XIV Tchaikovsky competition - Gala concert - Moscow

I just finished watching tonight’s gala concert in Moscow, (not live for the first time) and all I can think of is WOW WOW WOW !!!

So Daniil Trifonov didn’t play all what I hoped for but he did surprise me with La Campanella by Liszt that he also played as an encore at the XIII Arthur Rubinstein competition last month. He started his performance playing the 2^nd & 3^rd parts from the Tchaikovsky piano concerto No.1 that we heard 5 times in the finals and after that the beautiful mentioned piece. All played beautifully according to the standards Daniil got me used to… Ye, this young pianist is deep in it now and he has expectations to fulfil. He made himself a big name and he will just have to make it.

It’s definitely worth watching, an outstanding performance, either live on Saturday 20:00 Moscow time or any other time through this archive: Daniil's performance at the end of the concert.

http://pitch.paraclassics.com/#/live/gala-moscow 

Enjoy!

XIV Tchaikovsky competition - Daniil Trifonov Winner

So you think it is over, ha? Well, not just yet. 

Daniil Trifonov 1st prize winner!

Yeol Eum Son 2nd prize

Yes, we have the discipline winners but we still don't have the Grand-Prix winner. What is the Grand-Prix? One grand winner to be chosen from all disciplines which will be awarded on the gala concert tomorrow night in St. Petersburg, starts at 19:00 Moscow time, and will be broadcasted on the usual webcast. There is also a gala concert of the winners tonight in Moscow but no awards tonight. I don’t know the program of the concerts as it was not published but if it will be available I will post it. The gala concert tonight starts at 19:00 Moscow time and should be broadcasted as well on the usual webcast. I hope to hear Daniil Trifonov plays Chopin and Tchaikovsky concertos again, but I think this is too much to hope for…

It was a very entertaining couple of hours yesterday waiting for the awards ceremony to start. I was ready online with the broadcast a few minutes before the planned starting time (8pm Moscow) but due to the late arrival of the St. Petersburg jury and participants, the final start time of the event was over 1 hour and a half later. While waiting, I got on the facebook page of the competition and there everything was happening…. 

For about an hour and a half people were chewing nails, making comments and jokes that clearly show signs of nervousness and anticipation. Bets on the winners followed by discussion and arguments, people not able to find the webcast, worried that they’re missing it, begging for someone to post the link again or tell them what they can see to check if they see the same. Tips to use FireFox and not IE, refresh the page, choose “live piano” from menu, re-start your PC, all the good old known tips.

One thing useful I learned from all these pre-announcements discussions, and it was also wrote under the same though (probably):  “as we are currently waiting anyway, does anyone know when and where is the next international piano competition?” and thanks to some knowledgeable followers I now can prepare myself for September when the International Liszt piano competition will take place in Budapest :)


Enjoy!

XIV Tchaikovsky competition - words from two jury members

Peter Donohoe, pianist & jury member.

One of the jury members, pianist Peter Donohoe, winner of 1982 Tchaikovsky competition was interviewed last night after the performances. He started the interview all emotional and excited saying Tchaikovsky No.1 always makes him cry as he slowly stabilizes his emotions and speech. It was interesting to hear some of the rules / guidance of the jury, how the committee tries to maintain a high level of art, as Mr Donohoe said: "we are looking for perfect pianists". He explained; it is not that they're looking at how the pianists master or control the piano. It is beyond that. At this level they are all assumed to be masters. It is each character and he's emotions transferred from the composer to the audience. And if they do make a mistake, if it does slips, as it does sometimes to the best as well (or at least so they say. I do believe that perfect IS perfect and can be achieved just not by anyone) then that is not what is going to get them out of the round. What is more important is the sound in each and every scenario. It has to touch the listener and carry him with, it has to be perfect!

Mr Donohoe was asked if they are to judge each round separately on its own or as a combination of all rounds. The bottom line is: each round on its performance. Plain and clear. But, and there’s always a “but” in these circumstances, how can you separate what you heard in the recital rounds or the chamber concerto, how can you ignore those moments you cried (or almost cried) from listening to a particular competitor? And that is what makes the jury’s task so difficult, and sometimes their decisions are not unanimous.

Mr Donohoe also talked about the ones who leave the competition. It does not mean that the ones who didn’t make it to later stages of the competition are not good pianists. On the contrary, as said above, at this level of competition, leaving in the middle of the 2^nd round means you are pretty damn good but just not matured yet to win this competition, come again if you can in 4 or 8 years.

Yefim Bronfman, pianist & jury member (final)

A world known pianist has joined the jury today for the final round. Yefim Bronfman, a master pianist that never participated in any competition.  He admits, he got famous quite young and didn’t need to take this path. Mr Bronfman was talking with the hosts at the beginning of the evening saying that he feels a bit guilty coming over completely fresh without hearing the previous rounds, as if he missed the whole dinner and showed up only for the dessert. Yefim Bronfman is the only jury member that does not hold any competition prize. On the question if the other jury members “filled him in” on the pianists and the previous rounds he replied “I got a very thick book of rules which says that you’re not allowed to discuss anything”.

Today and tomorrow the performances will starts at 1pm Moscow time. Two competitors will play today: Alexander Romanovsky (Ukraine) and Seong Jin Cho (South Korea). Tomorrow we will hear the last three competitors.

Enjoy!

Van Cliburn - at the XIV Tchaikovsky competition

Van Cliburn @ 1st Tchaikovsky competition, 1958

Last night, an honoured guest was sitting in the Moscow conservatory hall listening to the first 3 performances of the piano final, a master pianist who won the first Tchaikovsky competition in 1958, Mr Van Cliburn.

From Wiki:

"Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (born July 12, 1934) is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958, when at age 23, he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War."

When he was asked by the webcast hosts Ms Irina Tuszinceva & Mr John Rubinstein if he still gets inspired by the young pianists today he replied: 

" Everyone comes with their own ideas, and we, as audience' members, are taken through each performer's garden to see how they feel, what do they hear, what do they perceive. And that's so interesting. Always."

I couldn´t put it better myself!

Piano

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!