Classicalia

ANNOUNCER: Join the world's greatest young classical musicians as they perform in the Konzerthaus in Vienna, Austria.

Hundreds of young musical prodigies from across the globe entered the competition.

Nine finalists will compete in three age divisions in this exciting and elegant music competition.

Introducing Classicalia.

[orchestra playing "The Blue Danube"] [applause] ALASTAIR: Hello!

I'm Alastair Willis coming to you from the Mozart Hall in the Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria.

SHELA: I'm Shela Melody McDonald, and this is Classicalia!

[applause] The PBS series where we search the globe to find the next generation of extraordinary young classical musicians.

We received entries from young performers all over the world, and after two rounds of preliminary judging, we chose nine finalists to perform for you.

Tonight they will judged by our three illustrious guests.

ALASTAIR: First, let me introduce violin virtuoso and professor at the Music University in Vienna and Copenhagen, Eszter Haffner.

[applause] Next, concert pianist, author, and master class instructor, Jura Margulis.

[applause] And finally, Grammy award-nominated pianist and music director, Greg Phillinganes.

GREG: Thank you.

[applause] SHELA: Our nine finalists will be backed by the Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra.

[applause] [Shela laughs] As well as my wonderful co-host, Maestro Alastair Willis.

[applause] Who, I will also add, is a Grammy-nominated conductor.

ALASTAIR: Oh, well, it's a pleasure, especially to co-host with you.

Now I must mention to the folks at home that Shela is also a Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, pianist, producer, and actress.

Anything else?

SHELA: Well... [laughs] I'll think of something!

[laughs] [applause] And now, the moment you've all been waiting for.

Let's meet our first finalist.

It gives me great pleasure to introduce our first performer in the junior category, Peihan Francesca He.

Peihan is 11 years old, comes to us from England, and has studied piano and violin from a young age, going on to win numerous competitions.

Welcome, Peihan!

[applause] [applause] ALASTAIR: Peihan, that was such an incredible performance!

Well done.

I have to say, I'm so glad that I'm not judging tonight, because I wouldn't know what to say, I'm completely blown away.

So, let's, let's go to the judges, shall we?

ESZTER: Hi, Peihan, it was an absolutely stunning performance.

Congratulations.

Um, you did all the difficulties great, and this is one of the most difficult pieces in the world, you know.

May I ask you how much you practice?

PEIHAN: Uh, I practice about, like, two to three hours a day.

ESZTER: Two, three hours.

Um, may I suggest to you something?

If you practice scales up and down, take care a little bit more of the intonation, 'cause intonation is really, really important.

Yeah?

So, every day, a little bit like washing your teeth, intonation.

Absolutely beautiful.

Great.

Congratulations.

[applause] ALASTAIR: Next up in our junior category is 11-year-old accomplished pianist Jodi Brielle Brown.

Now, Jodi is a multi-award winner who's had the pleasure of performing in Carnegie Hall not once but twice, which is an accomplishment that's most incredible at her young age.

Please let's welcome Jodi.

[applause] SHELA: Hello, Jodi!

So, Carnegie Hall.

Wow.

I thought I was doing something by performing once.

Twice!

Wow!

So, so, tell me, when did you know that you loved the piano and started maybe to take lessons, did that come first?

Or were you a little baby, you know, figuring out the keys?

How does your journey start for playing piano?

JODI: Well, my journey started for playing piano when I was like five years old.

SHELA: Oh!

JODI: And I figured out that I liked it, um, a few years in, 'cause I really got to explore it more, do different pieces, and do different styles.

SHELA: Yeah.

JODI: And I just liked it.

SHELA: That's amazing.

Well, I can't wait to hear it today.

So, with a solo performance of Seymour Bernstein's "Birds, A Suite of Eight Impressionistic Studies," here's Jodie Brielle Brown!

[applause] [applause and cheering] [applause] ALASTAIR: Fantastic, Jodie!

You must feel incredible after that, right?

And in Vienna, do you know what we say after a performance like that?

Wunderbar!

Now let's hear from our judges.

GREG: Well, I must say, Jodi, the first thing that is made abundantly clear is that I need to go home and practice a lot more.

Uh, now you're a captivating performer, really, and you're poised and confident.

And, you know, this is the kind of piece that demands, you know, full attention from the listener.

And you make, you make it enjoyable, you know, you make the listener want to, to, uh, to listen to it.

And it's just beautifully done, you know.

Well done, I'm sure my colleagues would agree.

JURA: Hats off.

GREG: Yeah.

ALASTAIR: One more round of applause for Jodie Brielle Brown.

[applause] SHELA: Closing off our junior category finalists is Ella Xu.

Ella began her musical journey with piano at the age of five, but later discovered her love for the oboe.

She is 11 now and has already begun an impressive music career, performing at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and other prestigious venues around the world.

