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.