It came as no surprise when jury chair Alison Balsom announced from the stage in Bristol Beacon Hall on 24 September that 17-year-old pianist Ryan Wang had won the 2024 edition of the BBC Young Musician (BBCYM) competition (see News page 6). Wang’s performance of Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Ben Gernon, had been greeted rapturously by the audience, concluding a thrilling concerto final and a competition that took a very different shape from previous years.
Instead of working their way through heats dedicated to specific instrumental categories, the performers were invited to submit video entries organised into eight regions, from each of which two musicians progressed to live auditions at the BBC’s new studios in Cardiff. A further 34 were added irrespective of region, so that a total of 50 players performed short recitals for the panel of three judges: trumpeter Balsom; pianist Alexis Ffrench (who is artistic director of the ABRSM); and multi-instrumentalist, composer, conductor and DJ Hannah Catherine Jones.
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