Strings Final BBC Young Musician

For more than three decades,

BBC Young Musician has been shining a spotlight

on the UK's most talented young classical performers.

It has launched the careers

of some of the biggest names in the industry,

and the list of previous winners reads like a who's who

of British classical music.

Two years ago, 15-year-old cellist Laura van der Heijden

was the name on everybody's lips.

The winner of BBC Young Musician 2012 is Laura van der Heijden.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

MUSIC: "Cello Concerto" by William Walton

In a memorable final at the Sage Gateshead,

she captured everyone's hearts

with a sublime performance of the Walton Cello Concerto

to win BBC Young Musician 2012.

It really was such a special evening. I was so lucky to be there.

Laura's performance has stayed with me ever since.

Her musicality, charisma,

and technical mastery of the instrument was simply breathtaking.

Winning the BBC Young Musician basically gave me a career.

Before, I had to ask people

to let me play in front of them,

and now I get asked to play for people.

So, who will follow in Laura's footsteps

and become the next BBC Young Musician?

You'll be able to follow the competition

through to its conclusion

here on BBC Four over the next four weeks.

Nearly 500 entered.

Now just 25 remain.

We'll be following their journey

as they attempt to become the next BBC Young Musician.

It takes years of practice and dedication to reach this standard.

Be prepared for tension, passion and some phenomenal music-making.

Welcome to BBC Young Musician 2014.

The last two years have been a roller-coaster ride.

It was the biggest musical experience of my life.

Nicola Benedetti.

The BBC Young Musician is the important competition in the UK.

This competition's for people

who want to be the best at their instrument.

It just lifts your playing to a different level.

These are young musicians who've really dedicated their lives

to being the best they possibly can be.

I'm extremely grateful to the competition

for making my dreams a reality.

This is really, really quite something.

If you can cope with it then you can cope with anything.

It will be an unforgettable experience for them,

which will make them love music even more.

It's been the most amazing start

to what I hope will be a long career in music.

For the second competition running,

the category finals and the semifinal will take place here

at the Royal Welsh College of Music Drama in Cardiff.

And this magnificent venue provides the perfect environment

for all of our young finalists

to perform to the very best of their abilities.

Being in this competition is a daunting task, though.

I took part in the competition back in 1998

and made it through to the final.

I can remember so clearly walking out onto the stage

to face the cameras and that intimidating line of adjudicators.

BBC Young Musician really is a valuable experience

and can be a fantastic stepping stone

towards a successful career in music.

APPLAUSE

Tonight, we begin our coverage of BBC Young Musician 2014

with the strings category final.

In just a few moments, we will meet our talented five string players

all hoping to impress the jury and secure their place in the semifinal.

But before we do that, let's look at the competition structure

and how they made it this far.

The standard required to take part in BBC Young Musician

is incredibly high.

Just to apply, you have to be grade eight or above.

Nearly 500 entered this year's competition.

After two tough audition rounds,

25 young performers were selected for these category finals.

Five each in strings, percussion, woodwind, keyboard, and brass.

The winners of each category will progress through to the semifinal,

where they will perform against each other

for three places in the grand final.

You will be able to see full coverage of the final

here on BBC Four on May the 18th,

when it returns to the Usher Hall, Edinburgh,

after a ten-year absence.

The three finalists will each perform a concerto of their choice,

accompanied by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra

under the baton of award-winning conductor Kirill Karabits.

One will be named BBC Young Musician 2014.

When the final was last held at the Usher Hall back in 2004,

a young violinist named Nicola Benedetti walked onto the stage

and, in front of a home crowd,

gave a performance that would change her life.

Over the past ten years, she's built an international reputation

as one of the country's leading performers and recording artists.

She combines a busy concert schedule with education work

and a commitment to promoting classical music.

I didn't even think you could do that!

This year, BBC Young Musician welcomes her back

as its first ever ambassador.

Clemency Burton-Hill spoke to her recently.

Nicola, tell us how you got involved in this ambassadorial role.

BBC Young Musician gave me such an enormous platform.

I owe so much to the competition.

It just... I was sort of desperate to get involved somehow.

And how do you think the role will play out?

I think what I've been really quite keen on

is to maintain more of a supportive role towards the competitors.

There aren't that many people that know what it feels like

to go through those competitions.