Welcome, Ella!

[applause] Hello, Ella!

I would love just to talk to you before your amazing performance.

So, I have performed at Carnegie Hall, I have also performed at the Kennedy Centers.

How was that performing at just these amazing venues around the world?

What does that feel like?

ELLA: It feels like, it feels wonderful, it feels amazing, it's fun, and it's eye-opening for me.

I get this concert experience that I've never gotten before, and it really makes me learn new things, it helps me learn new things, helps me improve.

And it's just-- and it feels good!

It feels wonderful, it's fun.

It's--I love it.

SHELA: Beautifully said, beautifully said.

So, performing Marcello's "Oboe Concerto in D minor," here's Ella Xu.

[applause] [applause and cheering] [whistling and applause] [applause] ALASTAIR: Ella, bravo, I loved that!

Such a wonderful sound.

You did an incredible job.

Let's hear from our judges.

JURA: If I knew when I was that young that the oboe can sound so well, maybe I also would have changed to the oboe.

Wonderful performance.

Like, you played so well, such an accomplished performance, such musicality, such poise.

Really wonderful.

Nuances and expressions, it was a very, very great pleasure to hear you play this.

Yeah?

And we wish you the best of luck.

[applause] ALASTAIR: Ladies and gentlemen, thank you to Ella Xu.

[applause] [whistling] [applause] [orchestra playing "The Blue Danube"] SHELA: Wow.

What an incredible group of performers, don't you think, Alastair?

ALASTAIR: Uh, are we sure that that was the junior category?

SHELA: I know!

It was unbelievable.

Judges, how do you feel about those three performances?

ESZTER: Really high level and delicate performances, yeah.

JURA: Very difficult music.

GREG: Absolutely.

With this kind of talent, it doesn't make it easy.

JURA: Don't make us.

[laughter] SHELA: Well, I don't envy you, so I am gonna let you deliberate, and you guys decide, make the impossible choice of choosing a winner for this category.

So, talk amongst yourselves.

Let's see.

[judges mumbling] Alastair, how are they going to choose?

ALASTAIR: Can we give three first prizes?

SHELA: [laughs] Exactly!

A tie for first place.

ALASTAIR: Of course they all are winners.

SHELA: Yes.

ALASTAIR: To be here, to perform.

SHELA: Absolutely.

ALASTAIR: Here in Vienna with this wonderful orchestra.

They are all winners.

SHELA: For sure.

For sure.

I know what I was doing at 11 years old, and it was not this.

[laughs] [drumroll] It gives me great pleasure-- Let's, I'm gonna let you see it really quick.

[gasps] Oh, my goodness.

It gives me great pleasure to announce the winner.

Jodi Brielle Brown!

[applause] Come take a bow, my darling!

Come take a bow.

[applause] Oh, congratulations!

So I've got to ask, how are you feeling right now?

JODI: Uh, I feel pretty good.

SHELA: Feel pretty good, pretty good!

I mean, you know, how does this compare with, I mean, you've had so many incredible experiences, but how does this one compare?

Being in Vienna, winning, becoming the winner of Classicalia?

What does that feel like?

JODI: It just feels like kind of an inspiration.

SHELA: Yeah.

JODI: And I definitely recommend this to other people.

SHELA: Yes.

[applause] [whistling] [applause] Moving on to our intermediate category in the competition, these performers are between 12 and 17 years old.

And joining us first is Ezekiel Sokoloff, a student of the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, a comprehensive pre-college conservatory program.

In 2020, Ezekiel raised funds to donate 30 violins to his school's outreach program.

Welcome, Ezekiel.

[applause] So, how does it feel to be here in Vienna performing here for this amazing audience at Classicalia?

EZEKIEL: It's a dream come true I think for everybody, but for especially musicians to be here, to be in the city of so many great composers.

I mean, just like walking around the city and seeing streets named after famous composers, it's just, you know, you don't get that experience anywhere else.

SHELA: Amazingly said, so I can't wait to hear your performance.

And now, performing Mozart's "Violin Concerto No.

4 in D major" is Ezekiel Sokoloff.

[applause] [applause and cheering] ALASTAIR: Incredible performance, Ezekiel, or Zeke, as you like to be called.

Let's hear now from our Classicalia judges and hear what they thought of our performance.

Eszter Haffner, Jura Margulis, and Greg Phillinganes.

Judges, what do you think?

ESZTER: Ezekiel, wonderful playing.

You portrayed all the characters very well.

You have a beautiful, warm sound.

You have great facilities, the coordination between the hands, left and right.

Very good.

Very well played.

Just a little maybe critical, something: You don't need to do on every second note an accent.

So, maybe you should create the bow a little bit better.

Yeah.

Congratulations.

Fantastic.

