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Now on to the Asians: Semi-finals, Session 3

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A random draw and a jury decision has produced the statistical improbability that two Chinese pianists are playing in the Semi-finals this afternoon, and two Koreans this evening.

Wednesday afternoon’s session could be called the Triumph of Pianism. Yunquing Zhou and Kuok-Wai Lio are both 20 years old, both study at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and both display astonishing technical skill. Playing thousands of notes in the right places is not a problem for either of them. The maturity to plumb the depths of the music they play so skillfully may still be a few years out.

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Program for August 4-5: Semi-Final Round

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cipcTuesday, August 4

Session 1
1:00 pm – Dmitri Levkovich
Haydn: Sonata in C Major, Hob. XVI: 48
Debussy: Pour le piano
Rachmaninoff:  Preludes, Op. 32, (Nos. 4, 13, 5); Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor, Op. 36 (with elements from 1913 and 1931)
Intermission
2:15 pm – Evgeny Brakhman
Messiaen: Cloches d’angoisse et larmes d’adieu (Préludes, No. 6) lle de feu I (Quatre études de rythme, No. 1)
Debussy: Pour les arpèges composés (Douze études, Book II: 11) L’Isle joyeuse
Rachmaninoff: Études-tableaux, Op. 33, Nos. 8, 2, 3; Op. 39, Nos. 1, 2, 9; Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor, Op. 36 (1931)

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Announcement of Semi-Finalists

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Tonight, following the conclusion of Round 2, the CIPC jury will vote, selecting 8 contestants to advance to the semi-final round. The announcement is expected around 11:00 pm Eastern. Check back later for the decision and the semi-final round schedule.

UPDATED The Semi-Finalists in performance order:

Dmitri Levkovich
Evgeny Brakhman
Pallavi Mahidhara
Martina Filjak
Yunqing Zhou
Kuok-Wai Lio
William Youn
Soo-Yeon Ham

Second Takes: Round 2, Session 4

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IMG_7452-2

Our second date with Saturday evening’s quintet of pianists revealed some shortcomings we hadn’t noticed before, and one pianist quite happily presented a completely different personality from our first encounter on Wednesday evening.

Kwan Yi (USA) was all robotic energy three nights ago, plowing breathlessly through Beethoven and Chopin with admirable technique but not pausing to enjoy the sights along his musical journey. On Saturday, he revealed his gentler, more expressive side with a ruminative performance of Bach’s g minor Prelude and Fugue (WTC I) and a fine trek through Dutilleux’s ‘Le jeu des contraires’ in which he demonstrated varieties of touch and an ability to draw a big sound out of the Hamburg Steinway without succumbing to harshness. An impressively clear performance of Chopin (Ballade No. 3 in A-flat and Scherzo No. 3 in c-sharp) also showed that he’s able to be simultaneously dramatic and sensitive. Some of the quirky body language remains, but there was less of it (the Dutilleux ended with Yi frozen in a long pose facing the audience).

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Program for August 1: Round 2, Sessions 3 & 4

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cipcSaturday, August 1

1:00 pm – Esther Park (USA): Scarlatti’s  Sonatas: K. 531 in E Major, K. 322 in A Major, K. 203 in E Minor, Chopin’s  Etude in C Major, Op. 10, No. 1, Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35. 1:40 pm – Evgeny Brakhman (Russia): Kopelman’s “Everything Is Foreseen And Free Will Is Given” 2007, Brahms’s Seven Fantasies, Op. 116. 2:20 pm – Pallavi Mahidhara (USA/India): Beethoven’s Sonata in C Major, Op. 53 (Waldstein), Walker’s Sonata No. 2.  3:15 pm – Zhang Zuo (China): Bach ‘s Partita No. 1 in B flat Major, BWV 825, Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes, Op. 13. 3:55 pm – Martina Filjak (Croatia): Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C sharp Major, WTC II,3, Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35, Book II, Bartok’s Out of Doors. 4:35 pm – Yunqing Zhou (China): Beethoven’s Sonata in A flat Major, Op. 110, Kapustin’s Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40, Nos.1,4,6,7,3.

7:00 pm – Anzhelika Fuks (Ukraine): Chopin’s Etude in E Major, Op. 10, No. 3, Chopin’s Etude in B Minor, Op. 25, No. 10, Chopin-Liszt. Six chants polonaise, Op. 74 No. 1, 2, 6,Chopin’s Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1, Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23. 7:40 pm – Gerhard Vielhaber (Germany): Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B flat Major, BWV 825, Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 12: No. 1-3, 5, Kalabis’s Akzente, Op. 26 (1967): No. 4, 8. 8:20 pm – Michael Brown (USA): Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6. 9:15 – Kwan Yi (USA): Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, WTC I: 2, Dutilleux’s Le jeu des contraires (Trois Préludes, No. 3), Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 in A flat Major, Op. 47 Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp Minor, Op. 39. 9:55 – Kuok-Wai Lio (China): Nan’s Piano Suite “Chopin and the Cat” (2006) No. 1, 3, Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6

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 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.

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