I managed to speak briefly with jury members Enrica Ciccarelli and Álvaro Teixeira Lopes between performances at the finals of the Olga Kern International Piano Competition! Please forgive the bad sound quality (the orchestra was warming up for Rachmaninoff Concerto no. 3 in the background).
The results are in, and we have… no winner, but two Second Prizes awarded to Daria Podorozhnova and Monica Zhang. Delvan Lin won the Audience Award and a Finalist Diploma, but there was no Third Prize awarded. The other awards and prizes are as follows: Leo de Maria, Semifinalist Honorable Mention and Aspiration Special Prize; Zhu Wang, Semifinalist Honorable Mention; Huiping Cai, Aspiration Special Prize; Jonathan Mak, Aspiration Special Prize; Sung Ho Yoo, Aspiration Special Prize; Davide Ranaldi, Best Bach Interpretation Prize; and Daria Podorozhnova, Best Contemporary Piece Prize.
Each of these amazing pianists (except for Sung Ho Yoo and Zhu Wang, who were not present) participated in the winner’s recital, performing pieces chosen by the jury from throughout the solo rounds of the competition. Monica Zhang began with her fantastic Scarlatti Sonatas in F from the first round, Jonathan Mak played his Liszt Transcendental Etude in f minor, Davide Ranaldi performed J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in c-sharp minor (Well-Tempered Klavier I), Huiping Cai dazzled with her Liszt Paganini Etude no. 6 in A minor, Delvan Lin played two of Beethoven’s last set of Bagatelles, Leo de Maria played “El Amor y la Muerte” from Granados’ Goyescas, and Daria Podorozhnova finished with Olga Kern’s new piece as well as Stravinsky’s Firebird. The jury did a good job picking the most outstanding pieces from the competition to hear again, and I enjoyed hearing them one last time, playing their very best.
In the finals, I thought that Podorozhnova’s and Zhang’s concerti stood out above Lin’s, and I wasn’t sure who the jury would choose as the winner. I imagine the process involves collecting scores from all the jurors, adding them up, and then using those totals to deliberate and make a final decision. Perhaps Podorozhnova and Zhang’s scores were too close to call a single winner, and Lin’s concerto had too many ensemble issues and mistakes to award a third prize. It is unfortunate that nobody will get to call themselves the “winner” of this year’s Olga Kern Competition, but I’m sure Podorozhnova and Zhang are both thrilled to each win the $10,000 prize and be the 2025 laureates of this prestigious competition.
It has been an amazing week of phenomenal piano playing, and I hope the audience of this competition walks away with a greater appreciation of classical piano playing and the incredible amount of work these contestants put into learning and perfecting their repertoire from this week. Congratulations to all, and thank you to the organizers and jury for their hard work as well!
The hall is full, and the New Mexico Philharmonic is on stage. The audience is eagerly awaiting the finals of the Olga Kern International Piano Competition, where the three finalists (Daria Podorozhnova, Monica Zhang, and Delvan Lin) will each perform a different piano concerto, conducted by Nimrod David Pfeffer. Zhu Wang advanced to the finals, but unfortunately withdrew, allowing Delvan Lin to take his place.
Daria Podorozhnova began the afternoon’s music with a performance of Brahms’ Piano Concerto no. 2 in B-flat major, an incredible (and long) piece of music. From the very first note of the opening horn solo, she was fully immersed in the music, listening intently to the orchestra and responding at the keyboard. Playing a concerto with an orchestra is a wonderful and very intense experience, and can feel like riding a huge wave of sound. You surf on top of it, dipping into and out of the huge sound, but you can’t really control it and thus must be able to quickly respond and adjust to the orchestra’s phrasing. Podorozhnova’s playing was very musical and exciting, and her ensemble with the orchestra was excellent. I occasionally found her sound in the larger chords too thickly voiced, but what she lost in clarity there (or in a few misplaced notes halfway down runs and arpeggios) she made up for with musical intention and power. Also, she was able to create delicate and special sounds—her transparent upper register floating over the orchestra when the opening theme returns in the first movement was magical.
Her fine lyricism and phrasing were especially on display in the second movement, and she made the piano sing beautifully. During passages when she played alone, Podorozhnova often brought her sound down and drew the audience’s attention in, giving listeners a break from the lush orchestral sound and creating moments of intimacy. Her finale was agile and clean, and throughout the entire concerto she managed the constant challenging and rapid register changes with ease. Brahms is a composer where things that don’t sound particularly hard are often, in fact, incredibly difficult (this is the opposite of Liszt, where things often sound more difficult than they are). A great example of this are the devilishly fast double thirds runs in the finale of this concerto, which pass by without much fanfare but are extremely hard to play at tempo. Podorozhnova did very well this afternoon, delivering an engaging and powerful performance!
