CLIBURN FINALISTS NAMED

The six finalists of the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition have been named, close to midnight of Tuesday 4 June 2013 at Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth. They are (in alphabetical order):

SEAN CHEN (USA)

FEI-FEI DONG (China)

VADYM KHOLODENKO (Ukraine)

NIKITA MNDOYANTS (Russia)

BEATRICE RANA (Italy) and

TOMOKI SAKATA (Japan)

The final round of concerto performances with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leonard Slatkin begins on Thursday 6 June 2013. Performances may be caught via Internet at the competition website (www.cliburn.org)

The concertos that will be heard include:

MOZART Piano Concerto No.20 (Mndoyants & Sakata)

MOZART Piano Concerto No.21 (Kholodenko)

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.3 (Rana)

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.4 (Dong)

BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No.5 (Chen)

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No.2 (Mndoyants & Rana)

PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No.3 (Kholodenko)

RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No.3 (Chen & Dong)

TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No.1 (Sakata)  

I do feel for old Alessandro Deljavan, denied at the semi-finals stage of the Cliburn for the second consecutive time. Hopefully he'll have better luck at the Cleveland International Piano Competition coming on shortly. 

Interestingly, all the pianists whose CD and DVDs I purchased from the Cliburn Shop (at USD 10 and 15 a piece) happened to make it to the finals. They include Rana (CD), Sakata (CD), Kholodenko (DVD) and Fei-Fei (DVD). The impulse of wanting to experience those performances again was probably similar to the jury wanting to hear them again in the final. Uncanny but true.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / MY PICKS and THE JURY'S PICKS

Every member of the audience was a 
jury member in his/her own right.
Eight of my semifinal picks made it through. 

MY 12 PICKS FOR THE SEMI-FINALS

So we’ve reached the end of the Preliminary Rounds, after a whopping 60 recitals by 30 pianists, 29 of whom I’ve liked. So it remains the onerous task of picking just 12, and disappointing 18 others. This is one competition where there are no weak participants (including the artistically wayward ones), and any of the 30 would walk into another competition and be its winner stat. Here are the 12 pianists I have chosen (in alphabetical order, and a capsule summary):

ABROSIMOV (Substitute pianist, best Prokofiev 8)

CHERNOV (Mature and solid musician)

DELJAVAN (Angst-ridden Italian, possible winner)

DONG (Passionate China doll)

DUMONT (Mature Frenchman, ready to conquer the world)

FAVORIN (Loved his offbeat repertoire, and Tannhauser)

GILLHAM (Warm-hearted and genuine Queenslander)

KHOLODENKO (Rock solid Ukrainian, best ever Petrushka)

RANA (Old soul in a young body)

SAKATA (Japanese wunderkind)

SUNWOO (Gangnam Style and panache, by way of Vienna)

ZUBER (Rock solid American, most improved of 2 rounds)  

Dark horse:

BURATTO (I’ve always love the underdog)

So there have been some changes from my last pick after Phase One of the preliminaries. The Russian wunderkind Khozyainov has dropped off because I felt he could still develop in the area of feeling and living the music, like the way his older compatriot Chernov already has. The judges might differ and crown him the winner, but will he become a true musician under the hothouse and microscope Cliburn winners have to live with?

The jury's final twelve. The absence of Francois Dumont
remains a sore point.

Here are the judges' pick (In the announcement ceremony, they were seated in the balcony, separated from the audience and participants, which was a good thing in case of lynch mobs) and my own comments of their choices:

ABROSIMOV (Agree)

CHEN (Excellent first recital, but after that Hammerklavier?)

CHERNOV (Agree)

DELJAVAN (Agree most definitely)

DONG (Agree)

GILLHAM (Agree)

HUANGCI (I may have underestimated her having played so early.)

