One of the world’s most prestigious and longest-running arts events, the Queen Elisabeth Competition was created in 1937 under the name Ysaÿe Competition, with the chapter devoted to piano first held in 1938.

Subsequently named the Queen Elisabeth Competition, the next instance of the piano competition was held in 1952. It can boast such laureates as Valery Afanassiev, Brigitte Engerer, Emmanuel Ax,  Michael Ponti, and earlier, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Cécile Ousset, Lazar Berman, Leon Fleisher, Emil Gilels and Moura Lympany. An impressive pedigree indeed.

Now, the Competition is held annually, well supported by corporate sponsorship, and with quadrennial rotations of chapters for piano, violin, cello and voice.

So much depends on the quality of the entrants. Some 300 applied for the 2025 competition, the pre-selection jury (probably one of the most crucial in any competition) chose 70. All of the pre-selection jury have also judged subsequent rounds, lending consistency to the adjudication procedure. Ten competitors withdrew, so 60 played in the quarter finals, 24 were chosen for the semifinals (several of whose rounds I attended), and 12 were chosen for the finals.

Both the semifinals and finals include commissioned works. In the case of the...