Monica Zhang was up next, performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto no. 1 in b-flat minor, one of the most famous concerti in the piano repertoire. It opens with a soaring melody in the orchestra, over which the soloist plays grand D-flat major chords that sweep across the piano from left to right. The genre of the piano concerto is often an audience favorite, and I think this may be because the form blends the individuality of a solo performance with the power of an orchestra. This interaction between the soloist and the orchestra is exciting to listen to, and the greatest composers in the genre are masters of balancing the two parts in their compositions. Zhang played with a great sensitivity, carefully shaping every sound to reach the back of the hall. She zipped effortlessly through the virtuosic runs and cadenzas, dazzling the audience. Her ensemble was very good, even if a few arrivals were slightly earlier than the orchestra. Even with a very clear conductor, us pianists often don’t see the conductor’s beat the same way an orchestral musician does. When playing piano, sound production is very immediate—the hammer hits the string right when the key is pressed. For a violinist, there is a slight delay between when their arm moves the bow and sound arrives. Because of this (and traditions of orchestral conducting), when playing with an orchestra, we have to make ourselves wait a split second between seeing the conductor’s downbeat and playing, often trusting our ears more than our eyes. Zhang showed herself an experienced orchestral soloist even at her young age, communicating with and following the conductor well.
This afternoon’s audience has nearly filled the hall, and are clearly enjoying the performances—many insisted upon clapping between every movement, not content with saving their applause for the ends of the concerti. In Zhang’s second movement, her melodies melted seamlessly into each other and the orchestra, and her finale was exciting and full of energy. Just like with every other one of her performances this competition, I was struck by her innate musicality and found her playing nimble and full of life. Like Podorozhnova, she was rewarded by a standing ovation.
Delvan Lin was our final finalist this afternoon, performing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minor. His opening melody was beautifully shaped, immediately pulling us into his sound world. When the faster notes began, it took him a moment to adjust to the orchestra’s slightly slower tempo, but he soon locked in and became one with the ensemble. Throughout the first movement, Lin’s melodic lines soared and weaved through flurries of notes from him and the orchestra. The way Rachmaninoff’s concerto writing balances and blends the piano and the orchestra is second to none, and Lin’s playing took full advantage of this. Even though there were a few tiny stumbles throughout his performance, Lin always recovered quickly and wowed with his virtuosity and musicality. The first movement’s cadenza was absolutely stunning.
Because Lin performed last, he had a few more out of tune notes to deal with than the other contestants (including an unfortunately prominent C-sharp in the second movement). This competition has done a wonderful job maintaining and keeping the pianos in tune, but with these three huge concerti back to back, some strings will inevitably go a bit out. I hope it didn’t distract him too much! The second and third movements of this concerto flow right into each other, with the end of the second movement marked attaca subito. Lin’s playing captured the excitement and grand scope of the finale well, and I always found his sound warm and lyrical. He received the third standing ovation of the afternoon.
Now the three contestants will wait for the jury’s decision—it will surely be a tough one! All of the finalists should be extremely proud of what they have accomplished this week, and every contestant will surely go home having learned a lot (and having prepared a lot of music) that will serve them well in the future.
I interviewed two members of the jury as well as the fabulous Dali Quartet!
Daria Podorozhnova opened the semifinal concert with Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat major, joined by the Dali Quartet. This is one of my favorite pieces in the piano chamber music repertoire, and I was excited to hear Podorozhnova’s (and the Dali Quartet’s) interpretation. The semifinals and finals of this competition are in a different venue than the solo rounds—the National Hispanic Cultural Center, which has a large hall that will accommodate the New Mexico Philharmonic for the finals. As an audience member, the piano sounded much less bright here than at the other venue, and perhaps because of the large space, her playing was often covered by the quartet during the thicker sections of the piece. When playing chamber music, pianists must be careful to not play too loudly and cover the strings, especially for repertoire that was written for the piano of Schumann’s day (pianos have changed much more since the early 19th century than string instruments have). Podorozhnova may have gone too far in that direction, however, and underplayed at times. She communicated with the quartet very well, and their ensemble as a group was excellent, especially considering they had only one day of rehearsals. Her preparation of the piece seemed less complete than her solo performances, as I expect it will be of most of the contestants. This competition asks a lot of its pianists, and out of the four rounds, this round could take lower priority than the others when practicing (less likely to reach than the first and second rounds, and less technically demanding than the concerto). This round allows the jury to see how the contestants play when stretched thin! My favorite moment was the final fugal section in the finale, when the first movement’s theme comes back in a slower form—Podorozhnova’s playing shone here, and she and the quartet seemed especially connected.
