Month: June 2009

For those of us who wanted to hear how quietly a pianist can play in a concert hall, Di Wu answered our prayers. The Chinese pianist used the softest, lightest, most delicate touch in her performance of Bach’s Toccata in F-sharp minor, BWV 910. Her playing forced the audience to listen so intently that no one in Bass Hall in last night’s concert (Saturday, June 6) moved a muscle. For her next piece, Wu transitioned to another time zone by playing Schoenberg’s “Klavierstucke” Op. 11. Wu wonderfully created the abstract and random landscape in this work. Moments in the piece also seemed to convey a series of questions and answers as the music switched from one path to another. Wu ended her recital with Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit,” and I felt that she excelled in achieving a spontaneous feeling in her playing – especially in some passages that were lightening quick. Overall, Wu performed very well and made a fine case for herself to move up the ladder in the competition.

The concerti portion of the program began with Evgeni Bozhanov’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18. The Bulgarian pianist set out to play the piece as loudly as possible, drowning out the cellos near the beginning, and continued through the enitre piece with this to-hell-with-the-orchestra attitude. This turned the Rachmaninoff work into a pianist versus the orchestra affair which everyone increasing the volume to the highest level possible. Bozhanov also messed up several passages and was very erratic at times. His crass interpretation left me numbed but the audience exploded, so I guess his gambit worked.

In sharp contract, Mariangela Vacatello gave a thoroughly engaging performance of Prokofiev’s Piano concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26. Her sound was very balanced and precise. She wonderfully built up tension in the first movement and released it with the orchestra as a partner in making the music happen. I loved the way that Vacatello alternated the robust and tender themes of the second movement, and she ended the piece with the orchestra in an electrifying blitz. Fortunately, the audience recognized her genius in this performance and gave her a standing ovation.

I think that Vacatello moved herself into gold medal contention with this performance. Tsujii is still there as well, with Wu and Son following. But there’s one more concert to go.

Today was a two-fer with one final round concert in the afternoon and another in the evening. The afternoon’s concert reflected an increased attendance, and the hall was almost filled to capacity. Chinese pianist Haochen Zhang opened his recital program with Brahms’ Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, which showed off his great technique and impeccable precision. However, it also revealed Zhang’s limitations in terms of being able to provide more contrast that would keep the piece interesting. Zhang also had the annoying habit of tapping the floor or a pedal so loudly that it became its own percussion section. And he hums loudly at times. These unfortunate idiosyncrasies get in the way of the music. After the Brahms, Zhang played Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit” and gave the audience a wider range of emotion from fluttering, light, transparency to muttering in the depths.

For the concerti portion of the concert, Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son tackled Prokofiev’s Piano concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 16. Son wrestled this difficult work and came out with the upper hand, but not without some scars. She seemed out of control a couple of times and missed some notes. However, I really enjoyed the way that she teased the orchestra and then played together with it and then teased it again. She also showed tenaciousness and muscle that made her playing convincing.

After the break, Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18. Tsujii rushed the passage with the orchestra right after the beginning of the piece, but then got into sync and showed sensitivity and a warmth in his playing. One of the best parts occur ed when Tsujii and the orchestra were racing at a fairly good clip and then slowed down and quieted down exactly together. It was as if Tsujii had extra-sensory perception. I enjoyed his playing and still cannot fathom how he learned this piece.

At the point, I still see Tsujii in the lead, with Vacatello and Son following.

After the concert on Friday, I went the press room and then went around Bass Hall on the way to my hotel. Just at that moment, Van Cliburn was leaving the hall. Stanislav Ioudenitch, the 2001 Gold Medal winner and his daughter are next to Van Cliburn. I understand that Ioudenitch’s daughter is a fine violinist.

I noticed that Van Cliburn could barely take two steps before someone would come up to him for an autograph or want to give him a hug. Well, he seems to take to the time to comply with every demand in a very nice and gracious way.

Last night’s concert (Friday, June 5) in the finals seemed to juggle things a bit more. Bulgarian pianist Evgeni Bozhanov presented his recital program first. He started with Takemitsu’s “Rain Tree Sketch I” and gave it a very delicate, impressionistic flavor. It seemed light as air and carefuly constructed. Bozhanov followed it with Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze,” a long musical dialogue. Despite Bozhanov’s wide range of expression and skillful technique, I have to admit that I lost the thread of this piece about halfway through. Bozhanov then played Liszt’s waltz on themes of Gounod’s “Faust,” which alternated between the theme of Marguerite and a rustic dance of the villagers, and, I suppose the turmoil in Faust’s mind as he looks on them and which to have his youth back. Bozhanov put the hammer in hammerklavier towards the end of this piece with a thunderous finale. It seemed over the top, but it was also fun to watch him bang on the Steinway. Some of the critics didn’t like this at all, and I’m guessing the the jury might not have been all that impressed with it either.

