Inspired by the recent XIII Arthur Rubinstein Master Piano competition in IL and the current Tchaikovsky competition held in Moscow (14th-30th June, 2011).
There were 29 pianists staring the competition in the first round. 12 continued to the 2nd round. Last night, after 2 days listening to 12 master pianists who played every piece from their impressive and beautiful repertoire so precise, emotional and absolutely delightful to the ears, I was lost. I didn't know how the jury could pick only 8 to continue to the 2nd part of the 2nd round. It was obvious that the jury felt the same as it took them about an hour and 45 minutes to make their decision. Not so sure if I completely agree with their choice, but it was definitely not an easy one to make and as always in art, each individual has a different taste.
Today the pianists are practicing with the chamber orchestra their Mozart concerto to be played in the next part of round 2 (Thursday and Friday) and I have a day off. I guess the ears needs a bit of a rest after the last week to be able to continue listening with full enjoyment.
At the end of the 2nd round on Friday night the jury will have to make another cut and choose 5 finalists out of the 8. Saturday and Sunday the 5 finalists will practice their 2 virtuosic concertos with the orchestra which will be played during the following 4 days, Monday-Thursday.
Each of the competitors is required to play in the 3rd round 2 concertos, either the concerto no.1 or no.2 by Tchaikovsky and another concerto of their choice. Well, it seems that all the 8 competitors that are now in round 2 all chose the 1st concerto by Tchaikovsky which means not only that it will be heard 5 times in the final but that this is a great opportunity to compare between the pianists and their interpretation of this magnificent concerto.
Now to the 2nd concerto of their choice. There can never be a piano competition without Rachmaninoff in the final round. No wonder the No. 3 is my favorite, not only mine it seems. Just as an example, out of the 29th pianists starting this competition, 9 chose the 3rd concerto by Rachmaninoff!! As it stands now, out of the current 8 pianists, the 3rd concerto will be played 4 times, but it can still change.
Last note, if you enjoy classical music I highly recommend getting on the competition Webcast (link below) to view the following concerts. All info including schedule, repertoire, regulations etc. can be found on the website.
Tchaikovsky XIV Competition Webcast
Enjoy!