There are not that many people that understand the pressures,

understand and can pre-empt the questions

that those young people need to know the answers to.

And quite often, they don't know the questions themselves.

They can feel nervous... And you're a teenager!

And you're a teenager, and you're trying to work all of this out.

And, in actual fact, what you want to do more than anything else

is just develop your playing.

And what about a competition like BBC Young Musician?

What role does it have to play in terms of getting that message out

about how extraordinarily talented some of Britain's kids are

when it comes to classical music?

Well, I think celebrating excellence

is always something we should all rejoice in,

and BBC Young Musician has always advocated for that,

and that's an incredible thing.

But I think the unusual thing about this competition

is its community spirit.

It has much more of a kind of inclusive,

nurturing feeling about it.

It's more friendly.

This is the first time that the final's returned to Edinburgh

since you won it - does that feel quite special?

I am already getting nervous and excited about it.

I'm just hoping I keep my cool

so that I can offer some decent advice to the...

to the finalists.

Well, you are an inspiration, Nicky, to all of us,

and an amazing ambassador for this competition. Thank you.

So, thank you. Thank you.

APPLAUSE

And Nicola will be with us for the final on May the 18th.

So much to look forward to over the next four weeks, and there is more.

This year, BBC Young Musician

has introduced a brand-new award for jazz.

You will be able to see the first ever jazz final

right here on BBC Four on May 23rd.

And we will be telling you a little bit more about that

later in the series.

Now I think it's time to meet the five performers

who've made it through to the first of this year's category finals.

18-year-old violinist Elizaveta Tyun comes from Russia

and studies in the UK.

I decided to enter BBC Young Musician

because it's always a nice experience to meet other musicians,

to find your place among them.

And, yeah, it could be the start of a nice career.

Also playing the violin, aged 17,

Roberto Ruisi from Birmingham.

I have to believe that if I play at my very best

that I've definitely got a chance to win it.

Violinist Dogyung Anna Im is 16

and comes from South Korea.

Just to be in, like, one of five in those many, many people...

..I'm really proud of myself.

Harpist Juliana Myslov,

aged 17, is from Hertfordshire.

Entering a competition, you have to know where you're heading,

Entering a competition, you have to know where you're heading,

cos then you can push yourself to... to achieve it.

And last to perform, and the fourth violinist in this strings final,

William Dutton, aged 19, from Harrogate.

To be here today in Cardiff,

there's a great buzz and a vibe going round the whole place,

and I'm really excited about performing tonight.

Five incredible young talents.

As a classical guitarist,

I've been looking forward to this strings final for weeks,

and I hope that in two years' time,

there will be a guitarist here to make me proud.

But never mind.

For three very important people,

there is a tough night of decision-making ahead.

So, let's meet the judges. They are...

Violinist and former competitor Jack Liebeck.

I would like to see someone who really can step up to this stage

and emote some wonderful musical ideas

and someone who's got that real joy of performing.

Internationally renowned harpist Catrin Finch.

More and more we see that it's the personality

that the audience fall in love with

and so, of course, it's a major part of what we're looking for.

And director of the Cheltenham Music Festival

and our general adjudicator Meurig Bowen.

I'm going to be looking for an inner strength,

the ability to handle the highs and lows of a career in music,

and to gain a sense that this person has not only a musical intelligence,

but an emotional intelligence too.

So, we are almost ready to hear the first performer

in this year's BBC Young Musician category finals.

Five very excited performers are waiting backstage.

First on is 18-year-old Elizaveta Tyun.

From Russia, Elizaveta is currently a full-time student

at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester.

Two years ago, Mr Repko, my teacher, came to St Petersburg

to give some masterclasses, and he invited me here.

And I said yes.

One of the professors, they asked me to have a listen to her,

and I was very impressed with her playing.

She hardly said a word, was very quiet,

but I could sense a deep enthusiasm and really wanted to play.

It's really the sort of inner passion in her playing,

the clarity, the purity of her expression.

She's a good musician. She's a very, very good musician.

As well as studying the violin, Elizaveta is taking her A-levels

in music, history and English literature.

Thou wouldst trust me then.

OK, can we go back over that, please,

and just sort of pick things up...?

Yes?

Maybe it has got something to do with taste.