KHOLODENKO (Agree, especially for that Petrushka)

KHOZYAINOV (I knew the judges would pick him)

MNDOYANTS (I almost forgot about him, so Agree)

RANA (Agree, happily so)

SAKATA (Agree, whole-heartedly)

WHAT, no Dumont?

Sadly, my journey in The Cliburn ends today, as I return to Singapore to be with my family. Seven days of intense piano playing seems all too short, and time slips away ever so imperceptibly. I have enjoyed myself  greatly in Fort Worth, made many new friends (the photos will come soon), enjoyed its warm, hearty Texan hospitality and had a whale of a time. Will I be back in 4 years time? It certainly is tempting indeed...

All 12 semi-finalists line up (roughly in alphabetical order) 
for their press photo.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 30 May 2013 Recital 1

Preliminary Rounds

Day 7 Recital One (11 am)

Thursday 30 May 2013

I felt that SARA DANESHPOUR (USA) played better today, opening with Haydn’s Sonata in F major (Hob.VXI:23), a very polished performance with wit and humour. The slow movement was crafted with a beautiful velvety sonority that made one wish it could continue for longer. The mood changed for Granados Love and Death (La amor y la muerte) from Goyescas, which was dark and brooding, captured with a style that is wholly appropriate. Her Prokofiev Seventh Sonata had less power that Garritson’s (Daneshpour being of far slighter built) but it was subtler in certain ways. The tolling bells of the second movement were memorable, and even if the Precipitato finale did not race off the tracks, it built up to a sufficiently big climax before closing in a flourish. Standometer: *1/2

My view: A better show today, but that may not be enough.

After all the glorious music making that has come before, it appears that GUSTAVO MIRANDA-BERNALES (Chile) has arrived at the wrong party. If this were the Gottschalk-Guastavino Carmen Miranda Piano Competition, he would be pronounced its champion in an instant. He plays with a distinctly unpleasant sound, apparent immediately in a Chopin Mazurka and Gabriel Faure’s Second Valse Caprice, both dances infected with an irritating beat of his own making. It gets worse in Schumann’s Fantasie Op.17, with conscious posturing posing as profundity, attention-grabbing accents, funny eyes and extreme facial grimacing. While Deljavan’s faces come across as genuine, Miranda’s looked like faked orgasms. And he comes from Juilliard? Standards must have fallen, I’m afraid. After this, I’m off to Ojos Locos for some real eye candy. Standometer: **1/2

My view: Adios, please.

    

The second recital of JIE YUAN (China) consisted of 27 short pieces, beginning with three rhythmically interesting numbers from Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata (Nos.3, 6 and 10), each based on the same number of notes as its numerical order. So each piece gets more complex as the numbers rise from 3 to 10. It does not take a mathematical genius to enjoy his account of these. There was little to separate Yuan’s magnificent performance of Chopin’s 24 Preludes Op.28 from the earlier one by Ruoyu Huang. Technically, it was beyond secure, and that is when the true music making starts. Each piece flowed into the next seamlessly, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Standometer: **1/2

My view: His stock has further risen, and hopefully we’ll get to hear more.   

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 30 May 2013 Recital 2

Preliminary Rounds

Day 7 Recital Two (3 pm)

Thursday 30 May 2013

FRANCOIS DUMONT (France) again appears the most mature of all the contestants. His whole demeanour seems to rise above and beyond the rough and tumble of competition; he is already a fully-formed artist who just happens to be playing a couple of concerts in Bass Hall while a competition is taking place. He is Mr Cool, like most Frenchmen tend to be. That is the feel I get in Debussy’s Estampes, one of few Debussy pieces programmed in the Preliminaries. Everybody wants to play Gaspard (Dumont included) but in his hands, the anti-virtuoso impressionist numbers truly ring out with colour, from the delicate tinkles of Pagodes, the sultry atmosphere of Soirees dans Grenade, to the patter of rain in Jardins sous la pluie. His Chopin Third Sonata was outstanding, breathing music from every pore. When you hear this warhorse in his hands, you do not think of a competition, but rather a recital where a close friend pours out his heart to you in his art. Standometer: ***1/2

My view: Does someone like Dumont need a competition? He should already be playing around the globe.  

