The Belgian violinist Pauline van der Rest (photo, above) has reached the semi-finals of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. The 19-year-old musician from Brussels is the only Belgian in this year's competition.
A total of 24 of the 63 candidates from the first round of the Queen Elisabeth Competition have reached the semi-finals (photo below). Starting today these musicians will have to prove themselves worthy of a place in the final. The winner of the competition that this year is for violinists will be announced on Saturday 1 June.
Pauline van der Rest received rapturous applause for her performance at the Flagey Arts’ Centre in the Brussels municipality of Elsene. Her recital consisted of highly technical compositions. However, but those that watch her perform said that she approached the pieces with a great deal of feeling.
The video above shows the performance of Pauline van der Rest’s performance. The young Belgian violinist who played "Dryads and Pan" from "Myths" by Polish composer Karol Szymanovski. She was accompanied by Thomas Hoppe on the grand piano.