Like, taste of forbidden fruit. Maybe it means pleasure.

Yes, that's right.

In-between schoolwork, violin practice and chamber music,

there is not a lot of time for much else.

I like reading as well.

That's why I've chosen English literature at school.

Although she's a long way from home,

she never misses an opportunity to share her mother tongue.

"I love, I like..." Oh, it's the same. Ya lyublyu... Mm-hm. ..edu.

Ya lyublyu... Actually, you know, "eda",

and, you know, "ya lyublyu", so...

Ya lyublyu edu. Yeah. Spasibo! You're welcome!

Whether it's leading the quintet she's formed or the school orchestra,

she's earned the admiration of her fellow students and teachers alike.

She's quite quiet and reserved, you think,

but there's this kind of unexpected humour

that she comes out with now and again, which is great.

I mean, her playing, it's so strong and confident, powerful.

She's a good leader to play with.

Two, three.

She's leading the symphony orchestra at the moment.

I came into to rehearsal the other day

and found her at the beginning, sorting out all the chairs,

running round, getting everybody organised,

and there was this quiet girl getting everybody sorted out.

It's quite fabulous.

I miss my friends, I miss my parents,

but I see them every two months...

and everyone here is very welcoming.

So, I feel like I'm home here.

On one of those rare visits back home,

there is a chance to catch up with friends and family.

Her parents are both language professors

at the University of St Petersburg.

Next year, she will go on to study

at the Royal College of Music in London

and, by now, the family are well used

to this travelling musician's life on the road.

The first time she left, she was ten.

She went to Switzerland with a series of concerts,

and that was quite an adventure,

because she was the smallest in the group.

It's not the question

of whether you like it or you dislike it.

If you are a professional, you do it.

You do it seriously.

I think this is the main thing. She has become more serious about that.

And here is Elizaveta to open this strings category final.

I'm playing Meditation by Tchaikovsky.

It's a very nice piece

and I feel quite the same, because Tchaikovsky wrote it

whilst he was away from home from Russia.

APPLAUSE

Next, Elizaveta is going to play Subito

by the 20th-century Polish composer Lutoslawski.

It was composed especially for a competition in 1994,

so I thought it would be a nice piece to play for a competition.

APPLAUSE

Well, we're off to a great start.

It's always really hard going first,

but I thought Elizaveta did really fantastically.

She held the audience's attention,

she played with great aplomb and grace.

You opened the show and you absolutely nailed it.

How did it feel? Oh, I really enjoyed it.

I think that's the most important thing.

And I hope the audience enjoyed it as well. I think they did.

They were electric. Elizaveta played very, very beautifully.

I especially enjoyed the sort of stillness

to her performance of the Tchaikovsky.

She just sort of let her playing do the talking.

She's obviously a thoughtful musician.

She's not into sort of extrovert show for the sake of it.

Overall, I enjoyed the Lutoslawski more than the Tchaikovsky.

I think she was more relaxed in that piece and there was more...

a broader sense of character

and really getting into the style of that piece in particular.

It's so beautiful and you made us all proud. Now go rest.

I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Bravo. Thank you. Ciao.

Now, it's worth mentioning that this category

has produced more of the overall winners of BBC Young Musician

than any other.

8 out of 18 have been from this category.

Next to stake their claim is our second violinist,

17-year-old Roberto Ruisi.

For the past three years, Roberto has been leader

of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.

It's one of the greatest privileges that I've had the experience

to be a part of.

He was just 15 when appointed - the orchestra's youngest ever leader.

I remember standing there on the first day, I was terrified.

Felt out of my depth.

He's a born leader, I think.

And not a leader by the words, by the speech, but leader by example.

So, exemplary playing, leads the whole section behind him

and, actually, the whole orchestra, to improve themselves.

I believe he's a very, very bright prospect for the future

to become a virtuoso soloist.

Roberto goes to King Edward's School, Birmingham,

where he's studying for an International Baccalaureate

in music, Italian, English, maths, physics and philosophy.

Roberto?

He observed that in the natural world,

everything seems to have a purpose, telos, or a direction.

When he's not performing or theorising about music,

sport plays a large part in Roberto's life.

I like the fact that Robbie's mucked in with school life,

and I'm particularly delighted by his hockey career,

which annoys the music teachers no end.

