QUEEN ELISABETH COMPETITION 2026 FOR CELLO - PERSONAL REFLECTION

14 concerto scores prepared. 16 full orchestra rehearsals. 1 recording session. 2 days in the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with the finalists. 6 beautiful finalist concerts in Bozar.

All in just two weeks. 😅

What an extraordinary journey it has been. ✨

Before the concerto rehearsals even started, I spent two days at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel getting to know these twelve extraordinary young artists. Twelve unique personalities, each with their own dreams, doubts, strengths, vulnerabilities and their own musical voice. 🎻✨

What impressed me most was not only their talent, but also their courage.

The courage to dream. 🌟

The courage to be vulnerable.

The courage to step onto one of the world’s most demanding stages and reveal something deeply personal through music. ❤️

Andrew and Maria chose DUTILLEUX’s Tout un monde lointain…, a fascinating and challenging masterpiece unlike any other. Clara, Ettore and Yo immersed themselves in PROKOFIEV’s Sinfonia Concertante, one of the great mountains of the cello repertoire. Leland shared with us his deeply personal connection to Samuel BARBER’s Concerto. Tae-Yeon boldly embraced the phenomenal LUTOSLAWSKI Concerto. Álvaro, Dilshod, Ivan and Krzysztof each revealed a very individual face of SHOSTAKOVICH First Cello Concerto. And Lionel moved us all with a heartfelt and deeply sincere performance of DVORÁK’s Concerto. 🎶

The compulsory work, Four Odes by Fang Man, challenged everyone. Rhythmically intricate, technically demanding, long and also requiring extraordinary concentration, it pushed all of us to our limits. Yet what I will remember most is not the challenge itself, but the spirit of collaboration it created. Finalists helping one another, supporting one another, and being grateful for every cue, every clear beat and every helping hand from the conductor that could make the journey just a little easier. 🤝

And, as always, there was room for a little humour too. During the preparatory rehearsal of the Prokofiev, I somehow managed to make the very same “rehearsal-number mistake” several times. After the orchestra caught me out once too often, I became slightly annoyed with myself and promised the musicians a treat if I did it again. And of course……. For a Dutchman, a promise is a promise 😉. So after the final concert on Saturday, beers, drinks and a delicious cake appeared backstage. Fortunately, the musicians seemed just as happy with the reward as they had been patient with their conductor. 😅🍻🍰

Then to the concerts.

Just so everyone is aware: behind every performance the audience saw in BOZAR, or live on television, were countless conversations, last-minute decisions, cold hands, nervous smiles, exhausted faces, flashes of confidence, moments of trust, moments of doubt, and sometimes a much-needed pep talk before stepping onto the stage. Those deeply human moments are among the most precious memories I will take away from these two weeks. 😊

The mission of the Belgian National Orchestra and myself was simple: to help every finalist become the very best version of themselves in the short time we had together. To offer support, confidence, flexibility and inspiration. Watching our brilliant musicians embrace that mission with such generosity, commitment and warmth made me incredibly proud as their chief conductor. ❤️

As I said to both the finalists, the jury and the orchestra before the very first performance:

“Let’s not have six finals. Instead, let’s have six beautiful concerts in which we celebrate music.”

And yes, we did. 🎉

Therefore, a huge thank you to every musician of the Belgian National Orchestra for their extraordinary playing, discipline, patience and kindness. They rehearsed, recorded and performed Fang Man’s piece more times than I dare to count, always with commitment and always with a smile (Bar 19: “BINGO!…” The order of this laureate will be 4, 3, 2, 1… “GO!”). 😄

Special thanks to our concertmasters Misako Akama and Solenne Païdassi, to our tireless régie staff, to Swann Van Rechem for helping me balance all the concertos, to Bram for documenting the journey so beautifully in his blog, to Bob for all his backstage support, and to those musicians who really played every single note of every rehearsal and every concert (you know who you are! 😊) without ever losing their focus, energy or enthusiasm.

Finally… a MASSIVE SHOUT-OUT and my warmest congratulations to all twelve finalists of one of the greatest and toughest music competitions in the world: Álvaro, Andrew, Clara, Dilshod, Ettore, Ivan, Krzysztof, Leland, Lionel, Maria, Tae-Yeon and Yo. 👏

Here’s to the music, the dreams and the unforgettable journey. ✨

Good luck to all of you on your highly promising path. You are all stars, and it was a true honour to be your conductor during the marvelous Concours Reine Elisabeth 2026. 😊

The prizes have been awarded.

But for me, the real victory is seeing a new generation of artists ready to take flight. 🕊️

The future of music is in very good hands. 🍀