UNIQUELY TALENTED
‘Thanks to the internet, performances are sounding more and more similar, ’ writes Albena Danailova (Life Lessons, April 2019). Had she been present at last year’s Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hanover, she would have witnessed six performances that were not only technically immaculate but also utterly individual in terms of style and personality. Likewise at the Menuhin Competition in Geneva last April, the de¦ning attribute of all the ¦nalists was their unique individualism. I also note that many of today’s competition winners are products of certain tutors, for example Zakhar Bron – but who would claim that the sound worlds of Vengerov, Repin and Hope are too similar-sounding?