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.