Young Musician of the Year
Contents |
Host
Humphrey Burton (1978-92)
Sarah Greene (1994)
Christopher Warren-Green (1996)
Stephanie Hughes (1998-2004)
Howard Goodall (2006)
Co-hosts
Ernest Lush (1978)
Jane Glover (1988)
Mervyn Williams (1990)
Edward Gregson (1990 final)
Paul Daniel (1992 final)
Sarah Walker (1996)
Alistair Appleton (2004)
Broadcast
BBC 2, 7 February 1978 to present
BBC Four (early rounds), 2002 to present
Synopsis
Lest you should think that UKGameshows.com is just about rip-off phone-ins, people eating creepy-crawlies, and badly-thought-out lottery promotions, we bring you... Culture! With a capital C.
The instrumental portion of the BBC's brace of high-brow musical contests (this runs in even numbered years, Cardiff Singer of the World in odd numbered) consists of a series of semi-finals for Brass, Woodwind, Keyboards, Strings and (since 1994) Percussion, with the winners progressing to the Concerto Final where they play with a full orchestra, invariably prompting letters to the Radio Times asking rhetorically how you judge a violinist against a percussionist anyway. The champion goes on to the Eurovision Young Musicians competition, where they're beaten by the Austrian contender.
In each category, the competitors perform a solo piece, or a concerto - a work that spotlights their solo instrument with orchestral accompniment. The category winners progress to the gala final.
Regional heats were shown in 1978; a round before the category final was shown until 1994, and again in 2002 and 2004. Until 2000, all programmes were shown on BBC2; since 2002, the heats have been shown on digital channel BBC4, with only the final going out on BBC2.
Champions
1978 - Michael Hext (trombone)
1980 - Nicholas Daniel (oboe)
1982 - Anna Markland (piano)
1984 - Emma Johnson (clarinet)
1986 - Alan Brind (violin)
1988 - David Pyatt (horn)
1990 - Nicola Loud (violin)
1992 - Frederick Kempf (piano)
1994 - Natalie Clein ('cello)
1996 - Rafal Payne (violin)
1998 - Adrian Spillett (percussion)
2000 - Guy Johnston ('cello)
2002 - Jennifer Pike (violin)
2004 - Nicola Benedetti (violin)
2006 - Mark Simpson (clarinet)
Inventor
The contest was established in 1978 by BBC Music employees Humphrey Burton and Walter Todds.
