Concourse in Brussels

The nearest thing to a Wimbledon tournament for young musicians is Belgium's International Concours. This year the aim of the contest was to crown the best young (15-30) pianist in the world, and by last week a field of 71 hopefuls from all over the world--Russia excepted*--had been weeded down to twelve survivors.

By Concours custom, each of the twelve finalists was expected to perform with the Belgian National Orchestra 1) a new composition none had ever played before, and 2) a well-practiced concerto of his own choice. This year's new composition, a fiercely atonal concerto by Belgian Composer Raymond Chevreuille, had the contestants in an uproar. Complained one: "Bartok and Prokofiev are duck soup compared to it." Said another, singling out two men who happened to be among the 13 contest judges: "Even Rubinstein and Casadesus couldn't play it." Concours officials agreed to lop off the third movement for the decisive test.

The Favorite. It took three days for all the finalists to get their hearings in Brussels' Palais des Beaux-Arts. By the time judgment night rolled around, the crowd already had its favorite: 23-year-old Leon Fleisher of Manhattan, a pupil of the late Artur Schnabel. In the preliminary rounds Fleisher had drawn so much applause that the presiding judge had to ring a bell to silence the audience and get on with the contest. In the grand finale, Fleisher popped a piano string in the middle of the Brahms Concerto No. 1. But instead of blowing up, he continued calmly to the end of the movement, banged the afflicted key when the score called for it.

After all the music was done, the crowd sat for two hours while the judges made up their minds. At midnight 75-year-old Queen Elisabeth smilingly took her place in the royal box, and the 13 judges trooped to the stage. Amid tumultuous cheers, the winners were announced: Leon Fleisher, first; Switzerland's Karl Engel, second; Italy's Maria Tipo, third.

The Dempsey Punch. It was a difficult choice, the judges said, but they were pleased with the winner. Said Artur Rubinstein : "A deep musician. There is hope for a truly great pianist." Seconded Olin Downes: "He has the Dempsey punch."

With a $3,000 prize in his pocket and a series of European concerts lined up, the winner was in no great hurry to flash the Dempsey punch on U.S. keyboards. Said Leon Fleisher, who has been playing quietly in Europe for two years: "Music in America is becoming a rat race. What all the towns . . . want these days on one program is a team of four pianos, a fiddler, a ballet dancer, and a juggler."

* Russia was invited to send its best young pianists, but ignored the invitation. Last year, possibly feeling more confident about the caliber of Soviet violinists, the Russians accepted, sent four, carried off the title (TIME, June 4, 1951).

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.