Competitions: for Horse or for Artist?

By Chris Billingham 

Hungarian composer and pianist Béla Bartók (1881-1945) once stated that “Competitions are for horses, not artists”. We rather like competitions, and believe that they have a great deal to give musicians in terms of professional development, and can even be enjoyable, for both performers and audience. However, as Bartók says, a competition has a different role to play to a concert or recital. What Bartók couldn’t predict, however, was the advent of technology. Has technology changed the way artists view competitions? Southern Sinfonia will soon be holding the final of our Newbury Young Musician of the Year competition and our new Quartet in Association, the Villiers Quartet, is currently assessing a record number of entrants for their VQ New Works Competition. Between our own and national competitions such as the BBC Young Musician of the Year currently taking place, as well as the Royal Over-Seas League competition and the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, it’s the perfect time to try and work out for whom competitions are of benefit.

Bartók’s comment is undoubtedly rooted in a question many musicians have had in their lifetime; how can you judge one form of art against another? Matthew Forbes discussed this here just a couple of weeks ago, and former Newbury Young Musician of the Year winner Drew Steanson explained in these pages that “Music is for people; in competitions one is often compared to fellow musicians, whereas in a concert the audience is there just to hear how you play and hear your enjoyment of the playing, not what you can do, not what you can’t do.” This, therefore, makes an artist vulnerable. For young musicians this can have a lasting impact, and it is thus crucial to make this a positive experience for all participants. However, is it not also fair to say that competitions can serve an additional purpose, in the modern world? 

Live stream of the VQ New Works Competition 2012 in action

As the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition revs up to the final on 18^th May, reviews and thoughts on all the performers are appearing in digital newspapers, blog articles and throughout social media. Digital technology allows people to talk about every musician, assessing their value and promoting them to a wider audience. This is potentially the biggest counterargument to Bartók’s statement; the promotional opportunities and artistic experiences that competitions in the 21^st century can offer musicians propel them away from being a platform just for “horses”, as they may have been in the 20^th century. 

Additionally, modern technology has allowed for the nature of competition to evolve. The VQ New Works Competition gives composers the opportunity to submit compositions, narrowed down to six and premiered by the quartet online. These are then narrowed down to three pieces via an online vote, which are then performed in the Final, at Kings Place, and the winner decided from an international live stream of the concert and a second online vote. In 2014, new and emerging talents that would have found it difficult to break through in the past can enter innovative competitions like this one. Additionally, by putting the first set of finalists online, the audience become the judges, allowing for a wider set of opinion and tastes to be considered.

Newbury Young Musician of the Year 2012
Drew Steanson in concert with Southern Sinfonia

There are many reasons Southern Sinfonia are proud of our competitions. Our contestants are valued; everyone has a platform and a stage to display their talents and the judging criteria takes into account a range of factors. Perhaps the most important aspect to us is that entrants get the valuable experience of playing in this context. Drew points out that he doesn’t think “many students around the world get an opportunity to play with an orchestra as fine as Southern Sinfonia”, referring to his NYMY prize; a concerto with the orchestra, conducted by David Hill. 

Our Newbury Young Musician of the Year final will take place on 15^th June; you can find out more by clicking here. The Villiers Quartet will be announcing the finalists of the VQ New Works Competition soon; find out more about this by visiting their website. 

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