The fact that Robbie turns out as centre forward for the third 11

whilst being the best musician we've had in the school for 40 years

is a great thrill to us.

I've been trying to get him banned from playing hockey

for the last three years. It's...

It can be a lethal...game, and you get injuries.

And, of course, his fingers are going to be his livelihood.

There's been a few times where he's gone into tackles

and I've just gone, "What is he doing?"

Especially with his hands, you get a broken finger fairly easily, so...

Obviously I'm happy to have him involved in the hockey,

but there's been times where I'm just like...

with your music career, I wouldn't be going into that tackle, Robbie.

From September, Roberto will be studying

at the Royal College of Music in London,

following in the footsteps of his brothers,

cellist Max and violinist Alessandro.

Good. That's good. Nice to see you.

It's crazy you're going to be in London next year.

You're making me feel really old!

Although it is really nice that the three of us

are going to be in the same city now. Yeah.

Especially if we're going to be still studying at the same place.

It's going to be really odd. The three of us bumping into you!

The trio's early enthusiasm for music-making

came as a bit of a surprise to their non-musical parents.

It started when our eldest, Max, he was about eight and a half,

and came home with a cello, and I said, "What's that?"

He said, "It's a cello." I said, "Well, you can take that back.

"You're not playing cello." He said, "I am. I've been picked."

And then my second son saw a violin and said, "What's that?"

So, that was it.

And then by the time I had Roberto,

he was three and demanding a small violin.

And that was it. He was hooked.

So, here is Roberto Ruisi.

Just three days ago, his violin broke

and tonight, Roberto's playing on a borrowed instrument.

He begins with the second movement from Britten's Violin Concerto.

It's fiendishly difficult.

It's notorious in the violin world and it's really great to play.

It's also got an incredible cadenza at the end of it,

which I'll be playing.

But, yeah, generally, it's certainly

one of the most technical pieces I've ever played, actually.

From the 20th century to the 18th. A violin sonata by Bach.

'It's a complete change in mood from the Britten.'

Hopefully, I'll be able to convey it as this relaxing

but also extremely emotionally deep piece, which it is.

APPLAUSE

'The Gershwin and Heifetz is It Ain't Necessarily So.'

I know with a piece like that that I will always end it with a smile

no matter what's happened, erm,

so I think it's a really good way to end the programme.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Fantastic playing from 17-year-old Roberto Ruisi.

Three very contrasting pieces, and right at the beginning

so fiery you could even see the hairs flying off his bow.

That was absolutely mesmerising, and so much drama and energy,

but I hear there has been a lot of drama with the violin.

How did she behave tonight?

Yeah, OK.

I mean, it's been hard in the last few days

just trying to get it together and try and get used to it,

but I certainly did as best as I could.

This was a really satisfying programme,

three very different pieces, and I think he inhabited

the styles of those three different pieces beautifully.

'He chose a very difficult programme, but he handled himself really well'

and showed, I think, that he's capable of a polished performance.

'His Bach was very beautiful, on the romantic side of Bach playing,'

I think, and sometimes quite full-throated in his way of

singing out the Bach line.

'And his Gershwin was really great.'

So far, we've heard from two fantastic violinists

in our String Final.

'Next, another violinist, and the youngest competitor of the evening.

'16-year-old Dogyung Anna Im.'

Somerset - and Millfield School at the foot of Glastonbury Tor,

training ground to many a sporting legend.

But for one student, while others are out playing, she's practising hard.

But for one student, while others are out playing, she's practising hard.

With the school building a reputation in music,

Dogyung Anna Im accepted a scholarship,

leaving her home and family in South Korea.

Millfield does have a reputation as a sporting academy,

but people here, from the headmaster and senior management,

are keen to redress that misconception, I have to say.

She is on a reduced academic timetable

to allow for her violin study.

Try a bit more direction into this, er, to the D there.

HE SINGS # D... #

After successes at numerous competitions in the Far East,

which led to playing in front of the Thai Royal Family,

Anna was encouraged to leave her home to come and study in the UK.

Good, well done, and now the piece starts properly.

OK, so, marcato.

Real articulation.

'She's a very driven musician, very secure.'

She has a good deal of consistency which,

when it comes to competition playing, is a big plus.

But learning the violin hasn't always been rosy for Anna.

