12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition DVD (2005)

IN THE HEART OF MUSIC
12TH VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL
PIANO COMPETITION DVD (2005)

Director: Andy Sommer
Presenter: None
Conductor: James Conlon

What happened: The invasion of female Asian pianists. Three make it to the Grand Finals, an unprecedented feat.

Who won: Alexander Kobrin (Russia)

Also ran: Joyce Yang (Korea), Sa Chen (China), Chu Fang Huang (China), Roberto Plano (Italy), Davide Cabassi (Italy), Maria Mazo (Russia/Germany), Jie Chen (China), Xiaohan Wang (China), Ning An (China), Ying Feng (China), Rui Shi (China), Di Wu (China), ChenXin Xu (China), Elizabeth Joy Roe (USA), Grace Fong (USA), Soyeon Lee (Korea), Ang Li (Canada), Mariya Kim (Russia), Gabriela Martinez (Venezuela) and others.

Narrative techniques:

Cuts to the chase by going straight into the semi-finalists. Four pianists – Kobrin, Yang (left), Cabassi and Mazo - are featured in expense of all the others. For example, Rem Urasin who appears on the dramatic DVD cover gets no air time at all.

Lots of soft focus scenas accompanied by music, not unlike some Playboy video.

Montage: None

Best quotes:
“Music develops your emotions actually faster than they should be. That’s why when you are 8, you can express emotions which normally you do it at 18.” Maria Mazo

“I go out there thinking I have something to say, and you have to listen to me.” Joyce Yang

“My friends are usually not musical. I am not part of the gang.” Davide Cabassi

Worst quotes:

Interviewer: If your piano was a person. How would you describe it?”
Davide Cabassi (left): “Oh, like a beautiful woman. Blue eyes, curly forehair, nice body, very sensual to touch.”

Interviewer: "What do you think makes you different from these other 5 finalists?"
Davide Cabassi: "I am the most beautiful."

John Giordano says: Nothing

Best moments:
Maria Mazo (left) in Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, and impresses the hell out of juror Menahem Pressler.

Davide Cabassi does his best Andrea Bocelli impersonation, by playing much of Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata with his eyes closed.

Alexander Kobrin in Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody.

Joyce Yang in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.2, a performance which should have been reproduced in full instead of short dismembered fragments.

Cringeworthy moments:

Alexander Kobrin riding piggyback on the bear-like Cabassi. “Competitor love” declares Joyce Yang. Their apparent camaraderie is annoyingly overplayed, and the Fort Worth Star Telegram journalist even suggests homoerotic overtones.

Joyce Yang and her father are almost like total strangers in their limo trip to the finals.

Van Cliburn appears for: 1 minute 41 seconds

Extras: 36 minutes worth, including an interview with Veda Kaplinsky, Joyce Yang’s teacher, who speaks about the rise of Asian pianists. The jury holds a public forum and Claude Frank raises more than a few laughs.

Aftermath: Kobrin, Sa Chen and Jie Chen all get to play in Singapore. Roberto Plano (left) judges at the Singapore National Piano Competition 2007, his first concours sitting on the opposite side.

11th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition DVD (2001)

PLAYING ON THE EDGE
11TH VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL
PIANO COMPETITION DVD (2001)

Director: Peter Rosen
Presenter: None
Conductor: James Conlon

What happened: The Russian-speakers return with a vengeance. For the first time ever, the 1st prize is shared.

Who won: Olga Kern nee Pushechnikova (Russia) and Stanislav Ioudenitch (Uzbekistan)

Also ran: Maxim Philippov (Russia), Antonio Pompa-Baldi (Italy), Oleksiy Koltakov (Ukraine/ Australia), Xiaohan Wang (China), Sergei Kudriakov (Russia), Vassily Primakov (Russia), Jong Gyung Park (Korea), Andrew Russo (USA).

Narrative techniques:
Homes in on the six finalists from the outset, presenting human interest stories and portraying pianists as human personalities, warts and all. Perhaps the best documentary of the Van Cliburn to be made.

Montages: None!

Best quotes:

“She is my best teacher, because she never tell me I am good. Never!” Olga Kern speaks about her mother.

“When I was 17, I have dream. It was big old building. I go inside and see Rachmaninov, and he told me, “Ah good Olga, you have to play for me.” Olga Kern hallucinates.

