Daniel Matejča has just won the 20th edition of the Eurovision Young Musicians contest that has been held this evening in Montpellier, France. The jury, formed by specialists of all áaeas of classical music, has anonymously voted, and it has decided the following top 3.
- Czech Republic
- Germany
- Norway
The rest of the participants were as follows. As usual no full breakdown of the results will be made public.
| 1 | Croatia | Ivan Petrović-Poljak | Piano | Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor by F. Liszt | |
| 2 | France | Maxime Grizard | Cello | Concerto for cello by A. Dvořák | |
| 3 | Poland | Milena Pioruńska | Violin | Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor by H. Wieniawski | |
| 4 | Germany | Philipp Schupelius | Cello | Pezzo Capriccioso op.62 by P.I. Tchaikovsky | 2nd place |
| 5 | Austria | Alexander Svetnitsky-Ehrenreich | Clarinet | 3rd mvt from Concerto No. 2 for clarinet in E flat major by C.M. von Weber | |
| 6 | Norway | Alma Serafin Kraggerud | Violin | Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso op.28 by C. Saint-Saëns | 3rd place |
| 7 | Belgium | Thaïs Defoort | Cello | 1st mvt from Cello concerto in E minor op.85 by E. Elgar | |
| 8 | Sweden | Lukas Flink | Trombone | 1st mvt from Trombone Concerto by H. Tomasi | |
| 9 | Czech republic | Daniel Matejča | Violin | 3rd and 4th mvt Violin Concerto No. 1 by D. Shostakovich | 1st place |
How did the show develop this year?
The show started, as usual, in a rather spartan way. After some images of the host city Montpellier, the hosts welcomed briefly the audience and presented Montpellier’s orchestra and its official conductor, Pierre Dumoussaud, who accompanied all the artists. The orchestra then performed an introductory piece. After it the hosts just let the show begin, with short videos presenting the 9 performers of tonight as a kind of small recap before the actual performances.
After that small video, the host took control of the show again to briefly introduce the jury who would comment and vote on the performances. Müza, the chairman of the jury and Jean Pierre also spoke briefly about the contest. The jury of the final was composed by Lithuanian pianist Mūza Rubackytė, who will act as the chairwoman of the jury,Swiss oboist Nora Cismondi, director of Festival Radio France Montpellier Jean-Pierre Rosseau, French cellist Christian-Pierre La Marca, and Albanian violinist Tedi Papavrami. Each jury member will give each participant an independent score between 1 and 10 points, judging their technical accuracy, quality of sound, interpretation and performance. In case of ties, the different jury members could debate the different positions. Apart from these scores, which have always been maintained secret, only revealing the top three, the jury members usually comment on the event in general and all the performances in particular.
After all the presentations were made, the contest started. Each performance was preceded by a postcard in which the performer could be seen talking about their relationship with music and also included interviews with some of their mentors.
Ivan from Croatia was the first one to perform at the piano. He performed Piano Concerto No. 1 in E flat minor by F. Liszt, a rather upbeat piece in which Ivan gave an impressive and energetic performance, well worth noticing.
Maxime from France was next with his cello. In the introductory video his mentor emphasized how hard working he is. He performed Concerto for cello by the famous Czech composer A. Dvořák. His performance looked less impetuous and a bit more nervous than the Croatian representative, but nevertheless perfect in execution.
Milena, the first girl in the competition, was the third one to act representing Poland and playing the violin. Her choice of piece was Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor by the Polish author of the 19th century H. Wieniawski, which could hinder her chances taking into consideration that is a lesser known author. Again a flawless performance, though Milena may have lacked more expression in her performance.
Philipp from Germany was next, the second to perform the cello. He said during the postcard that the cello gives him a big variety of sounds, and that his participation in the contest means the celebration of Europe in general and music in particular. His choice was Pezzo Capriccioso op.62 by the famous Russian author P.I. Tchaikovsky. In contrast to the previous two performances, he gave a more explicit interpretation of the piece while maintaining the level of execution.
Alexander from Austria was the fifth to perform, playing the clarinet. He started playing when he was 5. When he performs the clarinet, he is able to escape from reality. His mentor said that he is really creative in the way that he performs the instrument. His performance of 3rd mvt from Concerto No. 2 for clarinet in E flat major by C.M. von Weber was different to the previous ones in the sense that it gave more the impression of a jazzistic performance than a classical piece of music. The piece, also more upbeat than the usual, improved that perception of a nevertheless interesting performance by the young artist.
Alma Serafin from Norway was the second girl to perform with her violin. Both her parents already played the violin (her father was even in one of the Eurovision Young Musicians when he was young), so she was successful in continuing their steps. She also likes to compose music, walk by the river and be with her friends. Her performance of Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso op.28 by C. Saint-Saëns was really emotional
After a small talk with the jury, the last set of three performers began with the celloist Thäis from Belgium, who started playing cello when she was only 4. She feels free while playing it, and thinks it is a wonderful experience to play with the professional orchestra and meeting the rest of the performers. Her choice was 1st mvt from Cello concerto in E minor op.85 by the British composer E. Elgar, again maybe one of the lesser known ones in the competition. As all the performers tonisht, she gave a good performance of the piece, but maybe lacked something else to make it memorable.
The second to last artist to perform was Lukas from Sweden, playing the trombone. He says that he cannot think of him without the instrument, that he could play the trombone all day if he could. His mentor said of him that he has a very special talent. His piece was 1st mvt from Trombone Concerto by the 20th century French composer H. Tomasi, one of the most contemporary pieces of the night, with a sound which had remininscences of the films of the first golden era of the film industry. Another impressive performance, though he seemed a bit nervous in some moments.
The last artist to perform was 17-year old Daniel from Czech Republic playing the violin. His mentor said that he is able to tell a story without speaking, just with the sound of his violin. He performed 3rd and 4th mvt Violin Concerto No. 1 by the Russian 20th century author, this time more classical music-influenced though, D. Shostakovich. Daniel gave everything into his performance, seemingly enjoying every single moment of it.
After all the performances ended, a small recap of all of them was shown. After that the results were given, with Norway being 3rd, Germany being 2nd and Czech republic winning the competition.
The future
With the exiguous number of participants this year, and the little to none implication that the EBU, has had this year with the show, with almost no information about it on the social media or their webpage, the future of the contest remains uncertain. Still, and taking into consideration that it is held biannually, we will surely have more information about it from late 2023.