'At first I absolutely hated it.'

Now it's kind of like my life now.

It's just, like, me.

There's nothing else to talk about except music now.

Next year, Anna is hoping to study in the US

and is preparing for an audition at the exclusive Curtis Institute.

What we can't provide at Millfield is like-minded people,

like-minded players of that calibre.

After the string final, she gets on a plane,

flies to Philadelphia and auditions that day for the Curtis Institute.

So it's a tough couple of days, and, er, fingers crossed.

It's a challenge, and I think it's a great,

great opportunity for me in my life.

Meanwhile, there is still time to introduce her fellow boarders

to the pop stars from back home.

So, Anna, what's the name of the boys on your wall?

G-Dragon. Taegoon.

Taegoo.

It's only about, like, they're fit.

LAUGHTER DROWNS SPEECH

For now, Anna travels to London every Friday for lesson-packed

weekends with a professor from the Royal Academy,

South Korean violinist So-Ock Kim.

Instead of slapping it.

Yes.

'She has a lot of, erm, natural gift for the violin.'

She has a knack of being able to play the instrument very freely.

However, she is still very young

and so there's still a lot that she needs to learn.

But she's getting there, and she does already play very beautifully.

Yeah, that's better.

APPLAUSE

'For the Strings Final, Anna has a very special guest in the audience.

'Her mum has flown in from South Korea to hear her play.

'She begins with the 1st Movement from Brahms' Sonata in A Major.'

There's some bits that are, like, so, so beautiful.

I feel like I can't play that bit cos it's so beautiful.

I feel like, "I'm terrified to play this." So beautiful.

APPLAUSE

'Next, it's Kreisler's Recitativo and Scherzo.'

The first, Recitativo, you can kind of play with the rhythm there,

and, like, rubato, and I can feel that it's really intensive.

'The Scherzo, I heard loads of people playing it like etudes,'

but I'm trying to not play it like that.

I'm trying to play it a bit fun, yeah?

Yeah. Like a caprice.

APPLAUSE

'Dogyung Anna Im, just 16.'

What a great performance. She seemed so at home on stage

and her sound was so rich and colourful throughout.

Anna, congratulations.

You did so beautifully, they were eating out of your hand.

How did that feel?

Erm, I was a bit nervous in the Brahms,

but I think I couldn't have played the Brahms better.

You certainly played it so beautifully.

The Kreisler I'm especially impressed by because I think she

brought to the music some new things that I've never heard people do.

She's obviously a really, really talented violinist,

very, very beautiful to listen to.

An enormous range of colour and sense of adventure in her playing.

Very cultivated, sophisticated, mature performance, I think.

Very cultivated, sophisticated, mature performance, I think.

And I hear another thing, that your mum flew in. Er, yeah.

Did it make it easier for you, more friendly?

Mm, I still can't believe that she's here.

I'm really, really happy. I'm so happy for you. Thank you.

And you made your mum so proud, I'm sure, and all of us here,

and you have such a fantastic future in front of you.

and you have such a fantastic future in front of you.

Thank you so much.

So far, the Strings Final this evening has been

the Battle of the Violinists, and there is still one more to come.

Up against them is 17-year-old harpist Juliana Myslov.

SHE PLUCKS REPEATED NOTE

SHE PLUCKS REPEATED NOTE

'I started playing the harp when I was five,

'but I kind of knew that'

I needed to play the harp around four-ish.

Erm, I don't think there's a logical explanation to it,

I just kind of decided, erm, yeah.

And, erm, I think my mum was a bit wary of me

starting the harp considering it's so expensive and big.

Juliana lives in Hertfordshire with her Russian mother Sofia.

'We never had an issue about practising or whatever,

'because, you know, it was madness'

in our financial situation to do harp.

So if she will not practising,

I will not allow her to fooling around, and we will stop this all.

And that's why it never, never happened.

If I would say, "We will do it in a few years,

"when our financial situation will be better,"

then maybe she will lose all the interest.

It is necessary to give the child what she want,

in the right time.

With a full scholarship to the nearby Purcell School,

Juliana enjoys art as well as music

and feels there is a strong link between the two.

I've always really liked art

and I'm not particularly great at traditional art forms like drawing

and painting, but I like to look at different ways of portraying stuff.