“Sometimes you just don’t think you can make it. Sometimes it is the dark aspect of it. But then when you are on stage, it goes away. It does for me.” Antonio Pompa-Baldi finds inspiration.

Worst quote:

Interviewer: “That was the loudest response to any performer so far in this competition. You put all your eggs in the two pieces, and that last one has got to be one of the hardest in the repertoire. That was a bit of a gamble wasn’t it?”

Maxim Philippov (left) : “Yes.”
Laughs all around.
Philippov: “Well you asked me, and I answered you.”

John Giordano said: The jury is not looking for someone who is a circus act, but someone who has the possibility of being very profound.

Richard Rodzinski said: Three things. Don’t play for the jury. Don’t play for the jury. Don’t play for the jury.

Best moments:

Andrew Russo (left) becomes the first pianist in the history of the competition to “play the insides of the piano” in George Crumb’s A Little Suite for Christmas. He wears an earring, eats bananas before playing, and enters “the Zen zone” by lying on the floor of his dressing room. Too bad the judges weren’t too convinced.

Olga Kern tries on a $2600 evening gown, and realises that she can’t afford it. It’s just as well she won.

Cringeworthy moments:

Olga Kern and her tattered Gutheil Edition score of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3, handed down from her great-grandmother.

Stanislav Ioudenitch (left), having recovered from his scalded hands, complaining about house parrots and how their squawking prevented him from practising. Wearing gloves, getting a hair dryer to blow his hands and sitting on a low stool, does he really think he’s the next Glenn Gould?

Sergei Kudriakov declaring that making a tortilla is more difficult than playing the piano, in his case, Stravinsky's Three Movements from Petrushka.

Oleksiy Koltakov’s (left) domineering Svengali-like teacher (and later father-in-law) Victor Makarov (below) toying with him like a puppet on a stick in Liszt's Sonata in B minor, Hungarian Rhapsody No.2 (Horowitz transcription) and Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.3. Doesn’t the poor boy have a mind of his own?

Van Cliburn appears for: 47 seconds

Extras: DVD recordings of Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 (Ioudenitch) and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3 (Kern) with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and James Conlon. Well worth watching.

Aftermath: Victor Makarov (left) is sentenced by a Sydney court in 2005 to 12 years for 26 counts of sexual assault on 5 students aged between 12 and 17. “Abusing boys was in my nature,” he is quoted to have said in the Sydney Morning Herald. An Australian paedophile / sex offender registry has him as its poster boy.

10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition DVD (1997)

PLAYING WITH FIRE
10TH INTERNATIONAL VAN CLIBURN
INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION DVD (1997)

Director: Catherine Tatge
Presenter: None really, although James Conlon picks it up midway through.
Conductor: James Conlon

What happened: An American wins the Van Cliburn for the first time since 1981. There have been no American finalists ever since.

Who won: Jon Nakamatsu (USA)
Also ran: Yakov Kasman (Russia), Aviram Reichert (Israel), Jan Jiracek (Germany), Filippo Gamba (Italy), Katia Skanavi (Russia), Naida Cole (Canada), Alex Slobodyanik (Russia), Stanislav Ioudenitch (Uzbekistan).

Narrative techniques:
Includes footage of pre-competition screening auditions worldwide.
Semi-finalists introduce themselves, lots of solo segments and interviews included.

Montages:
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No.3: 3rd movement
William Bolcom’s Nine Bagatelles
Schumann Piano Quintet: 1st movement

Best quotes:

“Music is not a science. Art is not a science. It’s taste, it’s emotion, it’s what touches you. You can’t really define is this better than that,” James Conlon

“And then I say to the student. Tell me, what happens God forbid if you win the competition? Can you do what you need to do?” Menahem Pressler

“To become a great artist, you either have to be a poet inside of you, the philosopher inside of you, or absolutely beautify it in such a way that it will catch the imagination of the listener.” Menahem Pressler

“I also have another job. And so during the day, I am Herr Nakamatsu, high school German teacher. And by night, I am Jon Nakamatsu concert pianist.” Jon Nakamatsu

“In a way, a competition is a game and its part of a game that maybe you don’t get further on. You never know, as I just like to be as good as I can.” Jan Jiracek

Worst quotes:
“You have a first aid point here? In case I faint?” Participant Lev Vinocur feels the pressure.

