On the beat
Cloud coverage
Online-only competitions have become ubiquitous in the past year, and competitors have had to adjust quickly to this new way of assessment. Where does the future lie?
By Peter Somerford
News and events from around the world this month
Read all the breaking news in the string world online www.thestrad.com
Yuchen Lu performs in the online final of the 2021 Klein Competition
As the Delta variant of coronavirus surges across the world, travel restrictions and local epidemiological situations are forcing some international string competitions to go ahead fully or partly online. In this second year of digital editions, are elements of best practice emerging? And what lessons can jurors, participants and organisers take from the virtual experience?
Going fully online can open up international access to a competition for both applicants and audiences. Such was the experience of this year’s Irving M. Klein International String Competition, run by the California Music Center (CMC) in San Francisco. CMC executive director Marcy Straw says that 2021 was a record-breaking year for the contest, with 128 applications from 16 countries.