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Every competition needs a simon cowell.

Commentary:

(Denis Evstuhin)
Very noble playing, though some charisma is lacking. Many performances were simply stunning. In C# minor etude the interpretation was sad and grave-like, whereas Kaoru Jitsukawa showed passion, lust and great deal of emotion. There was not enough Chopin nostalgy in the sound. However, he plays the octaves truly legato (he has big hand which makes it easier for him), beautifully showing inner voices. In the scherzo he showed marvelous narration and singing character of the piece. He well presented all voices and differentiated the repetitions making them more interesting.
(Nakhapetov)
Stream failed for me.
(Julian Zhi Chao Jia)
10/4 was fast, but due to well presented narration and clarity it felt slower than it really was. His sound is clearly the result of his ability. Beautiful inner voice in the A minor etude, especially the first finger of the left hand - he showed that voice beautifully, not only concentrating on the chromatics in 3, 4 and 5th finger. In other pieces a bit scholastic and rigid.
(Kaoru)
He thinks at the keyboard, clearly knows what he wants to achieve. Long, lush phrases. Music full of passion and emotion. Not only his face shows that he is very engagaed in the performance, but also his sound and expression. He was really captivated and his playing was full of harmony. He listens to himself and adjusts his sound according to the acoustics of the hall. Very interesting pauses and well thought fermatas in Fantaisie finale.

You are doing a fantastic job, Mati!

Is it only me, or is Ms. Khachatryan forcing the sound a bit too much in the ballade? I am not really fond of this sound quality. I am watching her carefuly, as she is the sister of one of my favourite violinists

I tend to agree with you, it sounded a little bit forced to me too...

It sure is interesting to hear that kind of blunt criticism from the commentators, particularly after the Cliburn experience. Well, I'm sure I would not like it if I were a performer there, pouring my heart out....but from the bleachers, it's interesting...

After listening to Kaoru, I went on Youtube and listened to Ivo Pogolerich's ballade during the 1980 competition. Did anyone also think Kaoru's playing style held some similarities? A rather heart felt interpretation.

You beat me to it - +10000

I wonder in how many cases this kind of "ruthless" teacher has been counterproductive.

For those interested, the Chopin competition issues a daily "newspaper" that can be read online and that has intersting comments about the ocmpetition (in polish and in English). Click on the left hand menu at the main page ("Competition newspaper").

Competition page

Also, Emma Baker at Gramophone has a blog about the competition:

Blog

Hmm, Mei-Ting Sun seemed a little tight to me in the etudes.

I am hearing rubatos maximus now..

I liked the scherzo, but a little more fire would have been nice. I'm not to font of this current guy (USA)

Also it seems to me that Yamaha is quite bass heavy :|

I thought he was a bit tight to begin with but I rather like his playing as he's warmed up.Wasn't overly impressed with Madoka Fukami.

Indeed, I don't think he'll get away with it...

Haha the ending of this ballad is so much fun. It is always like a post-scriptum where he sais, and thats how it is. haha

I loved Mei-Ting Sun's playing!

Yes, lots of rubato (as others say); yes, ultra-individual ultra-expressive playing...this is not your Pollini reference recording style of course, but so thrilling to hear (for me at least).

Nice voicing, with attention to side voices. Round, powerful but never harsh tone. 10/1 loved it a lot, also the attention to the chorale-like bass line. 10/2 in some spots appeared to me tiny lacks of clarity (not sure, may be my equipment), 10/3 loved it loved it (prominent wrong note in the melody slow part??), and so the Ballade (coda so powerful).

I'd love to hear what the critics said about him. Thanks a lot to the translators, Mati&co!!!

Teh Ballade got much much better (to my taste) towards teh end. He plays charismatically and with an individual style. But the competition is really stiff and rubato is not "in"

Yes, I was thinking on the fact that he played with his eyes closed when it happened... I'm amazed he managed to resume playing almost flawlessly. Still, I don't know how they judge such glaring mistakes on the melodic line, in a melody focused etude as this one...
I liked his playing overall, but the rubato was definitly too much - even had it not been Chopin. Well, you could say he took some risk - some of the performance aren't really interesting because they play really safe, interpretation wise. Then again, I have no clue how the judges handle those matters. Would love to know what criteras they base their verdict on.

I think he played from some rare, little-known score. I heard he played those strange notes before. Not a good idea to play that in a competition.

Overall, I think Mei-Ting Sun did pretty good, but I am afraid it was not a super strong performance in this competition.

You mean that was intentional :| It sounded very wrong

I like the sound of this Steinway better than that Yamaha. I want to hear the Fazioli though.