VSt is the return of the “child prodigies” on France 2. This year during the holidays, for the ninth season, there will be 15 musicians, dancers and singers aged 9 to 16 to compete on stage. Place at Grand Christmas Ball this Thursday, December 22, at the end of which the three best children in each category will be designated. Before the final on Thursday December 29, two programs hosted by Faustine Bollaert.
Present since the first year in the jury of the show, the cellist Gautier Capuçon, particularly attached to the transmission, is responsible for deciding between the young instrumentalists. At his side, the star dancer Marie-Claude Pietragalla for her fourth year on the show will judge the dancers and the soprano with three musical victories Julie Fuchs is back to cast her benevolent gaze on the young singers. And to accompany them, conductor Zahia Ziouani and her Divertimento orchestra have once again responded. The key for the winner, a scholarship and above all the opportunity to have been able to share his passion in public and to shine.
Point : You’ve been the only loyal jury member since the first season. What do you like in wonders ?
Gautier Capucon: I am the last of the adventure of the beginning. I was immediately seduced by this project. First of all because it corresponds to a certain democratization of classical music. We know the power of television, it’s very important to be able to talk about music.
Then, it concerns young instrumentalists, singers, dancers. I have been very involved in education and transmission for a number of years. And I think that showing on television that music is accessible to everyone, that you don’t necessarily need to come from a family of musicians to make music, that’s extremely important. For these nine seasons, I have seen more and more families and children who come to the concert and who have discovered classical music thanks to Prodigies.
And then to see a young person who goes on stage with stars in his eyes, talking about his passion for his instrument or his art and showing this passion, this determination, but also all the emotions he feels, I think he does not there is nothing more beautiful. And there is a production team that is absolutely brilliant and a very family atmosphere around all these young people.
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What have you learned from these 9 years as a juror?
Over the years, I have already learned to find myself on stage without my cello, which is not necessarily an easy exercise, to have to quickly find the right words to try to give one, two or three meaningful pieces of advice to these children, but also to the general public, those in the room and those watching television. I must always try to give constructive and benevolent criticism. When you are a teacher, I think that motivating is much more important and rewarding. I don’t believe in this form of teaching through negative criticism.
It’s always difficult to decide between them because there are different categories. But we try to be as objective as possible. Decisions are always made collectively, with Pietra and Julie. We are respectful of everyone’s category: that’s why there is an expert in dance, in singing and in music. And it’s a gift for those kids to be there, so in a way, they all won.
Have you noticed an evolution in the candidates who are selected during the castings?
I think the casting is getting better and better. The evolution for me is quite clear compared to the first years. Afterwards, it also depends on the years, it depends on the young people who start. I want to emphasize how great it is when, in my category, conservatories send us young people. For example, we had a few young people who were sent to us by the Regional Conservatory (CRR) in Paris, which is a wonderful establishment in which I spent two years when I was fourteen. We have a magnificent education in France in the conservatories and I find it great to be able to work together. Every year we try to do better. I love this program, I’m still very happy to be here for season 9 and I can’t wait to celebrate the 10th anniversary next year.
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Will a “child prodigy” necessarily become a good musician as an adult?
A child can be extremely talented at ten or twelve. But there are never certainties in the sense that the child will evolve, will grow. Will it remain in constant evolution? There are young people who are constantly evolving, maturing and really exploding. And then others, sometimes, who are perhaps more talented at twelve, but who will stagnate. It remains something that we do not control, obviously. We can feel very strong things sometimes, we can also be wrong, of course.
So it’s also quite interesting to see the evolution of these children. And if I always talk about the big family wonders, it is because I am them. I am in contact with a number of ex-candidates. I am thinking, for example, of little Lynn Renouil-Hata who won the instrument category in 2018 at age 10 and who is following an absolutely incredible evolution. I took care of her. I sent her to my teacher Annie Cochet who took care of me for ten years and in whom I have complete confidence. She is very well surrounded. So that’s great.
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With this show, your foundation (created on January 3, 2022, it aims to support young artists in their professional debut), your role as ambassador for the association orchestra at school… You have a panorama of the life of a young musician today in France. Is it harder today than it was when you started?
I think it’s a much more complex period. The first thing is that today, just being in your room and playing well is not enough. There are all the social networks, it is important that a young person is present and shows his art. But that’s not everything either. Nothing will ever replace talent. It is all the same the base, the talent. And hours and hours and hours of work when you’re young…
And then, we are especially in the post-Covid period. It is extremely difficult for all this young generation because once you have finished your studies, you have not finished learning, you learn on stage and you need to find concerts in which to play. Before the Covid, it was already difficult, but today we see how difficult it is to fill theaters again, to reconnect with the habit of going out, going to the theater, going to the ballet, to the opera, to go to a concert… And to fill the halls, what do we do? We rather call artists who are a little more confirmed, a little better known, rather than a young person, as talented as he is, but whose name we will not yet know. It saddens me and I think that’s why we all have to mobilize to help them.
This is what pushed me to create my foundation so quickly, at only 41 years old. I am talking to young people between 18 and 25 years old. I try to put my name at the service of these young people. We have already given more than 120,000 euros in scholarships in almost one year of existence. And then we try to create partnerships with festivals, concert halls precisely to get these young people to play. We really have to support them as much as we can.
“Prodigies”, Thursday December 22 and 29 at 9:10 p.m. on France 2