[applause] SHELA: Next, I am pleased to welcome Mao Fujisaki.

Mao is 17 years old and hails from Shimane, Japan, where she began studying piano at only three years old.

I cannot believe that.

Mao has performed with the Geidai Philharmonia Orchestra Tokyo and London City Philharmonic, and has earned multiple national and international accolades.

Welcome, Mao!

[applause] Konnichiwa!

[chuckles] Performing Edvard Grieg's "Piano Concerto in A minor," here's Mao Fujisaki.

[applause] [applause and cheering] ALASTAIR: Congratulations, that was simply wonderful.

Let's hear from our judges, please.

[Eszter speaking Japanese] [Greg laughs] MAO: Thank you so much.

GREG: I have to say something else, um...

I just have to say it.

[Eszter speaking Japanese] [Greg laughs] All I can say is Edvard would be so proud.

You were superb.

And I enjoyed every note.

ALASTAIR: Eszter, can you translate that?

[Eszter speaking Japanese] GREG: Yes, absolutely.

ALASTAIR: Thank you so much.

ESZTER: Arigato.

ALISTAIR: Bravo.

Arigato.

[applause] ESZTER: Arigato.

[applause] ALISTAIR: Closing off category two is 13-year-old Lyam Chenaux.

Lyam began studying the cello at the age of five, and since 2021 has been studying at the Zakhar Bron School in Zrich.

He was only 10 years old when he performed for the first time as a soloist with the Budweis Philharmonic Orchestra.

An incredible accomplishment.

Please welcome, Lyam.

[applause] SHELA: Hello, Lyam.

So, I got to ask you this.

When did you start playing this beautiful instrument, because I mean, it's almost as tall as you are, so when you were-- what age did you start?

LYAM: Yeah, I was five and a half years old.

SHELA: And how tall were you?

Do you remember?

About right here?

Right?

LYAM: No, I don't remember, but it was a small cello, so.

SHELA: So, you were already mastering it at five years old.

Well, I cannot wait to hear you play this next piece.

Performing David Popper's "Polonaise," here's Lyam Chenaux.

[applause] [applause and cheering] ALASTAIR: Lyam, bravo.

You are our only cellist in the competition this year.

And that was incroyable.

Judges, what would you like to say?

GREG: Uh... ESZTER: Grezi.

GREG: I, I'm kind of speechless.

Uh, Lyam, that was stunning.

That was absolutely a flawless performance.

And you're so musical.

And it's a joy to watch you, it really is.

I--that's all I can say.

Just bravo.

[applause] ALASTAIR: Lyam Chenaux.

Merci beaucoup.

[applause] [orchestra playing "The Blue Danube"] ALASTAIR: Well, judges, what did you think of category number two?

GREG: More difficult.

ESZTER: Yes, very difficult.

ALASTAIR: Difficult to choose.

GREG: Yeah.

JURA: It's a great pleasure to hear such wonderful young talent in different ages.

You know, it's a joy to be part of this.

ALASTAIR: Agreed.

Absolutely.

JURA: We're all there.

SHELA: A name is coming.

Drumroll, please!

Yes, uh... [laughs] Bddddtttt!

[laughs] I'm so excited!

Lyam Chenaux!

[laughing] [applause] Fabulous!

Fabulous!

So fabulous!

[applause] Take a bow!

[laughs] MAN: Bravo!

[applause] SHELA: Wow.

[applause] Bravo.

Bravo.

[applause] I know your family is so proud of you.

I guess all those lessons paid off, right?

LYAM: Right, yes.

SHELA: Let's give another hand for Lyam, please!

[applause and cheering] ALASTAIR: Our final category of the competition is reserved for those aged between 18 and 25.

These final three performers are well on their way to establishing a rich and successful career in music.

SHELA: Joining us first from Toronto, Canada, is Vanessa Yu.

An accomplished pianist, performed at Carnegie Hall as the grand prize winner of the Pacific Rim International Musical Festival.

Vanessa is 21 and has performed with orchestras and at concert halls across the globe.

Welcome, Vanessa!

[applause] Hello, Vanessa!

So good to see you.

So, you have been performing all over the world, just such prestigious venues.

I got to ask you, what has been your favorite one so far?

VANESSA: I don't know if I have one specific venue, but I think it's actually contrary to what some people would expect.

It's really cool playing in intimate venues, because you're able to feel like this personal connection with the audience.

And I think that's really special, because you can feed off of each other's energy.

SHELA: That is so incredible.

As a performer, I was just talking with someone the other day, and sometimes the more intimate ones can be sometimes a little harder, because it's like, it's, it's... you're so vulnerable.

But it sounds like you just lean right into it.

So that's amazing.

I can't wait to hear what you're gonna do today.

So, with Beethoven's "Piano Concerto No.