“Not always we have a great day. I don’t think that everything out there was terrible, but some of it was,” said Alex Slobodyanik. He was cut at the preliminary round while his then-wife Katia Skanavi progressed.

John Giordano said: Nothing much beyond some voting legalese.

Best moments:

Conductor James Conlon (left) steals the show in the concerto rehearsal segments. Trying to be the ultimate collaborator, he genuinely bonds with the finalists, even speaking French when he needs to. The “performance gone awry” with Aviram Reichert in Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No.3 is truly hilarious.

The diversity of lesser-played concertos - Mozart No.13 (K.415), Liszt No.1 and Shostakovich No.1 – provides variety, away from the usual Rach, Tchaik and Prok.

Cringeworthy moments:

The cameraman lingers long enough for the viewer to perve at Naida Cole(left), as she jiggles her comely booty on stage.

Stanislav Ioudenitch declares he didn’t need the pressure of winning the first prize. This is immediately followed by the announcement he had withdrawn from the competition after a scalding accident.

Van Cliburn appears for: 2 minutes 3 seconds
Extras: None

Aftermath: Jon Nakamatsu and Yakov Kasman make plenty of recordings for Harmonia Mundi and Calliope respectively. Naida Cole joins medical school. Stanislav Ioudenitch returns in 2001. So does Olga Pushechnikova (left). See what a name change and lots of blonde hair dye does for you?

9th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition DVD (1993)

A LIFE IN MUSIC:

Director: Peter Rosen
Presenter: Reynolds Price
Conductor: Jerzy Semkow

What happened: Lots of loud and emphatic playing, which gets recorded on Philips Classics for the first and last time.

Who won: SIMONE PEDRONI (Italy)

Also ran: Valery Kuleshov (Russia), Christopher Taylor (USA), Johan Schmidt (Belgium), Armen Babakhanian (Armenia), Fabio Bidini (Italy), Frederic Chiu (USA), HaeSun Paik (Korea), Shirley Pan (Canada)

Narrative techniques:

1. A quote heavy script, one that probes the philosophical, metaphorical and rhetorical, aided and abetted by Reynolds Price’s (left) dreary and often incoherent narration. “What is the meaning of a life in music?... blah blah blah...”

2. Highly dramatic performances from the pianists, far overshadowing their human interest stories.

Montage: Morton Gould’s specially commissioned work Ghost Waltzes, performed by the 12 semi-finalists.

Best quotes:

1. “I love music and would love to meet another lover. I don’t want to meet another player.” Menahem Pressler of the Beaux Arts Trio, jury member.

2. “I have a particularly exotic fruit or pomegranate to compare with all the others,” said Christopher Taylor (3rd prize), pianist who performed Messiaen and Boulez amongst other things.

3. “But it is really the worst foot which is the more interesting foot, because the best foot is the same with everybody, and there are many feet like these,” Russell Sherman, piano pedagogue on standing out in a competition.

4. “Who on earth in his right mind would choose to test his body and his mind in a forum where there were so many opportunities for disappointment?” pondered Reynolds Price for the umpteenth time.

Worst quote:

“So I picked the really easy first preliminary programme, because that’s all I thought I will be playing,” followed by lots of sniggering from the mega-plus-sized Shirley Pan, who is totally surprised at making the semi-finals.

John Giordano says: Nothing. Phew!

Best moments:

1. Morton Gould introducing his Ghost Waltzes to the pianists and the television audience. At one point, he describes the music careening to the point of “losing one’s marbles, and the performer should do the same.”

2. Russell Sherman giving HaeSun Paik pointers on Liszt’s Venezia e Napoli.

3. Lots of intense playing, pianism as a bloodsport evidenced in Alexander Korsantiya’s Baba Yaga’s Hut, Fabio Bidini’s Busoni Chopin Variations, Armen Babakhanian’s Babadganian Poem, Frederic Chiu’s Prokofiev Sixth Sonata and Valery Kuleshov’s Horowitz Carmen Variations.

Cringeworthy moments:

1. Piano playing is all one big orgasm; extreme facial grimacing from Hiroshi Arimori and Sergei Tarasov.

2. Really scary hairy: Tie between Shirley Pan’s nerdish laughter and Armen Babakhanian’s eyebrows (left).

3. Valery Kuleshov’s good luck charm: a blue-topped smerf.

Van Cliburn appears for: 3 minutes 18 seconds, including the usual 1958 Moscow footage.

