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Full of Surprises: Round 1, Session 5

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One of the most interesting aspects of competitions is that you never know what to expect when you take your seat for a session.

Thursday afternoon, we heard contestants 23 through 27 out of 33, and there were surprises.

To our ears, Korean pianist Sangyoung Kim’s performance of the Choral et Variations from the Dutilleux Sonata may have been the afternoon’s surprising highlight. The most substantial work in the required ‘Written after 1950’ category, Kim expressively negotiated its opening theme, explored interesting color changes and was quite accurately all over the keyboard in the final toccata-like section. She began the set with Haydn’s Sonata in c (Hob. VXI:20), paying good attention to detail, noticing important harmonic events and producing clear and expressive runs. Too bad that the slow movement and parts of the finale got muddled over by over use of pedal. Not surprisingly, the audience forgot to applaud. That’s Haydn’s fault for writing an ambiguous ending! Kim’s second piece was Chopin’s g-sharp Etude, a well-rendered rivulet of thirds.

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An Evening of Contrasts: Round 1, Session 4

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Steinway Piano model d

Tuesday evening’s quintet of pianists inspired a variety of reactions in a tradition-heavy choice of repertory leavened by two post-1950 pieces and the different sounds of the contest’s two Steinways. The stagehand was busy swapping out no. 1 (a mellow, bass rich New York instrument) with no. 2 (a brighter in the treble — and under some fingers rather steely — instrument made in Hamburg). It was interesting to see which piano each performer chose.

The evening began with Piano. No. 1 and Ukrainian pianist Anzhelika Fuks’ presentation of Sosjko’s Sofija Kijevsjka, an impressionistic soundscape that began with dramatic low notes and progressed to chord clusters and pointillism. (Anybody know anything about this composer and work? Please share!) Fuks’ Bach (the b-flat minor Prelude & Fugue from WTC II) was momentarily derailed in the fugue by the first real memory slip we’ve heard so far. Mozart’s Sonata in E-flat, K. 282 sounded subdued. Fuks, who has an impressive resume, seemed to be having an off night.

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Program for July 30: Round 1, Sessions 5 & 6

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cipcThursday, July 30

1:00 pm — Sangyoung Kim (Korea): Haydn’s Sonata in c, Hob. VXI:20, Chopin’s Etude in g sharp, op. 25, no. 6 & Dutilleux’s Choral & Variations (Sonata). 1:35 pm — Kristhyan Benitez (Venezuela): J.S. Bach’s Toccata in e, BWV 914, Chopin’s Etude in C, op. 10, no. 1 & Beethoven’s Sonata in E-flat, op. 81a (Les Adieux). 2:10 pm — Martin Labazevitch (USA): Haydn’s Sonata in C, Hob. XVI:50, Radzynski’s Mazurka (2008) & Chopin’s Etude in b, op. 25, no. 10. 3:00 pm — Anna Bulkina (Russia): Scarlatti’s Sonatas K. 11 in d and K. 239 in F & Brahms’s Paganini Variations, op. 35. 3:35 pm — Edward Neeman (USA/Australia): Beethoven’s Sonata in C, op. 2, no. 3, Babbitt’s It Takes Twelve to Tango & Chopin’s Etude in b, op. 25, no. 10.

7:00 pm — Marina Radiushina (USA) Beethoven’s Sonata in a-flat, op. 110 & Chopin’s Etude in a, op. 25, no. 11 (‘Winter Wind’). 7:35 pm — Jun-Eun Lee (Korea): Yun’s 5 Klavierstücke, Chopin’s Etude in A-flat, op. 10, no. 10 & Beethoven’s Sonata in E, op. 109. 8:10 pm — Alexander Osminin (Russia): Beethoven’s Sonata in C, op. 2, no. 3 & Chopin’s Etude in a, op. 25, no. 11 (‘Winter Wind’). 8:55 pm — William Youn (Korea): Haydn’s Sonata in C, Hob. XVI:50, Chopin’s Etude in b, op. 25, no. 10 & Yun’s 5 Klavierstücke. 9:30 pm — Soo-Yeon Ham (Korea): Scarlatti’s Sonatas K. 208 in A & K. 209 in A, Haydn’s Sonata in C, Hob. XVI:50 & Ligeti’s Etude No. 6, Book I (Automne a Varsovie).

A Special Afternoon: Round 1, Session 3

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sound_boardWednesday was one of those truly special occasions where from the very opening of the Schnittke Improvisation & Fugue you knew could settle into your seat for an afternoon of good music making. Everybody today came through with unique personalities.

Esther Park (USA) delivered a rousing performance of the Schnittke, though she also demonstrated her delicate side in a really beautiful performance of the slow movement of Beethoven’s Sonata op. 111.

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More people to watch: Round 1, Session 2

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Tuesday night’s draw, though determined by lottery, defied randomness and produced an interesting lineup of pianists beginning with one of the two oldest contestants, Dmitri Levkovich (30, Canada), then proceeding down the age ladder (27, 26, 20) to one of the youngest, Chun Wang (19, China). These five are people to keep an eye on during the second round, and each for different reasons.

Levkovich was a semi-finalist in Cleveland’s 2007 contest and he proceeded to completely own his 30 minute slot last night. You could tell that he was both a veteran and a candidate who was dedicated to winning this time around. Every moment of his Scarlatti (Sonatas K. 45 & 17), Beethoven (Sonata in d, op. 31, no. 2) and Chopin (‘Black Key’ Etude in G-flat, op. 10, no. 5) was planned and controlled to the last detail. Impressive.