A note about the pianos: after the first round, there were two Steinway pianos contestants could choose from. Every piano has its own distinctive characteristics, even two 9-foot concert grands by the same brand. The way to tell these two pianos apart is that one is matte, with sharp-cornered edges by the keyboard and a foldable fallboard (keboard lid) flap, and the other is shiny, with rounded edges by the keyboard and a non-foldable fallboard flap (probably the newer of the two). This flap aspect may seem trivial, but on models where the front of the fallboard does not farther fold in when it is raised off the keys, it is possible to hit your hand on it accidentally when playing dramatic, difficult repertoire. This is probably not a real factor in the contestants’ decision between the instruments, but may be an annoyance (one contestant tried to fold down the non-foldable flap during the quarterfinals recital before realizing it was impossible). The extra hinges in the foldable flap sometimes buzz when the piano is played, which is probably the reason why Steinway’s new design omits it.
Leo de Maria played Brahms’ Piano Quintet in f minor with the Dali Quartet, using the same piano as Podorozhnova before him. This piece was published around 20 years after Schumann’s Piano Quintet, and alongside the Schumann, is widely considered one of the best in the genre. It began its life as a string quintet, was transcribed into a sonata for two pianos, and then entered its final form as a piano quintet (Brahms destroyed the original string quintet version). It may have partially been the piece, but the balance between the piano and strings seemed better from the beginning—the piano’s sound joined with and pierced through the quartet’s sound more effectively than in the Schumann. De Maria’s playing was solid and expressive, and I especially enjoyed the bell-like sound he brought out of the upper register of the piano. The first and last movements were fiery and exciting, and the second was tender and expressive. The ensemble was great overall, with only a couple of arrivals barely out of place. He played with a commanding lyricism and control throughout. A fantastic performance!
Delvan Lin performed next, also playing Brahms’ Piano Quintet in f minor. My first impression was that his sound did not project quite as well as de Maria’s, but the ensemble and energy was fantastic. Lin moves a fair amount when he plays, and that motion, moving together with the string quartet for musical gestures, really helps bring an ensemble together. When playing chamber music, your group doesn’t have time to rehearse every specific gesture in a 45-minute piece (especially with only one or two rehearsals). Playing well together comes down to listening intently to the other musicians, moving together for big moments of arrival, and knowing your part well enough to be able to adjust on the fly to what you are hearing. Lin’s playing was especially electric in the dramatic silences and following flurries of 16th notes in the first theme of the first movement, and he achieved a special warm sound in the slow second movement, blending beautifully with the strings. He and the quartet explored the full range of this quartet’s musical expression, from the most intimate to the most dramatic. I also really enjoyed how he and the quartet held back and built intensity slowly through the intricate contrapuntal section of the third movement, creating a long, driving line that didn’t let off until a perfectly placed slight rubato at the arrival of the main theme. A very enjoyable performance, riveting from start to finish (with the biggest standing ovation so far today).
Monica Zhang changed things up with a performance of Dvorak’s Piano Quintet no. 2 in A major, and was also the first contestant to choose the shiny piano today, which seemed to have a slightly more crisp, clear sound than the matte piano. Right away, she seamlessly blended with the quartet’s sound. In the first movement, she demonstrated her ability to be a sensitive accompaniment in the background as well as a leader of the group from the keyboard. I find it incredible that these musicians probably met for the first time just yesterday—their playing was so tight and exciting, as well as unified in musical purpose. Like Delvan Lin, Zhang’s ensemble presence was dynamic and she moved especially organically with the music and the Dali Quartet. I really enjoyed the section in the second movement where the piano part in triplets ducks and weaves through the string’s active 16th-note accompaniment. She always knew how her part fit into the larger ensemble, bringing out the bass line in sections without a low cello line, and backing off with the left hand when the cello dominated the lower register (just as one example). Excellent playing (and another big standing ovation from the audience).
Zhu Wang closed out the evening’s performances with another rendition of Brahms’ Piano Quintet in f minor, switching back to the matte piano, with its slightly warmer but less clear sound. He made the piano sing, carefully voicing out the top notes of his right hand while suppressing other parts of the texture, letting the piano blend with the Dali Quartet while also projecting through their sound. Like in previous rounds, Wang impressed with his consistently good sound and extremely solid playing. No note was out of place, and each phrase was beautifully laid out. The Dali Quartet has been amazing throughout this evening, and somehow still had energy for their third performance of Brahms f minor quintet in one day (and fifth performance of a huge piano quintet in as many hours). Being drawn to perform last seems a double-edged sword—on one hand, your performance remains freshest on the audience’s memory, but on the other hand, everyone’s energy is on the wane by this point. Wang and the quartet nevertheless put together a polished performance with intimacy and excitement both.
The three pianists who make it to the finals on Sunday will now have their work cut out for them, pivoting yet again to refresh and practice their concerti, likely with just one or two rehearsals tomorrow and Sunday. Regardless of whether they make the finals or not, all of tonight’s performers have achieved a great accomplishment by making it this far in this competition!