It's probably cos of my synaesthesia that I feel quite a link

to music and art.

Whenever I hear stuff or certain words have a real colour to them

so it's always interesting to kind of match them up

and what you get from a painting or what you get from a sound

and how they go together - it's interesting to look at that.

Her teacher at Purcell is internationally-renowned harpist

Daphne Boden. Very nice. That's beautiful.

You tend to start it a tiny bit too slowly.

Try and think of the semiquavers in your head before you start it

and really take your speed from there. Off you go.

I mean, she has so many strengths in her playing.

She has a wonderful sound. She's an excellent sight-reader.

A very, very musical player.

I used to criticise her a lot for spreading her chords

very, very slowly.

'Maybe it's something with being Russian. I don't know.

'She gets very, very involved in the romantic side of things,

'but she's so enthusiastic about everything

'and she's an absolute delight to teach.'

She's one of the most outstanding pupils I've ever, ever had.

One, two, three, four.

As head of department at Purcell and conductor of the school orchestra,

Kevin Hathaway has learnt to appreciate Juliana's many strengths.

Kevin Hathaway has learnt to appreciate Juliana's many strengths.

Juliana is one of those people I would take anywhere

as a true ambassador for the Purcell School.

Juliana seems to be quite a master at such a young age

at drawing you into the performance.

It just works so well as an instrument.

It can be a bit underrated

because everyone thinks it's just arpeggios and pretty sounds

but you could be a whole orchestra and that's why I really love it.

Juliana Myslov,

the only non-violinist in this year's strings final.

She begins with her own arrangement of a Bach prelude.

APPLAUSE

The prelude that I'm playing is one of my favourite pieces.

It's really beautiful with really, really nice harmonies

and it's kind of really calming.

There's a kind of chord all the time that's a bit

like a raindrop kind of effect.

APPLAUSE

Next, Juliana is going to play the second movement

from Hindemith's harp sonata.

The second movement, I always think, is quite a kind of almost chaotic

but a really fun movement to play,

so it's a complete contrast to the Bach.

APPLAUSE

To finish, Juliana is performing Grandjany's spellbinding rhapsody.

To finish, Juliana is performing Grandjany's spellbinding rhapsody.

A real crowd-pleaser.

The rhapsody by Grandjany really uses the harp the way...

the best way you can get, like, good sounds

and just generally such a really beautiful piece.

APPLAUSE

A captivating performance there from Juliana Myslov.

She's a very stylish and technically accomplished performer.

You transported me and everybody

into some sort of a magical parallel universe.

How did it feel? I think it was OK. Yeah. It was more than OK!

How did it feel? I think it was OK. Yeah. It was more than OK!

It was incredible!

Juliana played wonderfully.

She chose three very contrasting pieces.

She had great technique

and there were some really lovely musical moments.

Juliana's programme - a really lovely, balanced programme.

Great poise in her playing. Beautifully accomplished.

Really musical playing. I very much enjoyed that performance.

You have such an incredible journey in front of you, and bravo.

Truly, truly heartfelt. Thank you very much.

Bravo.

Bringing the strings final to a close

is the fourth of our violinists, 19-year-old William Dutton.

# The first thing which I do relate... #

A seasoned competitor, William's early success was as a singer.

In 2006 he was crowned Radio 2 Young Chorister Of The Year.

# The next thing which to you I'll tell... #

What would you like to do in the future?

Would you like to carry on with singing? I could...

I play the violin as well so I could go on to that.

Or sell ice cream. I still like ice cream.

You still like ice cream. Yeah.

Now 19, William is at his final year in the Yehudi Menuhin School.

His violin playing was in its early stages

but he demonstrated such musicality and passion for music

that we thought this was the right place for him to be

and over the years he's developed his violin playing wonderfully.

His teacher at the Menuhin is Russian violinist Lutsia Ibragimova.

Remember about changing colours when you're changing fingers and strings.

We're doing it for some... making different colour. Yeah?

The eldest of our five strings finalists,

William is looking to travel further afield to study next year.

'I'm in Italy today, in Bergamo,

'to have some violin lessons with Professor Pavel Vernikov

'because I intend, next year,'

to audition for a place in his class in Sion in Switzerland.

Obviously, he's not my teacher yet. I'm still learning with Lutsia.

