Why do classical music competitions sometimes not award a first prize?

February 18, 2010 5:07 PM

Why do classical music competitions sometimes not award a first prize?

Classical music competitions often do not award a first prize? Why and how does this happen?

posted by yayjenny to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Typically it's the result of the jury deciding that they have to defend the integrity of "first place" -- the philosophical question is whether first place means "best this time around" (aka, is relative to the current competition) or if there's a predefined bar any competitor much cross to deserve the top prize. For example, under this kind of logic the Academy would have awarded no Best Picture Oscar in 1997. (according to me)
posted by range at 5:31 PM on February 18, 2010

"For example, under this kind of logic the Academy would have awarded no Best Picture Oscar in 1997. (according to me)"

Copland, Gattaca, LA Confidential, Princess Mononoke, Fireworks…

But yeah, this sometimes happens in juried art shows as well, and also merit grant competitions.
posted by klangklangston at 8:30 PM on February 18, 2010

Like range says: because the (local) consensus of the jury is that "best this time" isn't "good enough". Sometimes, they seem to be right.
posted by Namlit at 12:11 AM on February 19, 2010

This happens a lot in smaller competitions as well. In a local example, winning a regional 1st or 2nd place means going on to represent the region in a national competition; I've seen (especially on a less-popular instrument) competitions of less than 3 people for these slots. If the judges don't consider that a player has a chance at the national level, they don't necessarily want them representing as "the best this region has to offer", so sometimes the top award is third place. Or sometimes they'll award 1st place to a stand-out kid but skip over 2nd place because there's nobody else they want going to nationals.
posted by aimedwander at 10:17 AM on February 19, 2010