Preliminary
Rounds
Day 4 Recital
One (11 am)
Monday 27 May
2013
This morning, we hear the last trio of
pianists from the 30, marking an end to Phase One of the Preliminary Rounds. FRANCOIS DUMONT (France) is listed to
be 27 years of age, but the balding Frenchman appears to look at least twenty
years older. A distinguished demeanour on stage lends that bit of gravity that commands,
“I’ve got something special to say, so you had better listen well.” And when
(and not if) Dumont ends up in the
money, he also appears to be the one most ready to make the big stages. He is
the only pianist to programme a Mozart sonata in the first round. Bravo to
that, because his Mozart Sonata in A
minor (K.310), arguably his most virtuosic, makes a bold statement. He is
unafraid to let rip, and even that sounds intensely musical.
Very special is his Ravel Gaspard de la nuit, arguably the most
mature conception of the three performances heard so far. He does not strive
for effect, nor he does not need to, as his Ondine
and Le gibet are both marvellously
characterised. His Scarbo is also the
most volatile, not a caricatures but the real thing. He closed his recital with
Chopin’s Scherzo No.3 in C sharp
minor (Op.39), aligning steel and satin like no other performance. Standometer: ***
My
view:
A certainty for the next round.
Coming so soon after Dumont, RUOYU HUANG (China) may be at a
disadvantage but this big-striding young man will have none of that. His
confidence is apparent from the word go, opening with a crisp Haydn Sonata in E major (Hob.XVI: 31), that
sparkles with lightness and humour. This work finds a perfect foil in Chopin’s Etude in E minor (Op.25 No.5), with its
hiccoughing rhythm contrasted with a silky central interlude. He does it very
nicely, setting the stage to more Chopin that follows.
I’ve used the word journey or voyage
before in these pages, and I’ll use it again to describe Huang’s traversal of
Chopin’s 24 Preludes (Op.28). He is a
master story-teller who instinctively knows how to string along each prelude,
every single one a rare gem, into a priceless necklace. He seemed to build his
arch with the D flat major Raindrop
Prelude (No.15) as its capstone, and never have I heard so much emotion
invested into this “simple” number. The ferocious etude-like B flat minor (No.16)
was flawless until he hit a speed bump near the end, but that did little to
dampen his spirits which never flagged all the way to the final three low Ds. Standometer: **1/2
My
view:
A very encouraging start.
No.30, the last participant to perform
is YURY FAVORIN (Russia), who has
the most unconventional programme choices of all, the sort of stuff that appears
in the Schloss vor Husum Rarities of Piano Music Festival. Schubert’s Sonata in E flat major (D.568) only
appears in integrale recordings, and
hardly in concert programmes, and he makes you want to discover more. It’s in 4
movements, about 25 minutes long, and makes very pleasant listening even if it
isn’t as memorable as the late sonatas. He performs its sensitively and with a
lot of charm, contrasted by a desolate slow movement in G minor right out of
Schubert’s world of Lieder.
For his obligatory showpiece, he chose
the Liszt over-the-top transcription of Wagner’s Tannhauser Overture. In this performance, he just about dispels the
memory of Bolet, Cziffra and Moiseiwitsch’s vintage recordings. The sheer sound
he generates is orchestral, and it’s not just loudness and volume, but also
intensity and depth. How his fingers negotiate the tricky turns and grace notes
in the Pilgrim’s Chorus defies belief,
and he closes with stunning panache. That should have closed his recital, but
he tagged on Andre Boucourechliev’s Orion
3, five minutes of post-Messiaen atonal music of the spheres, the sound
when two galaxies collide and get sucked into a black hole. Standometer: **1/2 (could have been
more had he finished with the Wagner).
My
view:
Another amazing Russian. The Americans should feel threatened.
HALF-TIME
(End of Phase One of the Preliminaries)
30 pianists have performed their first
recitals, so who do I fancy? Here are my 12 picks for the semi-finals just
based on this phase (in order of appearance):
RANA
MCDONALD
ABROSIMOV
SAKATA
GARRITSON
KHOZYAINOV
DELJAVAN
GILLHAM
CHERNOV
SUNWOO
DONG
DUMONT
Possibles:
HUANGCI, STEVEN LIN, GRECO, POLIYKOV, KHOLODENKO, CHEN, YUAN, HUANG &
FAVORIN.
Dark
horse: BURATTO.
I really would love “Supermarket boy” (as described by a musically-savvy couple
who organise concerts in New England) to succeed, but he appears to be
unmarketable at present. On the other hand, he could become the James Rhodes of
Italy.
I know this a kaisu cop-out by naming so many people, but the standard of the
Cliburn has been so high that it
really is that difficult to call. In the fair number of competitions I have
attended, none has impressed me than the
overall standard of playing in the Cliburn. There are semi-finals of other
competitions where players are still grappling for notes, having memory lapses,
playing messily and blundering their way to the next round, Not so, the
Cliburn. Let’s see what the Second Phase of the Preliminary Rounds offers. The
picks could very well change.
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