Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Tchaikovsky International Competition

I loved her Kapustin! The judges were all grinning at each other after.

The Kapustin variations was amazing!

I watched y.e.Soms's archived performance of the Kapustin. It
was terrific! She captured the spirit perfectly and tossed it
off with brilliance. Then her Spanish Rhapsody was the best
I've ever heard -- fast passages were the fastest I've every heard and played with precision. "I 'bout came out of my
shoes!" as they say...

Today we hear/watch the last 4 competitors play their Mozard
Concerti. Any favorites so far?

Last night I was watching the Mozart rehearsals. I couldn't believe how easily Son tossed it off, it was so brilliant, every note perfectly in place. They showed her warming up a bit before the rehearsal, that was very interesting to see. She at one point played a 4 octave C major scale, it must have been about 208.

The finalists are


Yeol Eum Son (who has been n perfect form throughout this competition)

Daniil Trifonov (Mozart to die for)
ALexei Chernov
Alex Romanovsky
Seon Jin Cho


Yeol Eum Son received the Jury prize for the best Schedrin interpretation (the piece composed for the competition) and Trifonov received the best Mozart concerto award.

Something remarkable happened after the semi-finalists were announced and people left the stage. A huge wave of lengthy applause ensued around Alexander Lybyantsev who was surrounded by friends and fans. It was really moving. They gave him a huge send off. He is a remarkable pianist who did not make it to the last round.
But I have to say that Yeol Eum Son is looking like a shining star, very different in style from the Russians and even more impressive than her Cliburn performance which was already stellar.
This is not to disregard by any means the amazing Russian grads.. Those conservatories and music schools continue to produce the most amazing musicians..

Actually Yeol Eum Son also shared the Mozart prize with Trifonov! I loved the two cadenzas she played in the Mozart concerto, one by Malcolm Bilson, the other by Lili Kraus. They had lots of humor in them.

You are right. I see it listed on the site. Somehow I missed that when they made the announcement. I am hoping to catch her Mozart concerto in the archives soon.

On a non-piano note, I'm really enjoying going through the various violin semifinalists and seeing the different approaches they take towards the Corigliano commission.

is the archive complete? because from the paraclassics webcast it doesn't nearly have everything. does somebody have a link to the complete archives?

should be pretty hilarious. you can see why nigel runs away with that prize.

I like Son a lot this time, she has more life in her playing than in the Cliburn. Her Kapustin rocked. I loved the shot of the jury cracking up at the end.

Yes! Check out his Mozart concerto, too. He does astonishingly well in spite of one of the cellists passing out during the first movement.

Does anyone know what they were discussing so animatedly(the conductor and some the bass players or cellists) at the end of the Last movement of the Chopin Concerto?

I want to marry her.

She could accompany your choir.

Women have won the Tchaikovsky before, Ayako Uehara in piano, 2002, and Viktoria Mullova in violin, 1982, for example.

Several women have won first and other prizes in the violin and the cello competitions but Uehara was the only woman to have won first prize in piano and, arguably (as I have not tallied), there are far fewer prize-winning women among the top 3 ranks in piano, compared to the strings.


On a different note, an intriguing statement appeared on the main page of the competition today re: a negative comment by Mark Gorenstein the conductor of the orchestra that accompanies the cellists, regarding one of the participants. I have copied it below. Does anyone know what happened?

:

The Organizing Committee of the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition regards as insulting the statements addressed by Artistic Director of the Svetlanov State Symphony Orchestra of Russia Mark Gorenstein to the person of competition participant Narek Hakhnazaryan.

We consider that words reflecting on an individual's dignity do damage to the creative atmosphere that we have worked so hard to establish. The purpose of the Tchaikovsky Competition is to support young musicians, and every one of the competition's organizers and participants is obliged to treat its competitors with the utmost respect.

That's interesting...I had never heard of Uehara. Has she had a big career since winning the Tchaikovsky?

I figured out what the deal is regarding the apology. Apparently the conductor made some pretty racist remarks (according to Russian friends) about the participant (cellist Narek Hakhanazaryan) that were broadcast live. The clip has already hit You Tube and Facebook, making lot of people angry, thus the quick apology on the website. But apparently the conductor, Mark Gorenstein, remains in his post.

In other news people have been watching in awe Yeol Eum Son rehearse the Tchaik I and Rach 3 back to back. She had changed her program from Prokofiev 2 to Rach 3. I have to agree with others who thought she is more impressive here than at the Cliburn. Her Humoreske was wonderful which scores big in my book..

I found the u-tube reference and this is the uploader's interpretation of what was said: ..

This is how Mark Gorenstein, the conductor, instructed the orchestra musicians to play with Narek Hakhnazaryan, an outstanding young cellist, in the finals of the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Gorenstein is an artistic director and conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation.

"First thing. Do not worry about what he plays, this talent. Your task is to play what is written there in the score, and do it with me. Do not worry about this AUL* that is presented here to us - this is Nashimoto's cousin, I've seen it already. We don't need this. Yes, play with me, please. Everything else is not your buisness. That first thing. Second - you play too loud. In Dvorak. You forgot, that this is not trovbone. Whatever he whistles here, you should play softer than him."

*AUL is small village in the mountains of some eastern countries. Though in Armenia they dont use this word. Here it sounds rude in this context. Gorenshtein wants to show that he has no respect to the contestant

Even if the reference to AUL is perhaps the insult, the words "Nashimoto's Cousin" interest me. The only reference I have found (so far) is this one here... obviously it's Wikipedia stuff so take it for what it is. Possibly Gorenstein's supossed insult refers to her devoting herself to mentally and physically handicapped people. Just a guess at some loose connections here, so don't quote me!

Anyone any the wiser?