Sung Ho Yoo kicked off the quarterfinal round with Schoenberg’s Suite for Piano, op. 25. Atonal music is often denigrated as inexpressive and mechanical, but Schoenberg’s aim in composition was in fact the opposite; his style grew out of the German expressionist movement, which aimed at the most intense possible expression of human emotions. Although not Schoenberg’s first atonal work, this suite is the first composition in which he uses his 12-tone system in every movement. In this system, the 12 chromatic notes are ordered in a row, and the piece uses them in specific orderings of this row throughout instead of traditional tonal relationships. Yoo’s performance was engaging and musical, and he clearly enjoyed the striking dissonances and expressive phrasing built into the piece. His second piece was Schubert’s delightful “little” A major sonata, D. 664. This was the first time we’ve heard Schubert in this competition, and I very much enjoyed Yoo’s playing. His phrasing was sensitive and expressive, and the gentleness of this sonata contrasted very nicely with the angular Schoenberg. As a fun fact, the finale of this sonata is unusual among sonata forms in that the recapitulation happens in the subdominant (D major) rather than A major—Mozart’s “easy” C major sonata also shares this trait, with the first theme reappearing in F major.
Yoo’s performance of Barber’s Piano Sonata was the highlight of his program for me. In the first movement, he did a great job of making each theme and phrase distinct, clearly deciphering the music for the audience to understand. When one theme interrupted another, he really made us feel that interruption—every new or returning motive was given its due. The finale of this piece is always impressive to listen to—a rapid fugue taking advantage of all the piano and pianist can do (and one of the few places in the repertoire where a working sostenuto pedal is required). His final piece was the first time the audience had heard Olga Kern’s new composition (although it is my sixth time hearing it, because I listened to the afternoon session first). Yoo’s version was a success, and I think his was among my favorite of the slow movement interpretations.
Daria Podorozhnova began her morning performance with Haydn’s Sonata in E major, Hob. XVI:31. (For those of you wondering what “Hob. XVI:31” means, Hob. stands for Hoboken, the last name of the guy who cataloged all of Haydn’s music. His system grouped Haydn’s pieces into genre categories, and keyboard sonatas happened to get the 16th category—hence XVI. This sonata is the 31st one in his list, so it gets XVI:31. Mozart’s cataloger just used numbers, but with Haydn we are stuck with roman numerals plus numbers!) Podorozhnova’s Haydn was focused and clear, and full of character. Just like in the first round, I found her playing especially compelling—very musical. I know I just said I liked Sung Ho Yoo’s slow movement of Olga Kern’s piece the best, but now I’m not sure—this one gave it a run for its money.
Her next piece was a less often played sonata by Brahms—his second one, in f-sharp minor (op. 2). Brahms’s f minor sonata is played far more often, so I was excited to listen to this one that I have not often heard. Like a lot of early Brahms, it is remarkable music but with textures that could be described as thick and blocky. It takes a good pianist to make this type of music sound good on our modern piano, and Podorozhnova was certainly up to the task. Her performance not only sounded good, but it was also vivid and imaginative. Her last piece, Agosti’s transcription of Stravinsky’s Firebird, further showed off her virtuosity and fluency at the keyboard. Magnificent!
Jonathan Mak started with Olga Kern’s composition, and his interpretation of the first movement was a shade more extroverted than the previous two contestants. It had beautiful, sensitive playing in it though, and I enjoyed it along with the second, more rhythmic movement. Mak chose to play this piece from a score, and I always find that it can be difficult to shift gears between playing from a score and playing from memory in a single performance. His second piece was Robert Schumann’s Sonata no. 2 in g minor, which I always enjoy listening to. His playing was full of different characters: dazzling fireworks in the first and last movement, an introverted and questioning speculative second movement, and an impish scherzo.
Mak next chose to play an etude (no. 8 in b-flat minor “Erlkönig, After Goethe”) by Marc-André Hamelin, a renowned and prolific pianist known for playing anything and everything very well. This and the following Prokofiev were the highlight of Mak’s program for me, and I think the etude showed off his virtuosity as well as his command of the instrument. I hadn’t heard the piece before, and very much enjoyed listening. His final piece was Prokofiev’s Sonata no. 8 in B-flat major, a huge work that is my favorite among Prokofiev’s late piano music. It is a very effective closer, and Mak played it exceptionally well, highlighting the signature off-kilter Prokofiev sound while also infusing it with his own personality and energy.
Leo de Maria was Wednesday morning’s final performer, offering a program of Mozart, Granados, Liszt, Kern, and Ravel. Mozart’s Sonata in E-flat major K. 282 is one of his earlier piano sonatas, and it is full of charm and lyricism. This piece is unusual in that it starts with a slow movement—perhaps de Maria wanted to start with this piece to ease himself back into playing on this piano, or maybe he wanted to show the jury right away his skill as a sensitive player and Mozart interpreter (or both). His second piece was Granados’ “El Amor y la Muerte” (Balada) from the suite Goyescas. This ballad of love and death and the other pieces in Goyescas were inspired by the Spanish painter Francisco Goya, and this movement is one of the two that can be directly matched to a work by Goya (in this case, a print with the same name). De Maria’s interpretation was poetic and grand, and the rich extended harmonies in this Spanish music came across beautifully, with just the right amount of rubato.
