The first round of the 2025 Olga Kern International Piano Competition began today, with 20 contestants performing a 30-45 min first round solo recital that must include: a prelude and fugue by J.S. Bach or two contrasting Scarlatti Sonatas; two contrasting etudes; a classical sonata, and a short piece by Rachmaninoff. The rest of the program could be filled with any repertoire chosen by the contestant. It has been an exciting morning with many wonderful performances!

Sung Ho Yoo’s performance began with a commanding interpretation of J.S. Bach’s prelude and fugue in g minor from the second book of the Well-Tempered Klavier. The prelude’s dotted rhythms were well-characterized in the French Overture, over-dotted style, but also flexible enough to allow for a few gentler moments as well. The fugue that followed was tempestuous, and Yoo a achieved a remarkable variety of colors and sound through the thick polyphonic texture. He followed the Bach with a lively rendition of Chopin’s etude in A-flat major, op. 10/10, the right hand fluttering across the keyboard with ease.

The standout piece from Yoo’s program for me was his Debussy Etude no. 7 (chromatic). His impressive virtuosity was on display, and he managed to keep the rapid chromatic lines at once crystalline and precise while also subordinate to the melodic layers on top.

Yoo’s Beethoven’s Sonata in A major, op. 101 was well played, but at times a little rigid for my taste. He refrained from the unwritten rubatos in the first movement that many performers take, and while some may appreciate the restraint, I wished for more freedom of tempo. The March was lively and energetic, but didn’t relax as much in the middle section as I would have liked. The finale was very quick and impressive, especially the tricky fugue near the end. I loved his command over the dense counterpoint and the decisive way that he played the fugue, and his ending had a beautiful, delicate balance of bass trill, inner voice, and melody that is so difficult to achieve on a modern piano. He ended with a dazzling interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s transcription of Kreisler’s Liebeslied—a beautiful and lyrical end to the program.

Huiping Cai began her program with Rachmoninoff’s “Lilacs” from 12 Romances, op. 21 no. 5. Her tone was immediately captivating, and the piece showed off her subtle voicing, beautiful sound, and command of the instrument. The Haydn sonata that followed (C major, Hob. XVI:48) was clean and precise, but the first movement did not achieve the same freedom and flow of the Rachmaninoff, and felt overly careful to my ear. The finale had more energy, and here Cai better captured Haydn’s brashness and playfulness.

Cai followed the Haydn sonata with Bach’s prelude and fugue in g minor from the first book of the Well-Tempered Klavier. I especially liked her phrasing in the fugue, and the counterpoint in both movements was very clearly outlined, even if I found the prelude a little stiff. After the Bach, Cai launched into Chopin’s famous “Winter Wind” etude. She handled this virtuosic showpiece impressively, barely breaking stride throughout the whole piece.

After the a minor Chopin etude, Cai went straight in to Liszt’s a minor Paganini etude no. 6. Her virtuosity was on full display here, with hardly a note out of place through all of he difficult octave runs and rapid chords. She also managed to build excitement throughout the piece, showing her command of larger musical structures. This and the Rachmaninoff were the highlights of her program for me.

Daria Podorozhnova began her program with a sensitive and lyrical interpretation of Bach’s b-flat minor Prelude and Fugue from the second book of the Well-Tempered Klavier. The flowing sound she achieved in the prelude contrasted nicely with her more muscular approach to the fugue, which is long, intricate, and remarkably chromatic. Her next piece was Beethoven’s monumental Sonata in E-flat major, op. 7. Unlike his first three sonatas, which he grouped together in one publication (op. 2), Beethoven deemed this sonata substantial enough to stand on its own. Podorozhnova’s interpretation was engaging throughout, capturing well both the playful and sublime sides of Beethoven. The first movement was marked by driving rhythmic energy and punchy sforzandos interspersed with moments of lyricism. The second movement was also excellent—it is easy to let slow movements in Beethoven sag and lose their spark, but here I was captivated throughout, and every note felt full of meaning and intention. The last two movements were also remarkable, aside from a small memory issue in the finale which she covered quite well. In the third movement, she achieved a wonderfully light sound in the thick minore section, which is notoriously difficult to play clearly.