She's a wonderful teacher.

She took me in and completely changed the way I played.

And now she's given me the opportunity to go

and study with Pavel, who's just a really extraordinary person.

The lessons take place at the Academia Santa Cecilia.

Not every note. HE SINGS

One note here. Not five.

One.

Better.

Continue phrase. Oh. Oh. Oh.

More.

'I like this boy what is very sympathique.'

He understand very quick. Very quick.

He change lot of his last temp.

This for me is great pleasure.

It was very intense. We worked on lots of things together.

Things about intonation. Things about phrasing.

He teaches me how to listen more.

Not to kind of say to yourself, "OK, I think that sounds quite good.

"It's fine, let's just move on." You know, really think,

"What sound am I producing now? Why am I making the sound?"

# I can do anything at all... #

Back in the UK, William still keeps up his singing,

helping out in the local church choir with his friends.

Will is a great friend and an amazing violinist.

I've been here for three years now and,

you know, he was the one to introduce me to come to church here

and sing with the choir as well.

And everything that he has done for me as a friend has been great.

Absolutely wonderful.

APPLAUSE

In the strings final, William is accompanied

by one of his best friends from school, Menachem Rozin.

'The first piece that I'm going to be playing is Nigun by Ernest Bloch.

'It's a song that has no words.'

It can either be very, very joyous or in this case,

this piece is a song that's very, very sorrowful

and he dedicated the piece to the memory of his mother.

APPLAUSE

To end this year's strings final, William has chosen the same piece

that helped Laura Van Der Heijden win the category two years ago.

It's an arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera,

Le Coq d'Or. It's a really, really fun piece to play.

APPLAUSE

William Dutton bringing what has been a high-quality

strings final to an impressive close.

Let's find out what William thought about his performance.

He's backstage with Milos.

William. Finishing in grand style. How did that feel?

That was pretty awesome. That... No, it was a big buzz out there.

Fantastic audience. I wish I was on the other side of the door.

I was like...urgh! I wish I was on this side of the door! No!

I thought he had a wonderful tone. I enjoyed very much...

I thought it was very warm, very velvety playing.

Wonderful musical ideas, so yeah, a very polished performance.

A very impressive and bold presence on stage.

Possibly for me slightly overstretching himself

in the second piece, but I very much enjoyed the Bloch,

the first piece. It's...

the first piece. It's...

I get a real buzz out of doing it and I try to calm myself before.

I was a little bit nervous but I tried to control it

as much as I possibly could, but no,

I had a really... You know, I had a really great time.

And what a way to begin our coverage of BBC Young Musician 2014.

Five young performers have given it their all, but only one

can win that all-important place in the semifinal.

Thankfully, it's not up to me.

It's time for the jury to make their decision.

And making the decision tonight...

Violinist Jack Liebeck.

Harpist Catrin Finch.

And our general adjudicator, Meurig Bowen.

So, let's start getting into this. Elizaveta.

I had a feeling that you were particularly impressed

by her Tchaikovsky, when she started. Yeah.

I feel that she really sung that line

and didn't let anything interfere.

She is a very still player, but just let her violin do the talking

and my spine was tingling all the way through.

I thought it was very beautiful.

Occasionally she could have graded her...

the climaxes of the phrase a bit.

I had a sense that her piano wasn't quiet enough

and that it was all a bit mezzo forte upwards from there, which is...

I wanted her to open up. I felt she was playing a bit to herself.

I don't agree. See, I like that because she's not...

She's not just showing, "Look at what I can do."

She had something serious to say.

Roberto. He wasn't so much of an internalised performance, was he?

He's more extrovert and you couldn't get more extrovert than that

Britten violin concerto movement. Brave choice, right?

To start with that? Very brave. Difficult start.

And I think, at the beginning, he maybe felt a little bit tight

and there was a little bit, I felt, a bit of skating over some things

in the scales and things, but it's one of the most difficult movements.

The Britten Violin Concerto is seriously difficult

and he's a natural performer, I think.

Anna. Another very big performance.

A very accomplished and cultivated tone, I think.

Absolutely. A very beautiful sound.

Occasionally I felt a little bit that her...

especially early on in the performance,

that her vibrato was a little bit on the wide side.

We both said that independently.

The Kreisler was very beautiful.