After intermission, Yeol Eum Son, the South Korean pianist, performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor, Op. 21. Son did a fine job but the dynamics in every movement ranged from medium loud to loud. She didn’t get the attention of the audience because there was a fair amount of coughing during the second movment, which is a very sensitive and introverted part of the piece. Somehow, her Chopin seemed to be off the mark.

Italian pianist Mariangela Vacatello, in the final number of the evening, gave a convincing performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58. She dazzled the audience by feeling her way into the music and bring us with her. The soft and tender sections felt natural and genuine and not done for effect. Her fast and forte passages were scintillating and conveyed a sense of joy and completeness. Vacatello’s stock in the competition just went up a couple of notches. But we are only half way through the competition at this point. More later.

On Thursday, members of the press were treated to a special meeting with conductor James Conlon, who is leading the Fort Worth Symphony in all of the concerti that are played during the final round of the Van Cliburn Compeitiiton. (FYI: Conlon has been the conductor at the Van Cliburn since 1997.) We met him in the green room at Bass Performance Hall and peppered him with all sorts of questions. The following transcript covers most of the conversation:

Tell us about how you work with the Van Cliburn finalists.

Conlon: I enjoy conducting these young pianists. I have enough experience and confidence that I can pretty much deal with just about anything that they are going to throw at me. I do collaborate with them in sense that there are mutual issues to clear up. I try to help them to be at their best for the competition. I don’t try to impose a tempo on them. I tell them that I want to hear you play. Within 10 minutes, I have a pretty good idea of what their style. I only say something when it [their playing] goes out-of-the-box so far that it is not right. I don’t mean that I don’t accept out-of-the-box imagination and creativity, because that’s what we want. I’m referring to something that impossible to execute. So, like an indulging parent I give them maximum space. Let them be who they are so that they can show that to the jury and the public.

Continue reading Press conference with James Conlon at the Van Cliburn Competition

I attended the second concert of the final round last night at Bass Hall and immediately noticed that more people were in attendance than on Wednesday evening and that the wardrobe-glitz factor had also increased.

This is my first time at the competition, and it’s the first time that I’ve seen a camera suspended from a long arm (or boom) from the ceiling above the stage area. This camera swings silently above the performers and captures their performances for the Cliburn TV production. It’s remotely controlled from a booth somewhere. This camera-eye thing is not obtrusive and the audience seems to adapt to it very quickly. I’ve only seen cameras onstage once before – at the Defiant Requiem concert (Oregon Symphony/PBS) a severak years ago and they seemed to disturb the whole concert experience, because, there was a person who had to ride with the camera as it hovered above the stage and swung around to capture the chorus, orchestra, and soloists. So, if orchestras folks should come to the Van Cliburn festival to a good look at the camera here to see how it might enhance the concert experience.

Continue reading Van Cliburn Competition Update – second concert

I will be posting articles about the Van Cliburn Competition, because I’m am attending it as an invited member of the press. Last night I heard the first concert in a series of six. Mariangela Vacatello, a 27-year-old pianist from Naples, Italy started things off with a piano recital of Bach’s Italian concerto in F major, BWV 971, Chopin’s Rondo in E-flat major, Op. 16, Ravel’s “Gaspard de la nuit”, and Shostakovich’s Prelude and Fugue in D-flat major, Op. .87, ,No. 15. In Vacatello’s hands, the Bach was precise, understated, and genuine, Chopin crisp, and the Ravel very evocative. She ended her recital with a rollicking Shostakovich. The audience rewarded her with sustained applause and I think that they took three bows.

Bulgarian pianist Evgeni Bozhanov (age 24) played Chopin’s Piano concerto No. 1 in e minor, Op. 11 with the Fort Worth Symphony under the baton of James Conlon. Bozhanov gave a spiritied performance of this work. I wasn’t entirely convinced of his pianissimos and I think that he could’ve lingered here and there a bit more, but everything else was pretty outstanding, and the audience applauded vigorously right after he finished.

Di Wu, a 24-year-old pianist from China performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19 with the orchestra under Conlon. I liked her enthusiasm for the piece, but her playing seemed a little out of control. The audience responded to her with warm enthusiasm.

Tonight, I’ll hear three more pianists, including the 20-year-old blind pianist from Japan, Nobuyuki Tsujii.

If you are curious about these pianists and the their competitors in the Van Cliburn Competition, click here.