At the annual Gramophone Awards in London tonight, Jan Lisiecki finds himself admitted into an august circle of previous winners of the Young Artist of the Year Award — a circle that includes pianists Yuja Wang and Benjamin Grosvenor. It’s an occasion to celebrate — and to question.
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
It’s not that Lisiecki isn’t a great pianist. Even before he turned 18 last spring, he already played with the poise and maturity of a seasoned pro.
It’s not that Lisiecki isn’t worthy of Wang and Grosvenor’s company. Like every other great musician, he has found a distinctive voice in a sea of more than able musicians who may never distinguish themselves from the crowd.
It is that Gramophone has chosen to make the distinction between a Young Artist and — what? — an older artist? A more mature artist? A more experienced artist?
Everyone in the classical music business is trying to celebrate youth and youthfulness in an attempt to lure younger listeners and audiences. It’s an obsession that creates two classes of performer: the shiny new object and the stale-dated veteran.
On the one hand, this draws attention away from the insight that maturity can provide. On the other hand, it creates the impression that there is something special or different or more worthy of attention in the young person than in the older.
Then there is the Young Artist label itself. Does it imply that this person could or will one day be a regular Great Artist, but isn’t quite there yet? Can’t we already compare Yuja Wang and Jan Lisiecki favourably to Martha Argerich and Richard Goode?
Yes, the young musicians will evolve with the passing years, and may not even recognize themselves artistically three decades from now. But Argerich and Goode’s approach and interpretations are also ever-evolving creatures. If they weren’t, their music would likely cease to be interesting.
The thing is, we’ve bought Lisiecki’s Mozart and Chopin concertos and Chopin Études, which he recorded at Toronto’s Koerner Hall in January, because we like how he interpreted them at the very moment the microphone was turned on, not at some indefinite point in the future.
The critics, myself included, who have lauded Lisiecki’s work have done so based on standards that would apply to a 90-year-old as much as this teenager.
Gramophone magazine’s Young Artist of the Year Award is not old. Lisiecki is only the seventh recipient. Hopefully this award and its sponsors and judges will mature, cross an imaginary date line of the soul, and realise that it’s not youth but content that matters.
John Terauds
- Classical Music 101: What Does A Conductor Do? - June 17, 2019
- Classical Music 101 | What Does Period Instrument Mean? - May 6, 2019
- CLASSICAL MUSIC 101 | What Does It Mean To Be In Tune? - April 23, 2019