The second half of Podorozhnova’s program began with a commanding, energetic, and impressive performance of Liegti’s Etude no. 13 (“The Devil’s Staircase”). She then followed with a lyrical contrast—Rachmaninoff’s transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Lullaby in G-flat major, op. 16 no. 1. Here, she found a captivating warmth and drove home her ability to make every piece on her program sound unique and distinct, creating a different sound world for each work and composer. For her finale, she dazzled us with the rapid 16^th note triplets of Rachmaninoff’s Etude-Tableaux op. 39 no. 1 in c minor, a fantastically exciting and impressive performance.  

Ningxin Zhan’s performance began with J.S. Bach’s prelude and fugue in F major from the second book of the Well-Tempered Klavier. Her interpretation captured well the contrast between the flowing, organ-like prelude and the lively fugue with its sharp articulations and playfully weaving lines. Next, she played Haydn’s C major sonata Hob. XVI:48 with remarkable finesse, shaping and juxtaposing each short phrase well and keeping the audience in suspense through every hanging silence. I enjoyed hearing her playful and colorful rendition of the piece very much—Zhan is a remarkable Haydn player and interpreter.

The second half of Zhan’s program featured music by Rachmaninoff and Chopin. The first two were etudes that showcased her virtuosity and command of the instrument—Rachmaninoff’s Etude-Tableaux in f-sharp minor op. 39 no. 3 and Chopin’s g-sharp minor “Thirds” etude, op. 25 no. 6. Both were excellent, although I do wonder whether she took the Chopin etude slightly too fast and thereby lost some clarity. Rachmaninoff’s “Daisies” (op. 38 no. 3) was beautiful and colorful, with delicate filigree and trills embellishing the lyrical melody. Zhan finished with Rachmaninoff’s Sonata no. 2 in b-flat minor, a huge and difficult piece that is central to Rachmaninoff’s piano output. She managed the rapid flowing chromatic lines and counter-melodies of the opening with ease, melting into the contemplative second theme seamlessly. Her playing created a rich tapestry of sound, effortlessly guiding the listener through Rachmaninoff’s alternatingly subtle and bombastic piano writing. This was a very enjoyable listen, and I could tell the audience was captivated by her musical storytelling throughout the whole sonata.

Gabriel Landstedt opened with a performance of Beethoven’s Sonata in E major, op. 109, the first of Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas, often considered the crown jewels of his piano music. While I occasionally wished for more flexibility of tempo and rubatos in the first and last movements, I appreciated his careful voicing and attention to long lines. He had some small memory issues in the finale, but overcame them to give a moving and enjoyable performance. I especially enjoyed the excitement and rhythmic drive of the second movement. Gabriel followed the Beethoven sonata with J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A major from the first book of the Well-Tempered Klavier. This was a lucid and engaging performance, with clear 8^th note articulations and sparkling clarity in the gigue-like fugue.

The second half of his program began with Rachmaninoff’s prelude in B-flat major, op. 23 no. 2. Gabriel brought the myriad of coloristic possibilities to life in this piece, with sparkling figuration in the higher registers and a booming bass that only occasionally overpowered the overall sound. His two contrasting Etudes were by Scriabin (op. 65 no. 3) and Ligeti (Autumn in Warsaw). He achieved a remarkable sound in this virtuosic Scriabin etude, and I enjoyed hearing this late Scriabin work, from a period in Scriabin’s compositional output that had almost fully departed from his Chopin-esque beginnings in search of new harmonies and sounds. My favorite performance from this program was the Ligeti, in which Gabriel made the fiendish rhythmic complexities of this etude sound effortless, blending and layering the multiple melodies on top of a crystalline ostinato backdrop.