Extras: None

Aftermath: Frederic Chiu, eliminated at the semi-finals stage, becomes the star of the competition à la Pogorelich Warsaw 1980. Chiu, Kuleshov and Taylor all get to perform in Singapore in the 21st century.

8TH VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION DVD (1989)

HERE TO MAKE MUSIC
Director: Peter Rosen
Presenter: Dudley Moore (the diminutive star of Arthur, Ten and Foul Play)
Conductor: Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

What happened: This competition formed the basis and backdrop to Joseph Horowitz’s The Ivory Trade, a devastating exposé on the Van Cliburn IPC and competitions in general.

Who won: ALEXEI SULTANOV (USSR / Uzbekistan)

Also ran: Jose Carlos Cocarelli (Brazil), Benedetto Lupo (Italy), Alexander Shtarkman (USSR), Tian Ying (China), Elisso Bolkvadze (USSR), Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (France), Kevin Kenner (USA), Eduardus Halim (Indonesia), Victor Sangiorgio (Australia).

Almost took part but decided against it: Marc-André Hamelin

Narrative techniques:
1. Various great pianists and former competition winners talk about their experiences. Sound bites from Ashkenazy, Fleisher, Graffman, Ax, Davidovich, Dichter, Entremont amongst others.
2. The winners are announced in reverse order followed immediately by their respective concerto segments.

Montage: A disjointed sequence of pianists in solo works ending with the 1st movement from Beethoven’s Sonata in C major, Op.2 No.3.

Best quote:
“My opinion of competitions is they’re absolutely the worst form of finding talent, except for all the others.” Emanuel Ax

Worst quote:

“Its almost like making love, you know. I cannot make love in front of people.” Jose Carlos Cocarelli (2nd prize winner, Brazil, left) on practising the piano.

John Giordano says:
“The big criticism of competition is frequently the innocuous player, the one that offends the least number of people, wins,” as Russian juror Sergei Dorensky appears piqued.

Best moments:

1. A deadly serious Alexander Shtarkman (USSR/Russia, left) in Franck’s Piano Quintet in F minor with the Tokyo String Quartet. Earlier, he plays a grim Baba Yaga’s Hut which dissolves to The Last Waltz.

2. Alexei Sultanov sweating buckets in Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No.1, Rachmaninov’s Etude-tableau Op.39 No.5, William Schuman’s Chester and practically everything else. He breaks a string in the Liszt, and the audience roars its approval.

Cringeworthy moment:

Kevin Kenner (left) applauding tepidly as Sultanov is named as a finalist, and his trying to appear enthusiastic after not making the final cut.

Van Cliburn appears for: 2 minutes 10 seconds.

Extras:
1. A Competition Retrospective (1962-1993) with lots of historic black and white footage, including a clean-shaven Radu Lupu and Sara Davis Buechner when she was a man.
2. Audio highlights from Alexei Sultanov (previously issued on Teldec)

Aftermath:
Winner Alexei Sultanov attempted the 1995 Chopin International Piano Competition and placed second. Kevin Kenner achieved the same accolade in 1990. On both editions, no first prize was awarded. Sultanov later suffered two intracranial haemorrhages, before succumbing in 2005.

7TH VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION DVD (1985)

Director: Bill Fertik
Presenter: F. Murray Abraham (who looks much better as Salieri in Amadeus)
Conductor: Stanislaw Skrowaczewski

What happened: The most international of all editions of the competition, with more countries represented than thought possible. Jorge Bolet was a jury member.

Who won: JOSE FEGHALI (Brazil, left)
Who really won: BARRY DOUGLAS (Ireland. 3rd prize)

Also ran: Philippe Biaconi (France), Emma Tahmizian (Bulgaria), Karoly Mocsari (Hungary), Hans Christian Wille (Germany), Chia Chou (Canada), Hung Kuan Chen (USA), Rian de Waal (Holland)

Narrative techniques:
1. A chronological presentation of the competition beginning with Andrew Raeburn’s phonecall of invitation coinciding with pianists arriving at DFW Airport.
2. Relies heavily on musical montages.