1 in C major," here's Vanessa Yu.

[applause] [applause] ALASTAIR: Vanessa, again, wunderbar.

Really, I know that you and all of our finalists are gonna have long and successful careers.

What a fabulous performance.

Judges, what did you think?

JURA: I was speechless.

Your, your performance is, it's inspiring, you know?

Your, you project such joy with your playing.

You played with grace, you played with refinement, and you created a beautiful narrative, you know, out of this concerto.

I'm sure Beethoven would be happy.

Bravo.

ALASTAIR: Thank you so much.

Bravo again.

JURA: Yes.

[applause] Our penultimate performer this evening comes from Spain.

Marta Cubas Hondal has won over 20 national and international competitions as an accordionist and bandoneonist.

She made her stage debut at the age of 11.

She's now 20 years old.

Please welcome, Marta!

[applause] SHELA: So, Marta, I think we got the mint memo.

Yeah, you look beautiful.

So, I got to ask you, I've asked this a few times, but when did you know that this was your instrument?

MARTA: Um, I knew it when I was nine years old.

I went to a concert, it was my sister's, she played the violin with chamber music.

And in that chamber music-- that chamber group, sorry, there was an accordion, and since that moment, I felt like it was my instrument.

SHELA: That's amazing.

So, I also got to ask, I'm just so curious, I've actually never held one of these things; how much, how many pounds does this weigh?

MARTA: [chuckles] Uh, it weighs around 13 kilos.

SHELA: Okay, Okay.

MARTA: Yeah.

SHELA: Yeah.

Wow.

Wow.

Great arms.

So I cannot wait to see your performance.

ALASTAIR: Well, with a solo performance of Albniz's "Aragn (Fantasia)" from "Suite Espaola," here is Marta Cubas Hondal.

[applause] [applause and cheering] MAN: Brava!

ALASTAIR: Such a splendid job, Marta.

It takes a great talent to the hold the stage on your own, and you did it.

Fantastic.

Let's hear from our judges.

ESZTER: Thank you so much.

You are brilliant.

And, you know, I came here today because I'm always looking for artists that inspires me.

And you did inspire.

You live with this instrument, how you move and how you touch.

This is amazing.

Brilliant.

Thank you.

GREG: Marta.

[applause] I must say, I must say, I must say, Marta, I have never heard the accordion sound more beautiful than I have tonight right now.

And so passionate, you know, and you have complete control, you've clearly mastered the instrument.

And it's just, it's a joy to hear you.

Just magnificent.

Well done.

[applause] SHELA: Aw.

[applause] Our final performance of Classicalia comes from Terri Ji, an accomplished pianist, who at 21 has already earned numerous accolades including the 2022 Pacific International Piano Competition.

Welcome, Terri!

[applause] Hello, Terri!

So, man, you're in Vienna.

How does it feel to be here performing for this amazing audience for Classicalia?

TERRI: Well, it's been a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed the city, and I'm really excited for tonight.

SHELA: So I got to ask you, what did you do on your, you know, when you weren't practicing, obviously, for this, what did you do fun in Vienna?

TERRI: Well, actually, we went to visit the Central Cemetery where Beethoven and Schubert and Mozart are buried.

And it was a really wonderful moment.

I got to share that with my teacher.

SHELA: Wow, fantastic!

I wish I did that while here.

Maybe I can still squeeze it in.

Well, I cannot wait to hear your performance.

Performing Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No.

1 in B-flat minor," here's Terri Ji.

[applause] [applause and cheering] ALASTAIR: Bravo, Terri, what a fantastic way to end our concert.

An incredible job.

Judges, what did you think?

JURA: Absolutely.

A wonderful conclusion, a very exciting performance.

What a wonderful conclusion for a wonderful evening in Vienna, huh?

[muffled comment] Thank you.

ALASTAIR: Bravo, bravo.

GREG: Yes, sir.

[applause] [orchestra playing "The Blue Danube"] SHELA: I do see that they, they have made a decision.

In a few moments we will know the winner.

[drumroll] I've been doing it myself, by myself, so let's share this moment since it's the last one.

Here we go, one, two, three.

TOGETHER: Marta Cubas Hondal.

[laughs] [applause] SHELA: Wow!

Take a bow!

[applause] Wow.

What a feeling.

So, to come all the way from Spain, to come to Vienna and win Classicalia, what are you feeling right now?

MARTA: I'm very happy being here.

Um, especially in this amazing stage.

Thank you so much.

[applause and cheering] SHELA: So I am Shela Melody McDonald, and on behalf of the judges and our finalists here in Vienna, thank you so much for tuning in.

ALASTAIR: I'm Alastair Willis, and to all the contestants from around the world who entered Classicalia, thanks for joining us, and gute Nacht!

[applause] [applause and cheering]