The second half of his program began with Liszt’s “Dante” sonata, a single-movement sonata drawn from the second volume (Italy) of his Années de pèlerinage (years of pilgrimage). The striking opening tritones in octaves are clear allusions to the devil or hell, as Liszt was inspired by Victor Hugo’s poem “Après une lecture de Dante” from 1836. Liszt was not only a composer of highly virtuosic piano music, but also a deeply spiritual man who frequently drew connections between literature and music. De Maria’s performance captured both sides of Liszt: the virtuosic and profound. His next piece, Olga Kern’s composition, was well played, and his last piece (Ravel’s La Valse) was a showstopper. An orchestral piece originally, Ravel transcribed the piece for two pianos and also for one piano. As one can imagine, a piece that exists in both an orchestral and a two piano version has quite a few notes!
General thoughts on the quarterfinals: I wasn’t able to listen in person to this round—New Mexico Highlands University had fall break on Monday and Tuesday, but I had to come back and teach classes and lessons yesterday and today. I’ll be back in Albuquerque on Friday and Sunday for the semifinal and final though! Because of that, I’ve listened to the quarterfinals out of order, afternoon session first. My impression so far is that the quarterfinal performances have been very good, but with a few more notes out of place on average than the first round. This makes sense, as contestants probably prioritized practicing for the first round leading up to the competition—there was only a 50% chance they would even get the chance to play their full hour program. Schumann and Liszt featured prominently this afternoon, two composers of large and intricate 19th century favorites of the piano repertoire.
Delvan Lin began the afternoon session of quarterfinal performances with Olga Kern’s new composition, Status Animae. It is especially interesting to hear contestants play new music in a competition, because there is almost no performance tradition for them to rely on—they must rely on their own interpretation of the score, musical instincts, and the composer’s indications. Having every contestant perform the same piece also lets the jury compare their playing directly, across the same repertoire. I found Lin’s playing of Kern’s piece energetic and muscular, and I especially enjoyed the second movement (Rhythm Obsession). The first movement was a little on the heavy side for me, especially for a piece titled “Meditation.” His second piece was Beethoven’s six Bagatelles op. 126, among the last pieces Beethoven wrote for the piano. Here is Beethoven in all his quirkiness, continuing to experiment with the genres of solo piano music by turning to miniatures after writing so many lengthy piano sonatas. Cycles of short piano pieces like this became more and more popular as the 19th century went on. Schumann’s early piano writing (Carnaval, Papillons, etc.) and the new trend of writing cycles of preludes (Chopin, Scriabin, and many others) are great examples of this. Lin treated us to a highly characterized and electric performance of the Bagatelles, turning on a dime between the alternating lyrical and brash sections. Fantastic playing.
The second half of his program was Liszt’s sonata in B minor, S. 178. Like the Beethoven Bagatelles, Lin played fabulously, delivering dazzling displays of passagework and fiery octaves alongside yearning melodies throughout this single movement sonata that features so many different versions of the same theme. Liszt manages to make the same exact melody sound completely different in different contexts, giving a connective thread throughout the entire piece, with all its different characters and sections.
Ai In Yoon performed next, also beginning with Olga Kern’s composition Status Animae. Her interpretation was more introspective than Delvan Lin’s, and I preferred her first movement to his. Because of this, the transition into the contrasting rhythmic second movement had a more striking effect. Yoon’s next piece was Liszt’s Spanish Rhapsody, S. 254. Even though there were a few notes crunched accidentally, she managed a captivating performance full of passion and charm.
Prokofiev’s Sonata no. 3 in a minor was up next, a delightful early sonata of his in just one movement. Composed in 1917, it was subtitled “from old notebooks,” meaning that Prokofiev used material from previous sketches as a basis for the sonata. Yoon showed a wide range of playing, with light, nimble passages as well as exciting rhythmic builds to big fortissimos. Her closing set of pieces was Rachmaninoff’s Six moments musicaux, op. 16. She filled the hall with a lush, warm sound, making easy work of Rachmaninoff’s rapid and intricate chromatic lines. The sheer amount of repertoire these contestants are asked to have at performance readiness is immense—so many notes, phrases, and intentions all in their minds and fingers. Yoon’s Rachmaninoff was my favorite from her program today.
Davide Ranaldi opened his quarterfinal program with Beethoven’s “Waldstein” Sonata (op. 53), a difficult and brilliant piece from Beethoven’s middle period. Ranaldi’s executed the runs with precision with only a few notes out of place, and he brought an exciting rhythmic energy to the first and last movements. My favorite moment in this piece is in the finale, when Beethoven modulates to D-flat major, a key far removed from the piece’s home in C major, and out of nowhere we get a rocking, off-beat theme that dissolves into questioning arpeggios. The most infamous passage in the last movement are the right-hand octave glissandi, where Beethoven asks the performer to slide the right hand, locked into an octave reach, rapidly along the white keys of the keyboard. On the modern piano this is very difficult to do evenly, because the white keys are heavy and their edges don’t have much of a bevel. On the Viennese pianos Beethoven was used to, this technique was easy because the keys were lighter and the edges much more rounded. Ranaldi made it look easy on this Steinway, but don’t let that fool you!
I enjoyed his performance of Olga Kern’s piece, and I think he found an especially silky-smooth lyricism in the middle section of the second movement. The contrast between the first movement’s searching melodies and the second movement’s rhythmic drive was also wonderful. Ranaldi closed with Brahms’ Variations on a Theme of Paganini, op. 31 (Books I & II). Like so much of the repertoire played at this competition, this is a long and difficult piano work. Rapid double sixths and thirds in both hands, toccata-like variations, register shifts, and all with Brahms’s signature blocky piano writing that can be intricate and awkward at times. Brahms wrote these two books of variations as piano etudes, putting the performer through a myriad of pianistic challenges. Ranaldi’s performance was impressive in the fast variations, and sensitive in the slower ones.
Monica Zhang performed Robert Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes, op. 13 to start her quarterfinal recital. This is one of my favorite pieces, and I enjoyed Zhang’s performance immensely. This piece was one of Clara Schumann’s signature concert pieces, and for good reason—it has substance, immediate audience appeal, as well as technical difficulties to show off. From the lyrical counterpoint of the second etude to the rhythmic energy of the fourth etude, Zhang’s playing was quite simply excellent.
Her performance of Olga Kern’s piece was captivating in the first movement, and crisp and exciting in the second. Her version of the rhythmic second movement struck me as one of the more articulate among the competitors, perhaps because her tempo was a hair slower. I think the piece was more effective because of that choice. Zhang’s final piece was Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Chopin, op. 22. In this composition, Rachmaninoff used the first two-thirds of Chopin’s prelude in C minor as his theme, following it with a series of variations. Rachmaninoff was both an incredible composer and pianist, and if you haven’t heard his recordings of Chopin’s music, give it a listen. He clearly understood Chopin deeply, although of course this piece is written in his signature style. Zhang again played very well, with remarkable clarity and musicality both. Her playing was powerful and compelling, and I enjoyed listening.
Zhu Wang was one of the few contestants to include another classical period sonata in his quarterfinal program (all contestants had to play a classical sonata in the first round). He chose Mozart’s Sonata in F major, K. 332, a piece that shows many different sides of Mozart: operatic and orchestral with frequent character shifts in the first movement, lyrical ornamented melodies in the second, and pianistic flair and passagework in the last. Wang’s playing was utterly spotless, and he showed his skill as a Mozart player. His second piece was Robert Schumann’s Humoreske, op. 20. Although this piece isn’t divided into separately named movements like Schumann’s Caranaval and Papillons, it seems to be also built out of short character pieces that flow together, with themes that spring up out of nowhere but then are referenced later in the piece. Schumann’s music is alternatingly turbulent and whimsical, demanding both suburb technique and an active imagination. Although at some moments I wished for more whimsy in the slower moments, Wang delivered on both fronts, dazzling the audience with an always good sound and impressively clean passagework, especially in the infamous section with constant running 16th notes and difficult octaves.
The second half of Wang’s recital featured more modern-sounding music. His performance of Olga Kern’s first movement was meditative and gentle, but his second movement was noticeably slower than the other contestant’s interpretations from this afternoon. I enjoyed the first movement but felt his slower second movement lacked some of the energy and virtuosity the piece seems to call for—it felt a bit careful. His Bartok Sonata was excellent, straddling the line between angularity and lyricism that Bartok’s music calls for. Throughout it all, Wang retained exceptional control of his sound, speaking expressively through the piano.
As we enjoy today’s quarterfinal performances, here is an interview from yesterday with three members of the jury (Olga Kern, Piers Lane, and Robert Cross) where we discussed what the judges look for in the competition, why the rounds are structured as they are, and advice for young pianists watching the competition!
Young Sun Choi began the afternoon’s session with J.S. Bach’s A-flat major Prelude and Fugue from the first book of the Well-Tempered Klavier. Her Bach was smooth and seamless, with a mellow, rounded sound. She continued with Chopin’s Etude in F major op. 10 no. 8, dazzling the audience with rapid 7 figuration in this buoyant etude. The Rachmaninoff etude that followed (op. 39 no. 1) has been a popular one this competition, and Choi gave us another impressive and enjoyable interpretation to listen to. In Rachmaninoff’s prelude in E-flat major (op. 23 no. 6), Choi created a dreamlike soundscape of floating chords and melodies, pulling the listener in with a soft and intimate sound.
The second half of her program featured Beethoven’s Sonata in E-flat major op. 7. Choi’s first movement featured an exciting, driving pulse, clear passagework, and a luminous overall sound. Her second movement was finely controlled and full of intense expression, even in the silent moments—every gesture had a distinct intention. This movement was the highlight of her program for me. The third and fourth movements were also enjoyable to listen to, as Choi continued to play flawlessly and with superb control.
Zhu Wang chose to start his program with Scarlatti Sonatas K. 13 in G major and K. 29 in D major. From the outset, he cultivated an excellent tone in these two lighthearted pieces. The D major sonata was especially suited to demonstrating his excellent pianism, with rapid passagework in major interspersed with yearning melodies in the minor mode. For his classical sonata, Wang played Beethoven’s Sonata in A-flat major op. 110. The second of Beethoven’s three late sonatas, op. 110 is a monumental piece of great complexity, with many different sections woven together and then concluded by an elaborate fugue. Wang brought a polished and precise sound to the piece, always listening to the sound of the piano in the hall and taking care that his intentions were clearly projected to the audience. He managed a true sense of freedom in the opening of the slow movement, leading into a beautiful and lyrical rendition of the “Klagender Gesang” section, which translates from German to mean “wailing song” or “lamenting song,” a deeply expressive and sorrowful melody. The closing fugue was well paced and led to a brilliant and satisfying conclusion.
Wang’s etudes (Debussy no. 8 “ornaments” and Rachmaninoff op. 39 no. 1) were also fantastic. He brought a myriad of colors and layers to the Debussy, seeming to control an entire ensemble of instruments from the keyboard. If Debussy is about carefully layering different lines and sounds on top of one another, then Rachmaninoff is all about blending melodies and harmonies into a colorful whole. Wang’s Rachmaninoff etude burned with a fiery passion, and then his closing piece (Rachmaninoff’s transcription of Kreisler’s “Libesfreud”) delighted with playful and sparkling cascades of notes surrounding the familiar waltz tune.
What’s next: Now that all the contestants have performed their first-round program, the jury will deliberate and announce who will move on to the quarterfinal round tomorrow. The contestants who advance to the next round will have less than 24 hours to adjust and mentally prepare for their 60-minute solo program on Wednesday!
Ai In Yoon began the second day of the first round with a bright and cheery Scarlatti sonata in G major (K. 55), nimbly traversing rapid scales, arpeggios, and trills. Then, she launched into a blazing fast rendition of the famous D minor repeated note Scarlatti Sonata K. 141. Continuing with the theme of light, nimble repertoire, Yoon performed the second of Beethoven’s opus 2 sonatas in A major. Brilliant scales and quick-witted staccato gestures mix with more espressivo “sturm und drang” sections in the first movement, and she did a wonderful job bringing out these contrasts (and handled the tricky broken tenths in the development with ease). Her second movement, with its walking bass line and legato melody, was beautiful and carefully balanced, even though I would have liked to hear a little more agogic emphasis placed on the fortissimo moments. The scherzo was light and poised like a graceful minuet, and the theme of her finale almost made the gigantic melodic leap of an octave plus a sixth sound too easy, but it fit in well with the feather-light sound of her passagework and carefree treatment of the rest of the movement.
The second part of Yoon’s program began with an ethereal rendition of Rachmaninoff’s “Lilacs” (op. 21 no. 5) that reminded me of water running through a gentle stream. The stream quickly turned into a rushing torrent when Yoon turned to Chopin’s etude in C-sharp minor op. 10 no. 4, an unceasing cascade of rapid 16th notes. Her tempo and accuracy were impressive, and she hardly took a moment to breathe through the entire etude. The finale was Liszt’s Paganini Etude no. 6 in A minor, an exciting conclusion that further demonstrated Yoon’s technical prowess at the keyboard.
Davide Ranaldi opened his program with J.S. Bach’s prelude and fugue in c-sharp minor (Well-Tempered Klavier I), a beautiful flowing prelude and an intricately crafted five-voice fugue. Ranaldi’s performance of the prelude was understated, but in a good way, letting the melancholy character of the piece speak through its simplicity. This fugue is one of the few triple fugues in the Well-Tempered Klavier, meaning that it has three separate subjects, and each subject is presented in each voice with its own full exposition. Ranaldi deftly layered all of these interweaving melodies together, bringing the audience along on his five-voice contrapuntal journey.
Haydn’s Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI:52 was a welcome upbeat contrast to the c-sharp minor Bach. Ranaldi’s playing brimmed with exuberance and energy, and I appreciated how he committed fully to the character of each phrase and passage, bringing the piece to life. Haydn wrote this sonata late in his life while living in London, where he encountered English pianos that were remarkably different from the Viennese pianos he was used to. In this and the other “London” sonatas, we see Haydn experimenting with new pianistic effects and an expanded keyboard range. While many of his early sonatas can be played equally well on fortepiano or harpsichord, these late London sonatas demand a piano, and Ranaldi certainly embodied this spirit of experimentation and expression in his fantastic performance.