Montages:
1. Chopin Etude in C major Op.10 No.1 (featuring 5 pianists)
2. Brahms Piano Quintet: 3rd movement (7 pianists)
3. Schumann Piano Quintet: 3rd movement (3 pianists)
4. Prokofiev Piano Concerto No.3: 3rd movement Wille & Tahmizian
5. Brahms Piano Concerto No.1: 3rd movement Douglas & Bianconi

Best quotes:

1. “I compete because I have to. I see it as a necessary evil,” said David Buechner, a serial competitor.

2. “Don’t do it if you can do something else. You’ll have to really need to do it or you’ll die,” said Barry Douglas (left) about music being life and death.

Worst quote:
“Now I have to buy the score of the Brahms quintet tomorrow,” Hans Christian Wille after finding out he’s been picked for the semi-finals.

John Giordano (left) says:
“You’re looking for someone who has the intangible ability to reach across to an audience and to grab you by the heartstrings or whatever, and make you cry and laugh, and feel with that person.”

Best moment:

Barry Douglas playing the end of Liszt’s Dante Sonata, a model of sheer concentration, artistic integrity and professionalism.

Cringeworthy moments:

Music makes one miserable. Don’t you believe it?

1. Ingrid Jacoby draws the dreaded No.1 lot to perform, and so throws her slip away.

2. An unnamed lady pianist weeping profusely after her performance, under the watchful gaze of Franz Liszt’s portrait.

3. Karoly Mocsari looking extremely displeased with himself and his performance of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.3, and needs to be coaxed back on stage to receive his applause. In reality, the final pages were a serious mess.

Van Cliburn (left) appears for: 21 seconds, excluding the prize giving ceremony.

Extras: None

Aftermath: Barry Douglas gets his really big break, but that’s after winning 1st prize at the 1986 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition. Philippe Bianconi gets to record Winterreise with Hermann Prey. Whatever happened to the rest?

6TH VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION DVD (1981)

Director: Robert Elfstrom
Presenter: André Watts (“Live”) / John Giordano (Documentary)
Conductor: Leon Fleisher

What happened: The Russians boycott the competition, so American pianists make up five of the six finalists. Never again.

Who won: ANDRÉ MICHEL SCHUB (USA)

Also ran: Panayis Lyras (USA), Santiago Rodriguez (USA), Jeffrey Kahane (USA), Christopher O’Riley (USA), Daming Zhu (China), Barry Douglas (Ireland), Kathryn Selby (Australia).

Narrative techniques:
The programme combines a “live” telecast of the prize-giving ceremony with a documentary of the competition delivered in three parts. Ends with a short solo recital by André Michel Schub.

Montage: None

Best quote:
1. “Behind the soft spoken exterior does in fact lurk a maniacal competitor,” Jeffrey Kahane describes himself.

2. “I think I’ve lost about 8 pounds since I’ve been here. I’ve seen my face change from no lines to quite a few lines. My forehands are sore. I noticed I’m getting extra calluses in my fingers. And this will be my last, winner or not win.” Santiago Rodriguez (left) on the competition experience.

Worst quote:
1. “I always call my wife after I play. She’s always dying. She’s always sitting by the telephone telling me she couldn’t sleep or eat, which is not true. She eats very well and sleeps very well,” Santiago Rodriguez again.

John Giordano says: "For those who were not selected, remember this is a subjective decision by eleven fallible people.”

Best moments:

1. Santiago Rodriguez in conversation and at work (the ending to Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka, for example), surely the most dramatic of all pianists. Just look at the intensity in his eyes.

2. André Michel Schub’s sweaty final recital of Debussy’s Reflets dans l’eau and two Liszt Paganini Etudes.

3. The young Kathryn Selby bonding with her host family’s daughter.

Cringeworthy moments:

The infamous hat scene without the hats.

1. The six finalists trying on Texas ten-gallon hats with the help of Van Cliburn himself. Finally some woman says, “Can we have something convincing pleeeeeease?”

2. Van Cliburn and André Watts trying to make small talk in front of a “live” TV audience before winner André Michel Schub performs. After the performance, 1977 winner Steven de Groote joins Schub, Watts and John Giordano, and it begins to look like a convention of piano geeks.

3. John Giordano mis-pronounces Panayis Lyras' name, to his quiet consternation.

Van Cliburn appears for: 10 minutes 6 seconds, including a stirring 3 minute monologue on love, devotion and sacrifice for the sake of music.

Extras: None.

Aftermath: Barry Douglas, conferred a Jury Discretionary award, will return in 4 years, and the rest is history.