Of all the Chinese pianists (Chinese-Americans included) in this competition, RUOYU HUANG (China) strikes one as the most human of them. Everything he does sounds heartfelt, even if it isn’t the most technically clean or accurate. I would hear his Schumann Fantaisie (Op.17) any day, because of its sincerity and genuine depth of feeling. Sure he struck wrong notes in the treacherous quick passages leading up the second movement’s octave leaps, but I would rather have these frailties than Carmen Miranda’s ultra-correct feints. The slow movement to close was warmth and reassurance itself. He added two Debussy Preludes – the stormy What The West Wind Saw and a somewhat heavy-handed Minstrels – before closing with the Preliminary round’s only Balakirev Islamey. His conception of its opening rhythm sounded unusually clipped, but still finished with a flourish. Standometer: ***

My view: He may not proceed, but I’ve enjoyed much of his playing.

YURY FAVORIN (Russia) has the most unusual programming in the entire competition, and that may be his undoing. Competition juries often stick with tried and tested repertoire, and mostly fear the unknown, especially when they don’t know or play those pieces themselves (or are unable to). For this round, he chose four movements from Liszt’s Harmonies poetiques et religieuses, two of which are very well known and two hardly ever performed. In Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude, I felt the opening could be smoother; this is the ultimate study in marrying left hand melody with right hand filigree. He generated a huge sonorous climax towards the middle, something he does well also in Funerailles. As with the chord laden Pensees de mort and Cantique d’amour, he makes me want to find out more of these spiritually inspired works. His playing is thunderous, and I am looking forward to his Alkan in the next round, that is if he makes it. Standometer: ***

My view: He’s done enough to make me root for him

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 29 May 2013 Recital 1

Preliminary Rounds

Day 5 Recital One (11 am)

Wednesday 29 May 2013

ALESSANDRO TAVERNA (Italy) has returned with the most atypical competition programme thought possible, beginning with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in B flat major (Op.106). This is not “Hammerklavier Lite” even if it begins with crashing chords, but something lighter by far. There’s some gratuitous note-spinning about, but what sticks out is the “song without words” slow movement which the Italian crafts most sensitively. Following that was Nikolai Medtner’s Sonata Minacciosa (Op.53 No.2), which I believe means “Menacing Sonata” or something to that effect. It is very dramatic and dark, trenchantly brought out, but seems to belabour its point (a two-note motif that hangs like a curse) too much. Ligeti’s etude The Devil’s Staircase – equally dark and threatening - was very impressively played, and the same dissonance occupied much of Messiaen’s Contemplation of the Spirit of Joy (from his Twenty Contemplations of the Infant Jesus), its chord-laden pages lit up by a transcendent chorale melody that is its valediction. Standometer: **   

My view: Very impressive, but I fear this cerebral recital may have flown over the top of most heads (including mine).

NIKOLAY KHOZYAINOV (Russia) continues to impress, not by just his prodigious technique, but also his restraint. His Chopin set was lovely, opening with the singing lines of the Barcarolle (Op.60), and closing with an ultra-smooth Berceuse (Op.57), both crafted to perfection. In between was the Chromatic Etude in A minor (Op.10 No.2) which was pristine and accurate to say the least. Then came his Liszt Sonata in B minor, which was a textbook account that would please anybody and everybody. The climaxes were plangently built up, and he does not bang. The quieter passages were poetically conceived and pleasing to the ear. All this sounds very good, by why doesn’t this constitute a rave? I just have the niggling feeling that something is missing; this interpretation sounds like the life experience of a 20-year-old that has been carefully cultivated, watered and pruned in a sterile bubble, one that has yet to taste life in a rough and tumble world. Standometer: ***

My view: Would progress to the next round. Juries just love these kind of students.

