BBC Radio 3 announces record number of New Generation Artists, including rising star violinist

BBC Radio 3 has announced the names of eight New Generation Artists who will join the station’s talent development scheme in September 2021 and remain on it until December 2023.

The artists include several string players, among them the Spanish violinist María Dueñas  - winner of the Senior Division of this year’s Menuhin Competition - as well as the London-based Mithras Trio; and the Paris-based string quartet Quatuor Mona.

The other artists include the British-Israeli pianist Tom Borrow; British mezzo-soprano Helen Charlston; German-Romanian baritone Konstantin Krimmel; Indian-American collaborative pianist Kunal Lahiry; and British bass William Thomas.

Radio 3 has also confirmed today that for the second year running, the current New Generation Artists will stay on for an additional year to give them more of the performing and recording opportunities that they missed out on during the time of COVID-19. These artists include, among others: Leeds International Piano Competition winner Chinese-American pianist Eric Lu; London-born jazz guitarist, composer Rob Luft; Macedonian-born Canadian mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska, winner of the Ferrier Loveday Song Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards; and the London-based Consone Quartet, the first period instrument quartet to be part of the scheme. 

Read Menuhin Competition Richmond 2021 announces this year’s Prizewinners

Watch María Dueñas’s prize-winning performance at the 2021 Menuhin Competition

Watch María Dueñas performs Bruch’s Violin Concerto no. 1

Created in 1999, the New Generation Artists scheme supports young musicians at the beginning of their international careers with performance opportunities in London and around the UK. These include solo recitals and concerts with the BBC orchestras, and appearances at some of the UK’s most prestigious venues and festivals, including the BBC Proms, Cheltenham Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, London’s Wigmore Hall, Ulster Hall, and Snape Maltings among many others. Radio 3 broadcasts of live and recorded performances provide occasions for these rising stars to be heard by listeners all over the UK.

Alan Davey, Controller BBC Radio 3 and classical music, commented: ‘Being a young musician at the time of the pandemic has been challenging: performance opportunities have been scarce and sustained connections with audiences have been hard to achieve.  We are therefore delighted to announce BBC Radio 3’s support for another group of brilliant young  performers who are at such a vital stage of their development, and the extension of the New Generation Artists scheme for those who are already on it. Music will only be alive for as long as young people choose to dedicate their creative lives to it, and it is our privilege to support them at the start of their careers – making sure audiences the world over can benefit as they grow even further in  their art and push boundaries of skill and achievement – bringing  delight,  promise and optimism  to a world that surely needs all of these things.’

BBC Radio 3 celebrates the New Generation Artists from Tuesday 6 to Friday 9 July, with four Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts live from Cheltenham Town Hall as part of Cheltenham Festival 2021. The young performers are also appearing as part of: BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts from London’s Wigmore Hall (September 2021 to April 2022); the station’s residency at Snape Maltings (30/ 31 October 2021); and Bath Mozartfest (24 November 2021), with broadcast dates to be announced in due course.