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Program for July 29: Round One, Sessions Three and Four

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cipcWednesday, July 29

1:00 pm — Esther Park (USA): Schnittke’s Improvisation & Fugue, Beethoven’s Sonata in c, op. 111. 1:35 pm — Evgeny Brakhman (Russia): J.S. Bach’s Prelude & Fugue in f, WTC 1:12, Mozart’s Sonata in C, K. 330 & Chopin’s Etude in C, op. 10, no. 1. 2:10 pm — Pallavi Mahidhara (USA/India): J.S. Bach’s Prelude & Fugue in C, WTC II, 1, Chopin’s Etude in f, op. 10, no. 9 & Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, op. 12. 3:00 pm — Zhang Zuo (China): Haydn’s Sonata in G, Hob. XVI:40, Chopin’s Etude in F, op. 10, no. 8 & Ginastera’s Sonata No. 1, op. 22. 3:35 pm — Martina Filjak (Croatia): Haydn’s Sonata in c, Hob. XVI:20, Berio’s Wasserklavier, Feuerklavier & Luftklavier (Six Encores) & Chopin’s Etude in b, op. 25, no. 10. 4:10 pm — Yunquing Zhou (China): J.S. Bach’s Prelude & Fugue in B, WTC II:23, Chopin’s Etude in C, op. 10, no. 1 & Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini.

7:00 pm — Anzhelika Fuks (Ukraine): Sosjko’s Sofija Kijevsjka, J. S. Bach’s Prelude & Fugue in b-flat, WTC II:22 & Mozart’s Sonata in E-flat, K. 282. 7:35 pm — Gerhard Vielhaber (Germany): Beethoven’s Sonata in D, op. 10, no. 3 & Chopin’s Etude in b, op. 25, no. 10. 8:10 pm — Michael Brown (USA): J.S. Bach’s Prelude & Fugue in C, WTC II:1, Beethoven’s Sonata in F, op. 54, Perle’s Six Celebratory Inventions (excerpts) & Chopin’s Etude in c, op. 10, no. 12 (‘Revolutionary’). 8:55 pm — Kwan Yi (USA): Beethoven’s Sonata in C, op. 2, no. 3 & Chopin’s Etude in a, op. 10, no. 2. 9:30 pm — Kuok-Wai Lio (China): J.S. Bach’s Prelude & Fugue in b, WTC II:24, Haydn’s Sonata in E-flat, Hob. XVI:49 & Chopin’s Etude in F, op. 10, no. 8.

Top of the Draw: Round 1, Session 1

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cipc-colorThis analogy is going to break down soon, but I’m discovering that the opening rounds of a tennis tournament and a piano competition have a lot in common. You get to witness the strengths and weaknesses of new players (he’s going to have trouble with his serve; she’s having problems balancing the voicing on this piano…) and you have the opportunity to see how grace operates under fire (who’s going to clutch and doublefault at match point; who’s going to lose control of the tempo in the final presto). And you get to hang out in a temporary village of enthusiasts that also resembles a medieval jousting tournament. As the crowd assembled at the Play House this afternoon, we saw a lot of people we knew we’d find here, and it was fun to catch up on inside talk.

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Arrival Day: They’re here!

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When thirteen is your lucky number. Evgeny Brakhman (Russia) gets to put off his first round performance until Wednesday afternoon. Behind (L-R) WCLV's president, Robert Conrad, CIPC board president Rand Curtiss, jury chairman Peter Frankl and CIM president Joel Smirnoff. Photo: Sam Hubish

CIPC executive director Karen Knowlton looked relieved a few minutes after five o’clock on Monday when thirty-two of the thirty-three contestants were neatly arranged on chairs on the Mixon Hall stage at CIM, ready to draw for their slots in the competition schedule.

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Ladies and Gentlemen of the 2009 Juries: Cleveland International Piano Competition

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Don’t expect instant results from the eight judges on the jury of the Cleveland International Piano Competition after each pianist finishes his or her set. Analogies to sports competitions like figure skating begin to break down a bit here. You won’t know who’s going to advance to the eight spots in the semifinals until the first two rounds are completed on August 2nd, but in the meanwhile, lots of notes are going to be taken on all of the notes that are going to be played.

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The Contestants – Cleveland International Piano Competition

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Ty_cobbIn Wednesday’s post, we took an analytical look at the repertory with which this year’s contestants plan to dazzle us and win over the jury during the first two rounds. Today, we’ll run some stats on the contestants themselves. Since pianists don’t have world rankings like tennis players, batting averages like baseball players or other significant measurements of their status coming into a competition like this one, we’ll go for a bit of a demographic overview instead.

Ages

The contest is open to pianists between 18 and 30. None of the contestants come in at the lowest end of that range; the youngest is Chun Wang (China) at 19. Two performers, Dmitri Levkovich (Canada) and Martina Filjak (Croatia) qualify as CIPC’s  senior citizens, each competing this year at the outer age limit of 30. In between, the age spread is evenly distributed with five 20 year-olds, four each at 25 and 26, three each at 21, 22 & 24 and pairs of competitors are 23, 27, 28 and 29 [Read more…]

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