   

The polar opposite to the young Russian would be ALESSANDRO DELJAVAN (Italy), who looks battle-scarred, appearing at least twenty years older than the 26 listed in the Cliburn book. His recital was one born of trials and tribulation, but that had yet to surface in Mozart’s Variations on Gluck’s Unser dummer Pobel meint, which had an operatic and comedic theatricality that was enchanting. His Schumann Fantaisie in C major (Op.17) would be, in my opinion, the performance of the Preliminaries. With agony and ecstasy etched on his face to equal degree, the music came through with molto passione, molto dolore and molto amore. His sound was gorgeously projected, and those crazy octave leaps – nailed with an inexorable finality – sounded like some sort of vindication, of one whose dark inner secrets remains unrevealed. The audience applauded spontaneously after the first and second movements, but Deljavan got his own back when after the quiet C major ending, he continued unmolested into Schubert’s lovely Variation on the Diabelli Waltz (also in C major), almost a built-in encore. Standometer: ** only? (the audience was probably stunned into ultimate reverence)   

My view: I am almost speechless myself. If he does not progress, some people need to be shot.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 29 May 2013 Recital 2

Preliminary Rounds

Day 5 Recital Two (3 pm)

Wednesday 29 May 2013

I’ve always liked the playing of JAYSON GILLHAM (Australia/UK). Today he opened with Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata (Op.53), which displayed his usual warmth and generous sound, which is sincere yet not wanting for passion. There is gravity in the slow movement, building up nicely into the flowing lines of the Rondo which gave a visceral thrill when those octave glissandos trickled and tickled like fresh spring water. Credit goes to the camera crew which knew exactly the right moment to focus on his hands and capture that little piece of musical magic. The balance of his programme was poetic Liszt (a lovely Petrarch Sonnet No.123) and virtuosic Liszt (the Spanish Rhapsody), both of which came through with great immediacy. There I no barnstorming in Gillham’s music making, only musical love making. Standometer: **1/2

My view: I hope he goes as far as possible in this competition.  

ERIC ZUBER (USA) more than made up for the relative disappointment of the earlier phase, and this is why the two-phase format in the Preliminaries of this competition has been so vital. It hopefully keeps the right people in the running. His view of Beethoven’s final Sonata in C minor (Op.111) was a revelation. There is true struggle and strife in the opening movement, borne by the power and passion of the playing. This is Beethoven in his final pianistic act of fist-shaking and hell-raising. Then anger and angst gave way to reflection and contemplation of the second movement’s Theme and Variations, which came across like a benediction with faith restored in this troubled world. The selection of four varied Rachmaninov Preludes (Op.32 No.10, 12 and 5, and Op.23 No.2) revealed more poetry and passion. He has now become my favourite American pianist in this competition. Standometer: ***

My view: Possibly the only American to be elected a semi-finalist, the last since Jon Nakamatsu in 1997.

The luck of the draw saw ALEXEY CHERNOV (Russia) perform exactly the same Beethoven sonata as Zuber, the Op.111. So soon after that, Chernov came up with a totally different conception of the work, equally valid and vivid. While Zuber ranted and raved, Chernov was more measured. His sound was more soft-focussed, less stark, almost a matte portrait to Zuber’s gloss and bright sheen. I was just as touched by this reading, which goes to core essence of classical music; differing interpretations could be appreciated on different terms but with the same satisfactory outcome. After all, who would want to hear a piece of music played in exactly the same way by everybody?