SSO Beethoven Cycle: The Unquiet Soul / Review

BEETHOVEN FESTIVAL:
THE UNQUIET SOUL
Singapore Symphony Orchestra
LAN SHUI, Conductor
Saturday (17 January 2009)

This review was published in

The Straits Times on 19 January 2009

It has been six years since the Singapore Symphony Orchestra first performed at the Esplanade, and the full potential of the concert hall’s fabled acoustics is now consistently being realised. The power and might of a Beethoven symphony cycle was thus the ideal vehicle to seal this partnership.

Even the pairing of two underrated symphonies – the Second with the Fourth - demonstrated this delicate balance of sound to be no fortuitous accident. Full-bodied tonal allure has become a regular feature, yet no facets of instrumental minutiae are being lost. From feather-like caresses to great bear-hugs of climaxes, these dynamic extremes which make or break a performance are all taken in its stride.

Both symphonies begin with quiet and rapt introductions, but the mystery and tension generated by the orchestra is immediately palpable, this before launching into full-blooded allegros. Conducting completely from memory, Music Director Lan Shui’s vision is one of raw energy and virility, one which feeds upon its own adrenaline rushes.

Brisker than usual tempos are adopted, but never in the expense of flexibility or fastidious attention to detail. The orchestra has now matured to the point that little is beyond its reach. The string chorale that opened the Second Symphony’s Larghetto was so beautifully shaded as to be exquisite, for example. This level of subtlety was a rarity some 15 years ago, but has now become sine qua non.

Fast music in scherzos and finales, previously born of youthful exuberance and hotheadedness, now take on the added dimensions of well-tempered virtuosity and multiple degrees of responsiveness. Principle bassoonist Zhang Jin Min’s short but breathtaking solo in the Fourth Symphony’s perpetual motion of a finale dovetailed so seamlessly as to be almost a non-event.

Sandwiched between the two symphonies was Mozart’s graceful Third Violin Concerto (K.216). Here, the pared down SSO was all ears to the sumptuous artistry of Russian violinist Dmitri Makhtin (left). Again, it was the slow movement that revealed the most; the silky unison of the violins in its opening page leading to Makhtin’s celestial solo aria could only be described as dream chamber music.

The SSO, now in its 30th anniversary year, can no longer be described as “good only in loud and fast music”.

The Cliburn is upon us now!

VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2009
Screening Auditions 15 January – 24 February

Is it a coincidence that the screening auditions for this year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (the lucky 13th edition of the world’s most hyped up concours) begin as the world witnesses on television the screening auditions of American Idol 8? Both are talent contests which promise heaven and earth for whoever wins (and the runners-up), but are they the recipe for a successful lifelong career of performing?

Nay-sayers will claim that the last winner of VC to have a stellar career was Radu Lupu, and that was way back in 1966. The others have come and gone, and in the cases of Steven de Groote (1977) and Alexei Sultanov (1989) lost to this world forever. The truth is that whoever wins will bask in the limelight for 4 years, make some recordings, and hopefully get on a worldwide (rather than merely American) circuit of concerts, before joining academia and becoming forgotten as everyone clamours for the next winner.

155 hopefuls will join the fray, auditioning in 6 cities in Asia, Europe and the States, in the quest of becoming one of the 35 or 36 who gets to play in Fort Worth, Texas in May and June. Who are they and what are their chances?

A quick scan of the 155 reveals the usual suspects who fill the pages of the Alink-Argerich Foundation’s list of competition winners. Some have won 1st prizes worldwide:

Evgeni Bozhanov (Sviatoslav Richter Competition, Moscow)
Dong Hyek Lim (Marguerite Long, Paris)
Spencer Myer (UNISA, Pretoria)
Vassily Primakov (Gina Bachauer, Salt Lake City)
Stephen Beus (Gina Bachauer, Salt Lake City)
Hoang Pham (Lev Vlassenko, Brisbane)
Chun Wang (Villa-Lobos, Sao Paulo)
Ilya Rashkovskiy (Hong Kong)
Wenyu Shen (Rachmaninoff, Pasadena)

At least five were former 1st prizewinners of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition (South Carolina): Konstantin Soukevetski, Di Wu, Dmitri Levkovich, Ran Dank and Eric Zuber, surely a stepping stone to bigger things. Three were among the finalists in the 2008 Sydney International Piano Competition: Tatiana Kolesova (2nd prize), Ran Dank (3rd prize) and Eric Zuber (6th). There are several runners-up in major competitions: Wenyu Shen (Queen Elisabeth 2003, Hong Kong 2005), Ching Yun Hu (Arthur Rubinstein 2007), Zhang Zuo (Shenzhen 2007), just to name a few. Even one, Dong Hyek Lim, has an ongoing contract with EMI Classics. Fort Worth seems to be the true Holy Grail of all these competitors.

