This year’s Queen Elisabeth Compeiion in Belgium was devoted to the violin, and showcased a set of distinct and accomplished performances by the twelve ffinalists, as Tim omfray reports

Brussels has many things to offer: a wonderful, maze-like city centre full of beer, chocolate and restaurants, and wonderful architecture. And, of course, culture. In terms of art, Magritte is everywhere, lying on the wallpaper and gracing innumerable souvenirs. In terms of music, one of the annual highlights is the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

This goes through a four-year cycle of piano, cello, voice and, this year, the violin. Out of 172 iddle players who sent in preliminary auditions on video, 71 were chosen. Some dropped out, so 63 appeared to take part in the competition, with TV and radio broadcasting every note.

I came for the third and final round, by which time there were twelve contestants left. This took place in the Palais des Beaux-Arts, an elegantly named building in the midst of an arts complex, now known rather prosaically as Bozar. At the back of the first gallery in the concert hall is a royal box, which was in constant use. The contest, known originally as the Eugene Ysaye competition, was founded by Queen Elisabeth in 1935 and is still supported by the royal dynasty. Two members of the family appeared each night, but not the same two, greeted with lots of clapping and a performance of the national anthem. (I hope they enjoyed the music: one younger royal was excused for the second half, but perhaps there was homework.)