Ray Chen, student of the great Aaron Rosand, takes first prize at Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition
Ray Chen, a 20-year-old Australian, won the Queen Elisabeth Competition, one of the violin world's highest honors, in Belgium over the weekend.
Competition victories don't necessarily translate into big careers, but, judging by the filmed highlights of Chen's performances (I've included some here), I'd say he's got a good shot at making a mark. His playing reveals considerable finesse, personality, elegance. And he certainly has a solid musical pedigree, if you will, for he's a student of Aaron Rosand at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia.
Some of us consider Rosand to be ...
one of the greatest (and most underrated) violinists of the past 50 years, so the news that one of his students triumphed at this major contest is most welcome. In a way, it validates Rosand's artistry at the same time that it confirms Chen's.
Here's a stylistically diverse sampling of Chen's competition-winning performances in Brussels:
