Jury Talk: Paul Hughes

You have been on juries since 2005, beginning with the Besancon Competition. Back then, it would have been a bit less common to have a non-musician (or non-conductor) on the jury. What was your experience then?

In many ways, that jury was ahead of its time. Only two of the seven jurors were conductors, including the jury President, Lawrence Foster. The rest of the jury comprised a composer, and four representatives of major orchestras and foundations, including the legendary Ernest Fleischmann, former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra for 30 years. We all had some wonderful discussions about the wider profession and the nurturing of young artists in a changing world.

Today, there are some competitions that have almost exclusively managers and casting directors, and very few artists. In your opinion, how does that change the outcome of a competition?

How a competition is structured and how clearly it articulates its purpose is as important as a achieving a good balance of jurors. Every member of a jury will be looking for something different, as they should, and the collective totality of those individual views will hopefully identify musicians who can sustain a career in the 21st Century.  

A jury that includes performing artists and those of us from other branches of the profession is more likely to identify the musical stars of tomorrow who can engage, move and thrill an audience, and have the potential to develop the complementary skills necessary to navigate, enjoy and shape the profession of tomorrow.  

When you were an orchestra manager and took part in a competition jury, did you later hire one or more of the winners, and to what extent?

Yes, and it wouldn’t necessarily be the first prize winner whose performance made me stop and smile, that moved me in some way and inspired me to present them with this or that orchestra or festival and know that would do well.  

We all know how the impact of winning a major competition can be as shocking as it is exhilarating especially for a young, relatively inexperienced and perhaps even quite raw artist. To survive this and navigate the profession is where all the other skills requirements come into play- sensitive management, good marketing, sound career advice, effective media and communication skills. So for me, offering engagements is only one part of the prize, and I enjoy the nurturing, guidance and support that I and my colleagues can give to an early career which is increasingly being offered as part of a prize in many competitions. Van Cliburn, Hastings, Leeds - these are just a few of the piano competitions to offer prizes beyond engagements and cash.     

How should a perfect jury be composed from your point of view?

For me, the perfect jury has a good balance of personalities, well managed and guided by the jury President, who can get on well with each other and offer a wide range of experience, skills and knowledge all of which are respected equally.  Balance between artists and performers, and representatives of other aspects of the music business is ideal I think. Being on a competition jury is a serious business with great responsibility, so if we can also have fun along the way, so much the better!    

Where do you see the importance of music competitions for the future of classical music?

In my view, competitions play a crucial part in the ecology of the music profession.

One recent innovation that I welcome wholeheartedly has emerged from a relatively young competition- the International Conducting Competition Rotterdam.  Between the semi-final and the final stages of the ICCR, and over a period of almost a year, the six finalists work with a range of industry specialists on aspects of the profession beyond their work on the podium. By the time they approach the finals, the competition knows more about these young conductors, and they know much more about the profession in which they are competing. Regardless of who wins, all six finalists will be more rounded and experienced musicians as a result of competing; and that, surely, is the purpose of a competition.  

Whilst there are countless examples of successful careers in which no major competition has featured, participation in a competition- not necessarily even winning- will amplify an artist’s work and bring it to the attention of the public, the media and people whose decisions can make a difference. If competition juries continue to evolve and include a wider range of skills to meet the needs of a constantly changing  profession, their role will only grow in importance.  

©WFIMC 2024/FR

Top Photograph: Theatre Ledoux, Besançon