Fingers will fly and gazillions of notes will be heard as virtuoso fodder takes centrestage. (That's Sergei, left, beating a quick retreat from the keyboard. Whoever thought his Op.36 be used as a jury torture implement?) These warhorses are among the most popular:

RACHMANINOV Sonata No.2 (14 performances, 5 to be heard in Shanghai alone.)
STRAVINSKY Three Movements from Petrushka (12)
RAVEL Gaspard de la nuit (9)
RAVEL La Valse (7)
BRAHMS Paganini Variations (6)
LISZT Reminiscences de Don Juan (6)
LISZT Sonata in B minor (6)
LISZT Dante Sonata (5)
PROKOFIEV Sonata No.7 (5)

Big surprise: There will be only ONE performance of Balakirev’s Islamey, by the aptly named Timur Scherbakov.

Korean brothers and rivals Dong Min Lim (seated, left) and Dong Hyek Lim (standing) will both perform in New York, playing exactly the same pieces: Schubert’s Impromptus D.899 and Ravel’s La Valse. Both were awarded ex-aequo 3rd prizes at the 2005 Chopin International Piano Competition. Talk about being unimaginative.

The blind Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, semi-finalist at the 2005 Chopin, performs a Scarlatti sonata and Chopin’s 12 Etudes Op.10 in Fort Worth. Certainly newsworthy stuff but will he be getting sympathy votes?

Returning after a hiatus of 8 years: Vassily Primakov (semi-finalist in 2001) and Yunjie Chen (quarter-finalist 2001). So it pays to start competing early.

Second bite of the cherry. 6 pianists will be vying for a return to Fort Worth having qualified in 2005: Esther Park, Ilya Rashkovskiy, Soyeon Lee, Stephen Beus, Di Wu and Ang Li.

The sink or swim programme is offered by Tanya Gabrielian in New York, featuring just one work: Rachmaninov’s rarely-played 45-minute long First Sonata.

There are four Korean pianists with similar names: Sooyeon Ham, Soyeon Kim (both playing in Hannover), Kyu Yeon Kim and Soyeon Lee (both New York). From China: Chi Wu and Di Wu. Hope the judges do not mix these Oriental lasses up.

Whatever happened to the Brits? Only one pianist from the United Kingdom is taking part: Ron Abramski. So much for the land that gave us John Ogdon, John Lill, Ian Hobson and Peter Donohoe.

Best Names: Vladimir Farkov (left) and Eduard Kunz, both playing in St Petersburg. Wonder what their piano duo will be called?

For more information, and to read the official Van Cliburn Competition blog, check out: www.cliburn.org

Victor Khor plays Radiohead / Review

VICTOR KHOR PERFORMS RADIOHEAD
SMU Arts & Culture Centre
Thursday (15 January 2009)
This review appeared in The Straits Times on 17 January 2008.

From the intrepid Singaporean pianist Victor Khor, one can only expect the unexpected. The Moscow and Manchester trained maverick was the first local to attempt Bach’s Goldberg Variations in concert, and has attracted notoriety for his programming quirks*.

His latest recital, part of Singapore Management University’s Arts Festival, comprised an hour wholly of ten Radiohead songs transcribed by renowned American classical pianist Christopher O’Riley, a former prizewinner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Metamorphoses or transformations are probably more appropriate words to describe these transcriptions, which are a world apart from the British alternative rock band’s melancholic and angst-laden songs. However without the lyrics, arresting titles like Subterranean Homesick Alien, How I Made My Millions and Fake Plastic Trees are rendered meaningless.

Mellifluous melody was never a strong suit with Radiohead (left), and climactic swells tend to be in short supply. So what goes into each treatment is a ceaselessly pulsing bedrock of rhythms, upon which a mélange of figurations and harmonic progressions, steeped in contemporary writing language is grafted upon. There are many dissonances, but these are never jarring, instead imbued with ear-catching piquancy.