Chernov’s fillers were interest by their contrasts, Ligeti’s coruscating Autumn in Warsaw was followed by three waltzes, two folk-inspired numbers by Grieg (very charming as expected) and Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No.1, which provided a virtuosic close. Standometer: ***

My view: Should make it through. Beethoven Op.111 always helps.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 29 May 2013 Recital 3

Preliminary Rounds

Day 5 Recital Three (7.30 pm)

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Everybody seems to love YEKWON SUNWOO (South Korea), and they cannot believe he was merely a substitute pianist in this competition. The unusual choice of the Strauss-Grunfeld waltz that opened his first phase now becomes more apparent. He has built both his preliminary round recitals on the subject of Vienna. This is truly inspired programming indeed. For the second phase recital, he began with Scarlatti’s Sonata in D minor (K.213), a gem of a piece which showed that sadness has its own voice.  Then came Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnival Jest in Vienna), a series of dances and interludes which sparkled in his hands. After Leon Kirschner’s brief and palate-cleansing Interlude No.2, his closing piece was Ravel’s La Valse, in a performance that began lean, shorn of cholesterol and corpulent excesses, rhythmically steady, but built up a head of steam to finish with the perfect embodiment of decadence and chaos. A thrilling performance, to say the least. Standometer: ***1/2

My view: A strong performer that gets even better.  

SEAN CHEN (USA), the Beatles mullet guy, had the courage to programme only one work in his recital, which happened to be Beethoven’s mighty Hammerklavier Sonata (Op.106). I won’t yet call it a travesty but his interpretation sounds like a revisionist one. What are they teaching them at Juilliard and Yale these days? He nails every page with the determination of a power-lifter and hardly misses a note, but it is the glib superficiality of it all that rankles. He treats the great work like some exercise workout routine and morning calisthenics, and having done that, ponders what the next conquest will be. This is a Hammerklavier as conceived by Ringo Starr and Carly Rae Jepson. Call me maybe? The charm and grace he exuded in the first phase had all but evaporated. Standometer: *** (quite amazingly, probably because he’s American)

My view: Sorry to spoil the party, but this doesn’t do it for me.  

To be honest, I had pre-ordered the DVD of this second phase recital by China doll FEI-FEI DONG (China) in anticipation of her sterling performance of Scarlatti, Debussy and Liszt. Thankfully she did not disappoint. The two Scarlatti sonatas – in D major (The Chase) and F minor – were wonderful studies in contrasts, while she made most of Debussy’s early Danse or Tarantelle Styrienne, which sounded balletic and almost orchestral in her hands. And the Liszt B minor Sonata was quite splendid. Even if she did not have the same blood and guts as Alex McDonald (which firmly sticks in the mind), she certainly had the raging hormones that mummy’s boy Khozyainov lacked. Although Dong is only two years older than the Russian, this sounded like a real performance from the cauldron of life. Standometer: ***

My view: Win or lose, Fei-Fei is on her way to Singapore. They will love her here (or there).

Wrap–up: Possibly the strongest day of the competition so far, I look forward to seeing KHOZYAINOV, DELJAVAN, GILLHAM, ZUBER, CHERNOV, SUNWOO and DONG all advancing.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 28 May 2013 Recital 1

Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two)

Day 5 Recital One (11 am)

Tuesday 28 May 2013

The programme NIKITA MNDOYANTS (Russia) chose for his second recital did not appear immediately attractive on paper but proved otherwise in practice. His mastery of counterpoint in Bach’s less familiar Toccata in F sharp minor (BWV.910) was close to perfection, a nice introduction to Haydn’s attractive little Sonata in G major (Hob.XVI:6), which sounded pretty like much of the Haydn we’ve heard to date. His true metier came in Taneyev’s mine-laden Prelude & Fugue in G sharp minor (Op.29), which like the Bach before, revelled in fugal complexities besides being a notorious finger-buster. He succeeded with great aplomb, and continued with Armenian composer Arno Babadjanian’s Six Pictures, dissonant mini tone-poems, some of which are folk-influenced. These too were very impressively performed. Standometer: **

My view: Has improved his chances by several leaps.

