them had they spoken to that head of orchestra, that journalist. Usually, juries are not unanimous. There is probably someone who liked what you did. Young musicians also have to play the game of public relations and networking, and here’s an opportunity to show your personality or even get a gig. So never think that you know it all. Take the criticism with dignity. You don’t have to agree with everything.’

But what if you genuinely suspect unfairness? ‘You just need to say, “OK, this probably isn’t the one that I’m going to win, but it is an opportunity for me to be seen in this market by these people,”’ advises McHolm. ‘Equally, though, musicians do have to realise that it’s a small world: it’s not unusual for people on a jury to have met or heard people before, even in a masterclass setting, and you can’t blame not winning on the fact that someone on the jury taught somebody.’

Of course, the disappointment at not walking away with one of the top prizes is inevitable, but that can be tempered by the knowledge that you have already used the competition experience to the best of your advantage. If you can emerge a stronger, more experienced artist with a clearer idea of where you are going and how, then that’s a win, however you look at it.