Is this classical, pop, rock, New Age or minimalist piano? Perhaps a little of all of these; hear the thick chordal sequences of There There, or the gamelan-like tinkling in Let Down that gathers decibels from its nocturnal opening to its voluminous surge of a climax. And what of the repetitious ostinato in Like Spinning Plates, crafted like a Spanish fandango or the sensitive music box approach to the familiar B flat minor strains of No Surprises?

O’Riley’s ever-inventive takes were well matched by Khor resourceful pianism, which sounded almost improvised on the spot despite playing from a well-thumbed score. He also brought out a wide palette of the music’s colours from the dance studio’s 6-foot Bohemia grand, even if the latter was not the most subtle or supple of instruments.

His little encore - Schumann’s Traumerei - came like a fresh after-dinner mint, bringing this sleeper of a recital to a delightful close.

* Victor Khor's earlier programmes have juxtaposed Alban Berg and Schumann sonatas with Borodin and Lyapunov. He was also the first to perform Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit with recitations of Aloysius Bertrand's poems, programmed alongside Grieg's Lyric Pieces and Prokofiev's Eighth Sonata. A 2008 recital featured Erkki-Sven Tüür, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Radiohead-O'Riley. Quirky enough for you?

THE ART OF AUTOGRAPHS (Part 1)

This article was first published in the July 2008 issue of BraviSSimO!,

the newsletter of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.

Autograph sessions with visiting soloists and artists are now a norm at SSO concerts. Why do concertgoers take the trouble of waiting in line? What exactly are the musicians’ scribbles on paper worth? Which artists give the best autographs?

Mischa Maisky's autograph is as big as his cello sound.

“Touched” by greatness

Ever yearned for an autograph from David Beckham, Robert de Niro, Tiger Woods or Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew? Yes, the thought can be quite a tantalising one, especially when the subject concerned is a celebrity. Owning a “part” of someone famous – even something infinitesimally insignificant – can be seen as one way we ordinary mortals aspire to “rub shoulders” with greatness.

Now that sounds preposterous, but that’s how the world works. Why else did we get Lisztomania, Beatlemania or Wrestlemania? 19th century ladies swooning before divine artistry, screaming groupies falling for the Fab Four, and rabid fans baying for Vince McMahon’s blood represent one end on the spectrum of idol worship. Autograph collecting is merely a more dignified way of expressing admiration and sometimes adulation.

Leila does everything in one stroke

SSO’s collaborations with international artists bring many of classical music’s luminaries to Singapore, within reach of fans. Prior to these well-organised queues, minded by Esplanade’s people-in-black and sometimes the police, autograph collecting meant waiting outside musty stage doors, dressing chambers and green rooms. The assembly-line efficiency of today has also replaced the more friendly banter that takes place between artist and audience member. “Thank you for the music” or “we loved your Beethoven” is always music to the ears of performers, and the autograph - an imprint of an icon – is a just reward for the appreciation shown.

Evelyn Glennie has visited Singapore many times,

hence many opportunities for autographs.

Of sentimental value

How much is an autograph worth? Some years ago, I noticed at the New York Philharmonic’s gift shop a CD autographed by Kurt Masur selling at USD 20. The un-autographed copy went for USD 16. So is the great German maestro’s signing worth only four dollars? In actual fact, such autographs are probably worth much less than that. However, the memories that come with getting the autograph are priceless; the setting, the circumstances and the short words exchanged – all these have some personal sentimental value, even if it means nothing to everybody else. This is why one should always try to get an autograph personally, rather than by proxy.

In 1994, the great Russian pianist Shura Cherkassky (above) autographed for me a book about pianists, on the page which bore a photograph of himself and fellow students with their teacher Josef Hofmann. He took a pause while scrutinising that pic and then sighed, “They’re all dead now. I’m the only one left.” One year later, he was to be united with the class. The Hungarian György Sandor – with his larger-than-life autograph that got smaller as the years went by – shared with me how as a young pianist, he was approached to give the world premiere of Bartok’s Third Piano Concerto. Another Hungarian, Bela Siki – who prints his name very simply and modestly – recounted how electric fans installed on the stage of a 1960s Victoria Memorial Hall kept flying insects from interfering with his performance of Liszt’s Sonata in B minor!

Carlo's Curls

Mutter knows best

Barry Tuckwell's lovely cursive