My dark horse for the competition, LUCA BURATTO (Italy), appears far better groomed today despite his crumpled white shirt. Gone is the extreme facial grimacing from the earlier phase, a relief which allowed everyone including himself to focus wholly on the music. His Bach Toccata in C minor (BWV.911) was a joy to behold, its fugue leaping into fulsome life. There was much drama in the two Schumann Novelettes from Op.21 (Nos.2 & 8, longer essays than their titles suggested), but he could have done with less pedalling. He closed his recital with Bartok’s Sonata, where a rhythmic exuberance gave its percussive abrasiveness an added sheen. Standometer: **1/2       

My view: Would like to see him progress, but the powers that be might (and will) differ.

GIUSEPPE GRECO (Italy) is, as always, impeccable in his deportment, also keenly reflected in his playing. His Chopin Polonaise-Fantaisie (Op.61) had more fire than the one played by Mndoyants earlier, and was more direct in its rhythmic thrust. For the Prokofiev Eighth Sonata in B flat major (Op.84), it was technically very accurate, ticking off all the boxes on how one should approach such a complex and note-laden work. Somehow it felt curiously uninvolving, as if note-for-note proficiency and accuracy had become sort of blasé. Standometer: ***

My view: He plays everything almost perfectly, but why does he not move me today? 

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 28 May 2013 Recital 2

Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two)

Day 5 Recital Two (3 pm)

Tuesday 28 May 2013

As before OLEKSANDR POLIYKOV (Ukraine), impressed with the way he tried to vary his sound palette. He is one pianist who does not attempt to overwhelm with sheer volume, instead working his way through the music’s silences and resonances. As a result, his Wagner-Liszt Isoldes Liebestod meandered its way ever so achingly into the final climax, and sometimes one wondered, “Is she done yet?” The monumental Brahms Third Sonata in F minor (Op.5) did not have the shattering climaxes one would have expected. In fact he was just a bit too gentle, but I did get to enjoy the two slow movements, the 2^nd and 4^th which are thematically linked, the latter a short reminiscence (hence entitled Ruckblick, or look back) of the former. Standometer: ***

My view: Nice work, if you can make it.  

KUAN-TING LIN (Taiwan), I felt, played better this time, even if Schumann’s Humoresque (Op.20), a work in multiple linked movements, seems overly discursive to bring out in competition. He provided very good contrasts, a svelte cantabile for its opening and slews of running notes elsewhere, and no shortage of volume, something that seemed missing earlier. His run of Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka, a work I have learnt to dread since the start of this competition, was technically the least accurate of all that has come, but he had a number of interesting ideas which had me piqued. I rather enjoyed the ride when there was not much to lose anyway. Standometer: **

My view: His work is done here. Thanks for the memories.   

NIKITA ABROSIMOV (Russia) continues to impress, especially by playing to his strengths in an all-Russian programme. He started with three Rachmaninov Preludes from Op.23. The sardonic laugh of the D minor (No.3) was well contrasted with the smooth singing voice in the nocturne-like D major (No.4) before closing with the maelstrom of the C minor (No.7); this was a short but very well thought-out selection. Then came the Prokofiev Eighth Sonata, which had everything the efficient El Greco had lacked earlier. Oh, the Russians know how to brood and this one did so with great vividness and imagination. The running notes had a thrilling edge which was missing previously, and the irony – so typical of this composer – came by the bucket-loads. The perpetuum mobile finale capped a magnificent performance that showed how two note-perfect readings could sound so different. Interpretation is the key to the world of classical music. Standometer: **1/2

My view: The first of my definite semi-final picks for today.   

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) 28 May 2013 Recital 3

Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two)

Day 5 Recital Three (7.30 pm)

Tuesday 28 May 2013

The stir which the young TOMOKI SAKATA (Japan) had been causing since his first appearance was joyfully relived today. I did not care too much for his Mozart Duport Variations, which sounded neat and well-manicured, but it was what followed that truly astonished. I am not sure whether this 19-year-old has even been to Spain (he does study in Italy, however) but the sheer colour and shade he infused into Albeniz’s second book of Iberia was simply amazing. This goes beyond the mastery of notes, and into the realm of experience – of being there – and living it up in his playing. It was as if the spirit of the late Alicia de Larrocha had visited him and stayed.