The final portion of Ranaldi’s program highlighted his virtuosity and overall command of the instrument. His Chopin “Double Thirds” etude (op. 25 no. 6) was excellent, his right hand flowing like water over the keyboard. His second etude was Liszt’s “Mazeppa,” a demanding piece that requires rapid passagework, double notes, octaves, and lightning-fast register changes, all of which Ranaldi dispatched with ease. His final piece was Rachmaninoff’s prelude in D major, op. 23 no. 4, a beautiful cantabile conclusion to the program.
Carlos de la Blanca Elorza began with J.S. Bach’s prelude and fugue in b-flat minor (Well-Tempered Klavier I), another pair that features a five-voice fugue. This fugue is notable for its incredible stretto of all five voices near the end, with overlapping entrances creating a grand climax. Elorza’s performance was clear and polished, and the Bach nicely contrasted with the following piece, Beethoven’s Sonata in E major op. 109. Similar to the late Haydn sonata played by the previous contestant, this piece was written near the end of Beethoven’s life, during a period when the piano was rapidly developing and growing in size. This piece probes the limits of what Beethoven’s piano could do—in the final movement, he was so excited about the extra note at the low end of his new piano that he even wrote in the score “contra E” (low E) when it appeared! Elorza’s performance embodied this spirit, and he took advantage of all the modern piano can do with full fortissimos and extreme pianissimos. I particularly enjoyed the way he played the final simple theme at the end of the variations movement.
Elorza’s etude choices were Chopin’s “Revolutionary” Etude (op. 10 no. 12) and Rachmaninoff’s Etude-Tableaux in e-flat minor (op. 39 no. 5). The Chopin etude was full of turbulent, stormy playing that only occasionally left me wanting more clarity in the fast notes—the overall effect was excellent. This Rachmaninoff etude is more about voicing and control of sound than about fast passagework, and Elorza for the most part succeeded in managing the sound of so many notes at once supporting a single melodic line. His transition to the final piece (Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in b minor op. 32 no. 10) was so sudden that it caught me off guard, but he soon had me captivated again by the dramatic storytelling of his playing.
Marie Wurtz opened with the d minor Prelude and Fugue from J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier I. She brought out the imitative nature of the invention-like prelude well, ending poignantly on its final D major harmony. Her fugue was similarly excellent, and she took care to shape each voice even when in the background. Her first etude was Chopin’s op. 10 no. 1 in C major, a virtuosic flurry of arpeggios spanning nearly the entire range of the keyboard every two measures. Her playing was amazingly precise but left me wishing for a larger dynamic range in this piece. Her Rachmaninoff Etude (D major, op. 39 no. 9) was exciting and showed her ability to manage thick textures and execute rapid register shifts. The punctuation of the final octaves was particularly effective after the piece’s rhythmic drive. Next. Wurtz treated us to the more lyrical side of Rachmaninoff, with his transcription of Kreisler’s “Liebeslied.” Her fingers danced over the keys, effortlessly executing the delicate filigree and rapid chromatic lines Rachmaninoff uses to decorate melodies.
The second half of her program consisted of Beethoven’s Sonata in A major, op. 101. Wurtz’s first movement was sensitive and controlled, and she achieved an incredible warmth in the sound of her chords. The second “alla marcia” movement was lively and rhythmic, a character that Wurtz committed to for the entire movement, only allowing herself the slightest of rubatos at the beginning of the dominant pedal point. Her transition at the end of the third movement was especially beautiful, leading nicely into a breathtakingly quick finale. Overall, it was an impressive end to the program.
Monica Zhang chose to begin with two Scarlatti Sonatas, one in F major (K. 438) and one in f minor (K. 466). Her playing immediately displayed an excellent control of the instrument’s sound, and she drew an incredible range of colors out of the piano, taking advantage of repeated phrases to vary the sound. The second sonata in F minor was more melancholic and featured a beautiful combination of left hand eighth notes accompanying right hand triplets. Again, Zhang made the piano sing and sound wonderful. Next on the program was Mozart’s Sonata in D major, K. 576. Her performance deftly handled the tricky close imitation of the two melodic parts in the first movement, weaving them seamlessly in and out of each other while maintaining a sparkling overall sound. The second movement was sensitively played, with careful attention to phrasing and articulation, and the finale was full of crystal-clear, exciting runs and playful gestures.
Zhang chose the slow etude from Chopin’s op. 10 set (no. 6 in e-flat minor), delivering a moving performance that led nicely into the next piece, Rachmaninoff’s e-flat minor Elegy (op. 3 no. 1). She drew a dark, rich sound out of the piano, building up to a wonderful climax that grew naturally out of the music before it—powerful playing. Zhang’s finale was Rachmaninoff’s Etude-Tableaux op. 39 no. 1, leaving the audience awash in a sea of rapid notes, gripping from the first to the last. An excellent performance.
