Musical Olympics

Seven years ago last month, Eug;ne Ysaye, greatest violinist of his generation, died at his home in Brussels. Before he died, Violinist Ysaye had expressed a wish that his name be kept green by establishing a memorial competition for young virtuosos.

Last year, conforming to this wish, a group of Belgian musicians, led by Ysaye's lifelong friend and former pupil, Queen Mother Elisabeth of Belgium, founded the Concours International Eugene Ysaye. To Brussels, with fiddle cases under their arms, flocked contestants from 26 nations, eager to try for the bantamweight violin championship of the world. To the surprise of all, the lion's share of honors went to five young Soviet Russians.

Last month, in the presence of King Leopold III, a solemn ceremony at the Brussels Conservatoire Royal de Musique inaugurated the second Concours Ysaye. This time not violinists but pianists were to vie for honors.*From 22 nations came nearly 100 eager candidates, aged 15 to 30, chosen in most cases by national competition. Largest contingents were from England (13), Germany (12), Italy (12), France (n). Australia, China and Uruguay each sent one. The U. S. was meagrely represented by three pianists who happened to be in Europe. Only U. S. entry with any reputation in the U. S. was Ray Lev, Russian-born one-time student at Manhattan's Music School Settlement.

Goal of each candidate was the Grand Prix International Eugene Ysaye, with a check from Queen Elisabeth for 50.000 Belgian francs ($1,695). Second prize: 25,000 francs, presented by the Belgian Minister of Education; ten smaller prizes ranging from 20,000 to 4,000 francs, presented by the Eugene Ysaye Fund. Judges of the contest, named by Belgium's Queen Elisabeth Musical Foundation, included eight world-famous pianists.

Preliminaries consisted of two rounds held in the Concert Hall of the Brussels Conservatoire Royal de Musique. First round: 1) a major composition by Johann Sebastian Bach; 2) Scarlatti's Sonata No. 461 in D Major; 3) a sonata chosen by the candidate. When the first round was over, twelve nations, including the U. S., had bitten the dust. The judges were wiping their foreheads, professional critics were well wilted. But stately, sad-eyed Queen Elisabeth, in her royal box, had listened unflinchingly to 88 consecutive performances of Scarlatti's Sonata. Among the 19 survivors of Round 1, France had made the best showing, with five out of eleven candidates (four of them women) still on their piano stools.

By last week, when the twelve survivors of Round 2 were preparing to fight it out in the finals, Brussels, agog, was laying bets right & left. The twelve finalists had been moved from their lodgings to the Royal Palace in suburban Laeken. There each of them was shut in a soundproof room with a piano and a brand-new manuscript copy of an unpublished (and unknown) concerto by Belgian Composer Jean Absil, composed especially for the occasion. For seven days they sweated over this assignment, kept from contact with the outside world but allowed to walk in the Palace grounds and chat occasionally with the Queen.

Last week the great day came. From their seclusion at the Royal Palace the twelve contestants were conducted to the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels' Royal Opera House. There, before a large and wildly excited audience, and to the accompaniment of a large orchestra, each of the twelve went hammer-&-tongs at the concerto. When the last note had faded, and the jury of pianists and pedagogues brought in its verdict, Soviet Russia had won again. The winner: a 2-to-1 favorite, 22-year-old Russian Emil Guilds.

*Next year's Concours will be for orchestral conductors.

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