Equally astonishing was the Pavel Pabst Eugene Onegin Paraphrase, using themes from Tchaikovsky’s opera. It essentially is a fantasy on the familiar Onegin waltz and Lensky’s Aria. The magical moment when the aria is heard on the left hand with the rhythm of the waltz looming like a spectre in the right hand was one to shed tears and to die for. Even if he isn’t the great Shura Cherkassky, here is a wunderkind worth celebrating. Standometer: ***1/2

My view: Another unique talent. A semi-final spot beckons.

I wish I hadn’t set my hopes so high on LINDSAY GARRITSON (USA) so early in the day, because this evening came as a disappointment. She remains a truly elegant presence (her gowns always reveal a pristine back) and likable personality. However, I thought her Mozart Sonata in B flat major (K.333) sounded over anxious and hurried, as if trying to do too much to please. Although her Liszt Les jeux d’eau a la Villa d’Este was impressive, the Chopin Fourth Ballade in F minor (Op.52), then building up nicely to a climax, faltered at the crucial moment of its climax. With nothing more to lose, she let rip in Liszt’s transcendental etude Wild Jagd with a mass of loud and unevenly stampeding octaves and chords, as if saying, “Let me show y’all.” Standometer: ***

My view: A pity she had to go.  

If there was one pianist who seems the most self-assured in a quiet and unassuming way, it was VADYM KHOLODENKO (Ukraine). Like his earlier phase, he began with a small piece, this time the Bach-Siloti Prelude in B minor. It was simply beautiful, with the left hand melody emerging ever so transcendently on its second run. Enthusiastic applause interrupted his transition into Beethoven’s Sonata in E major (Op.109). If there is a more musically stimulating conception ever conjured on a competition stage, I have not heard it. He is a true artist in every sense, not one with the “competitor spirit” drummed in relentlessly like so many others.

Then came the best Stravinsky Petrushka of them all. It was by no means note-perfect, not the fastest or loudest, but the singular performance that captured the true spirit of the ballet. This has to be experienced to be believed (I’ve just ordered the DVD stat), how he dances with the music and the look of enjoying the moment (no posturing or fake smiles) all captured on the screen. Here is playing in the grand manner, one that has finally restored my faith in Stravinsky’s popular warhorse. Standometer: ***1/2

My view: Win or not, he has been an ultimate musical treat.     

Now watch this:

Wrap-up: The favourites have emerged more clearly upon second viewing, and for me they are NIKITA ABROSIMOV, TOMOKI SAKATA and VADYM KHOLODENKO

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) / 27 May 2013 Recital 3

Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two)

Day 4 Recital Three (7.30 pm)

Monday 27 May 2013

If pianists were judged according to the broadness of their smiles, STEVEN LIN (USA) will win hands down. He is very likeable, and radiates a willingness and happiness to share his musical insights. The Haydn C major Sonata is clean and crisp, and although he hurries through the “wrong note” finale, its irony is not lost. He followed with three Chopin Impromptus, sans the familiar Fantaisie-Impromptu, in which he reveals much musicality and sense of colour. His undoing might be the fastest Liszt Reminiscences de Don Juan I have ever heard. Speed thrills, and he knows that for sure, but is this the true spirit of opera? A good listen to Earl Wild’s or Jorge Bolet’s recordings, more measured and breathing true nobility, might tamper his instincts a little. Standometer: ***1/2

My view: We’ve have lots of fun with this winning personality, but it takes somewhat more to win the Cliburn.

    

MARCIN KOZIAK (Poland) is another pianist has advanced, in my opinion, since the last phase. There is much feeling in his view of Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata (Op.13), and its very familiar pages do not sound jaded in the least. With Brahms’s First Sonata in C major (Op.1), he gives a more dynamically wide-ranging performance than Abrosimov, who had performed it earlier. His poetic instincts are given more reign, and the climaxes come with pulverising force. I had underestimated this early work, and Koziak (like Abrosimov) has found me a new respect for its ecstatic outpourings. Standometer: **  

My view: Bravo, but is that enough?

