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And Then There Were 32...
Friday, 14 October 2005
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The United States are represented by three pianists; two of them are of Korean origin and one is Japanese. There are also two Russians, and one representative each from Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Ukraine.
The provision in the Competition Regulations, stating that "basically, no more than 30 participants can qualify to the second stage," leaving some room for maneuvering, has been used to the maximum. We will hear in the second stage whether it was the right decision.
The second stage is the most serious trial. This year it was extended to include one more work. So far, it featured a sonata (op. 35 or op. 58) and a series of mazurkas. This year, there will also be a polonaise. So this is a test of everything-the mazurka idiom, the majesty of polonaise, and the four-part cyclical form that is hard to close in one whole. It is known that even Robert Schumann was unable to comprehend it, when he wrote that four parts of a sonata are like "a crowd of unruly children." How can they be gathered and "tamed"?
So let us take a look at the list in more personal terms. What does it say? The advantage-at least in terms of numbers-of pianists from the Far East is obvious. What is striking is the lack of candidates from the Chinese People's Republic. After the success of Yundi Lee at the 14th Competition, the piano became almost a national instrument in China, and Chopin and his music have become true cult objects. The Chinese have that "something" that distinguishes them from the Koreans and pianists from Japan. Their absence from the second round of the competition seems to be a big loss for the presentation of a full world panorama of Chopin performers in 2005. We may be missing this subtle sensitivity to sound in the first place, the "quality" of sound; this we could hear when Xiaoxi Wu or Howard Na, who represent the United States, were playing, or even Mei-Ting Sun, despite his exceptional bend toward virtuosity.
One good test of whether the list of those who have qualified is compatible with my feelings is the answer to the question whether one would like to hear them again. In my opinion, there are no more than 20 such pianists on this list. Meanwhile, I would be glad to hear at least seven artists for whom the competition has ended again.
The 15th Competition has entered the second stage. Apart from an evaluation of each performance, each of the works will be judged separately in order to distribute special awards for the best performance of mazurkas, a polonaise and a sonata. As always, this is a great challenge for the jury. How will they evaluate, what criteria will they apply? It may be a particularly difficult task for those judges whose students are participating (in some cases, two or three pianists, according to participants' official biographical notes published in the program book). The regulations state that a juror cannot assess the performance of a student. The problem is, won't they evaluate others by comparing them to their own students?
After the crisis of 1980, we are happy that following a few none too successful editions, the Chopin Competition is regaining its well-deserved status as a major competition. Nothing will further that more than an adequate evaluation of artists who are taking part in it.
Jan Popis
This article appears courtesy of The Warsaw Voice.
You will find more articles in connection with the 15th International F. Chopin Piano Competition in a competition Gazette at www.konkurs.chopin.pl and www.chopin.warsawvoice.pl
More abouth the 15th F. Chopin Piano Competition
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