The Scherzo had lots of individual things you don't hear people do.

She took some time at places where people...

I race through.

And other people do as well.

So she was quite individual. Very nice.

I didn't get that sense of discomfort that you sometimes get

with really difficult music when you feel as though

you're on the edge of your seat slightly a bit too much,

with the performer, sharing in their discomfort.

I didn't have that with her. She's not such an extrovert performer.

She felt a little... To me, I felt like she was a bit shy.

She's our youngest, right? I think? She's still only 16, so...

Very impressive.

So, Juliana. It was a great... Great, wonderful playing.

She had great technique. Her weakest link for me was the Bach.

And I think it's always quite hard starting with Bach.

It is very difficult music. It's very intricate.

You have to be very careful and sometimes you need to have

warmed up a bit to have that care in your playing. The Hindemith was...

You know, that's a really tough movement.

The most difficult movement of that sonata.

She had a great pace to it.

Sometimes she got a bit too excited.

You know, she nearly fell off the cliff a couple of times.

Hindemith's not a composer that many of us love easily, is he?

But I really loved that piece. It was great.

She made a very strong case for it. And finished with the Grandjany,

which is prime-time repertoire. Stunning piece. Wonderful.

I felt like she was free to express herself.

I felt very relaxed listening to it. I did too.

I felt very relaxed listening to it. I did too.

I enjoyed it very much. I did too.

William, our fourth violinist.

Another really bold presence on stage and really ambitious repertoire.

How did you...

The Bloch, sometimes it felt a little bit like he sort of

was showing his cards too early sort of thing.

He was a little bit too overpowering.

So sometimes he lost it a little bit but I think on the whole,

it was a very, you know, sort of wild and musical performance.

Very idiomatic, wasn't it? Yeah. Absolutely.

He really just played the socks off both pieces

and the Rimsky-Korsakov is fiendish.

Risky to play in a competition like this.

There was the odd little thing here and there,

which you're going to have, but he brought it off

and took risks with it, which I actually really appreciate.

Beautiful sound as well, so... Very nice sound.

Well, we have to make that difficult choice. It's hard, isn't it?

Oh, boy! It's going to be a long night.

And what a night we had here in Cardiff.

An outstanding display of musicianship and young talent

but there can be only one winner.

And to announce it, here is Meurig Bowen.

On behalf of my fellow adjudicators, Catrin and Jack,

it's my pleasure to announce that the winner

of the BBC Young Musician 2014 Strings Category Final is...

..William Dutton. APPLAUSE

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

An incredibly enthusiastic response to that result.

19-year-old William Dutton. APPLAUSE

And a well-deserved round of applause

for four more outstanding young performers

as they return to the stage.

Roberto Ruisi, Dogyung Anna Im, Elizaveta Tyun and Juliana Myslov.

APPLAUSE

In the end... And it really was incredibly tough for us

because all five, I think, we agreed we would love to hear again

in a recital or concerto context.

But with William, I think in the end it was that boldness

and that sense of adventure in his performance.

So, William the Conqueror! THEY LAUGH

Congratulations.

That looks pretty good, no? It's really...

It's really beautiful actually. And how does it feel to hold it?

Feels very rewarding. You know, it's...

Feels very rewarding. You know, it's...

You know, from even from bits that I heard, everybody played really,

really well today and, you know, it was very, very close, I'm sure.

And, you know, it's just this once but it feels really, really special.

I think he really was the player that performed

with his heart on his sleeve. He took the risks brilliantly.

He had confidence.

He had wonderful tone and he came on and he gave a polished,

very mature performance.

And I'm sure he will go on to many a great thing

and best of luck to him.

Very well done to William Dutton.

And you will be able to see him perform again in four weeks' time

as he takes his place in the semifinal

of BBC Young Musician 2014.

In the meantime, join us again here on BBC Four next week

when we will have five extremely talented young players

in the percussion final.

See you then. BOTH: Good night.

I wanted to give it a go and see what happened, really.

Having the audience there is just thrilling.

I'm just really, really excited and want to get out there and perform.

It's a really great tradition to be part of.

Making it to the final to play a concerto would be awesome.

This competition is an actual music competition

for people who work hard and want to be the best at their instrument.

Not just be famous.

In 1750, two visionaries were brought together