Again, ALEX MCDONALD (USA) has won the audience before uttering a single note. Given that today is Memorial Day, his rugged yet clean-cut look, reminiscent of Texas cowboys or Gulf War veterans, also strikes a chord. Somehow I am less impressed musically this time around. Two movements from Ravel’s Miroirs, Oiseaux tristes and Alborada del gracioso had contrasting light and shade, balanced nicely by the dark cravings of Chopin’s Nocturne in C minor (Op.48 No.1). Impressive was Liszt’s Les jeux d’eau a la Villa d’Este, its message being, “I will fill you with the life of everlasting spring waters, such that you will never thirst again.”  I wish there could be a spell never thirsting to hear again Stravinsky’s Three Movements from Petrushka, which receives an even faster account from McDonald. It’s all become a blur, and while most of the audience loved it, I am hardly stirred. Standometer: **** (what do you expect?)

My view: Well done, you can now call yourself a VC veteran.

Wrap up: Of the first six pianists heard in the Second Phase, only one looks certain to advance - BEATRICE RANA. Kermit will be mighty pleased.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two) / 27 May Recital 2

Preliminary Rounds (Phase Two)

Day 4 Recital Two (3 pm)

Monday 27 May 2013

The sad truth is I am fast running out of adjectives and superlatives, and while the pianists are coming fast and furious, my blogging is getting bogged down because of the shortage of time. This is especially when much time is used up as I sample the different restaurants in the vicinity of Fort Worth (a separate post will cover these), make new friends, sharing common interests and experiences, having post-concert discussions, gossip-mongering and the like. So I shall be briefer in my rantings and ravings (mostly), and cut to the chase.

CLAIRE HUANGCI (USA) returns with a stronger and less diffuse programme, beginning with Schubert’s Drei Klavierstucke (D.946), which constitute a three-movement sonata on its own. She combines a restlessly febrile passion and arch-lyricism with a playful sense of purpose. She also appears less nervous and takes her bows with more composure. Her final gambit is Mikhail Pletnev’s transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty in nine scenes, which is wonderfully characterised, full of orchestral colour and fantastic imagery. She has upped her game considerably, and I wish her the best. Standometer: ***

My view: A wonderful pianist and musician. The only pity is she drew the dreaded No.1 spot, which makes the memories of her performances dissipate after 29 more people have performed.

SCIPIONE SANGIOVANNI (Italy) had been a mild disappointment for me earlier, but he has also stepped up. I have never heard Beethoven’s Sonata in C major (Op.2 No.3) performed with such great vehemence and intensity. The young Beethoven was a smasher of keyboards, and he attempted to do the same with the Hamburg Steinway. His performance was is brawny, brusque but never boring. A different sensibility emerged for Cesar Franck’s Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, where he brought out organ-like sonorities, and the chorale melody on the left hand came through very nicely. Standometer: **

My view: Has made much progress, but may not be enough to advance.

My view of BEATRICE RANA (Italy) remains the same. She is the one of the outstanding talents of this competition and the best woman pianist by some distance. She is tiny in physical stature, but where does she find those seemingly endless physical reserves to bolster her intensely raging inner artistry? Her second recital further enhances her stake, including a lovely Schumann Abegg Variations (brilliant with no mincing of notes), yet another miraculous Ravel Gaspard de la nuit (a luxuriant wash of sound and the most trenchant of Scarbos), before closing with Bartok’s Out of Doors (rawness and raucousness for some contrast). Just simply amazing. Standometer: ***

My view: Already a finalist in the making.

Direct from THE CLIBURN / Preliminary Rounds / End of Phase One 27 May 2013

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.