2014 Concours de Genève Flute Finals

 

The flute finals of the 2014 Concours de Genève were held this evening (December 1st) in the festive setting of the flamboyantly rococo and acoustically fabulous Victoria Hall. Accompaniment was supplied by the Geneva Chamber Orchestra led by Nicholas Chalvin. The luck of the draw, combined with the admirable refusal of the judges to be influenced by programming considerations when choosing the finalists, resulted in an evening that featured only two works — Mozart’s Concerto in D Major, K.314 (a transcription of his C Major Oboe Concerto, and the Concerto for Flute and Strings (1958) by André Jolivet — repeated three times each.

 

 

First to play was Elena Badaeva, 25, from Russia, whose swooping, balletic hijinks didn’t improve her somewhat airy tone and, I think, contributed to a tendency to be just under the pitch in long notes. She played with impeccable accuracy and good taste, which perhaps also led her to take less than full advantage of cadenza opportunities in the Mozart. And speaking of the Mozart, there was some wonderful oboe and horn playing from the orchestra but the strings were too often a little fuzzy around the edges. Paradoxically, the problem was less apparent in the much more difficult Jolivet.

South Korean Yubeen Kim, aged only 17, is already a real master of his instrument. Musically, his playing had life and immediacy, a way of keeping the audience’s attention without dropping the musical line for a moment which is the mark of a real artist. He already has his own signature sound — slightly hollow and chiffy, and squarely in the center of the pitch — something he manages to preserve even in extremes of register. And then there’s his infallible technical exactitude, and an attractively quiet stance in this age of more histrionic players. A real musician.

25-year-old Adriana Ferreira, from Portugal, had all the strengths of Mr. Kim, perhaps a little wilder and with less of her own stamp sound-wise but both the Mozart and the Jolivet bloomed in her performances. Despite the evening’s programming shortcomings, it really was fascinating to hear three gifted musicians bring their individual perspectives to the same two pieces. The audience bore up well under the repetitions and gave each player a warm reception.

Results

1st Prize: not awarded

2nd Prize: co-equal Mr. Yubeen Kim (South Korea) and Ms. Adriana Ferreira (Portugal)

3rd Prize: Ms. Elena Badaeva (Russia)

Mr. Kim also won both the Audience Prize and the Young Audience Prize.

by Timothy Gilligan  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY