Young competitors strike the right note at gala event

A gala concert presented by 21 young musicians from both China and Germany closed the third China Youth Music Competition. The musical extravaganza was held in the Pudu Temple in Beijing, a protected Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) cultural relic site, on Oct 27.

Audiences enjoyed 12 repertories, including Johann Sebastian Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G minor played by 19-year-old pianist Viviana-Zarah Baudis, and Willson Osborne's Rhapsody For Bassoon played by 15-year-old Yang Ye.

The China Youth Music Competition, launched in 2015, is based on the German Music Council's renowned Jugend Musiziert, the best-known music competition for young performers in Germany, which started in 1963. The first Chinese competition took place in 2016 in Beijing and Shanghai, attracting more than 600 applicants from across China.