Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner 15th Tchaikovsky Competition, June 10-July 3

Don't be nasty, there can't be flies in such a world famous historical hall that has been there for ages. What the pianists are looking at are bats hanging from the ceiling.

Outrage, scandal what does it matter?

The jury members has already started accusing each other about the results.

These kind of cowardly ostrich pretending and discussing irrelevant matters like mimics etc. won't save anybody from the burden.

Sigh...Feel free to fight windmills... just don't expect everyone to join you...

And it is fine to hold one's head in that ostrich pit?

Gergiev has already invited Debargue for recital and the hall is already sold out. He is apparently regretting that some western jurors have over reacted with fear and voted for the Russians.
But he played Tch concerto with Li and now he is trying to compensate for Debargue.

At least one won't be decapitated by the windmills

No you get your butt shaved instead.

Brrrr, I better not lose my head, what do you think about Li's left foot?

Mr Hakki, you seemed very convinced there is a scandal. But what is the exact nature of this scandal that you are proposing.

Gergiev invited Li to Mikkeli because Masleev had a recent death in his family. There does not seemed to be any controversy there. Masleev did not make any statement that he wants to go but was not invited.

Gergiev organised a recital for Debargue because the Russians music lovers have shown their appreciation for Debargue's style. Gergiev is an astute businessman. He knows what can sell. After VC 2009 he brought Tsujii to
Marinsky because he knows the concertgoers would buy tickets and see this blind pianist one may never encounter another like him in one's lifetime.

I think it is all about financial consideration.

As far as Berezovsky and Donohoe expressing their disagreement with the result, this would happen with or without any supposedly interference from higher powers. The format and the nature of music competitions and evaluation per se would generate lots of disagreements.

Unfortunately things are not as naïve one might think.

The jury results were made open for Berezovsky, which in the first place is unethical. Hence Donohoe was surprised that Berezovsky knew things that he didn't.

In fact what Berezovsky said should be true, because there were only 5 Russian jury members, but Masleev had to get at least 8 or more votes for the gold medal, which he did.
So Berezovsky is saying Donohoe that westerns other than Donohoe has acted with the Russians.

Furthermore Berezovsky made clear that he voted for silver for Debargue and probably Li for gold.

Then that leaves only 4 Russians to vote for Masleev, which means at least 4 westerns also voted for Masleev too.

We know that Engstrom and Beroff was 2 of them. Who the other 2 were is what Donohoe wondering about.

The Italian in the early rounds had a most lively left leg, so after that I didn't even notice anyone else's

Yes, Hakki, I should have typed 'Engstrom' as the one interviewed. Thanks for correcting that.

This is why they excommunicate cardinals who talk about papal elections. 😀

But, how do you keep the piano jury from essentially criticizing each other?

Anyhoo, I think I can hear the jangle of the thread-lock keychain.

A similar discussion with the participation of Mr. Donohoe is taking place at the slippedisc, even with more interesting comments.

Therefore I don't foresee a lock here.

I just listened to some of the streams from the competition and I just couldn't get into it because of the way it sounds. Very thin, almost digital sound. It's the piano or bad compression or both.

It's probably your computer soundboard and speakers... I've listened through a stereo system, both the live streams and replays and the sound was quite good.

They have 4 different pianos and some of them sound better than others, but none was thin...

Pardon me, Mr Hakki. Are you by any chance MILKA on slippedisc comments section?

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Milka says:
July 8, 2015 at 3:47 am

Unmitigated baloney…….
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Milka says:
July 8, 2015 at 5:03 pm

Anytime …. baloney is baloney however served up .
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No. I am not.
I don't have an account at slippedisc.

Yoohoo, can I get some help from Finnish people? [fnork? outo?]
Help me (and non-Finnish speaking people) with this, please.

http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/a1436061657981

What I get from google translate.. I think can be better. [parentheses are my own notes]
(what I noticed is that the Finnish languages utilizes an extraordinary amount of the letter 'k' in its words)

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George Li began in Mikkeli 'winners' parade'
CULTURE 07/06/2015 2:00
Vesa Sirén
82
Estimate: Music
Mikkeli Music Festival. St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra under the direction of Valery Gergiev on Thursday, Michael's concert hall. As a soloist pianist George Li. - Sibelius, Tchaikovsky.
There is this little scary. [what is scary?] Arrive late superstar Valery Gergiev was raised from the car's rear bench on Saturday at about 18.45. when the shuttle arrived Michael's concert hall.

She went through fifteen minutes of Jean Sibelius, The Swan of Tuonela. Then the audience was allowed in, and he led it more deeply and more intensively than in front of Franz Welser-Möst Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's Music Centre in June.

Change the software [what software?] has not been practiced for a second. On the other hand the orchestra had played the first piano concerto by Pyotr Tchaikovsky's last days earlier with Gergiev in St Petersburg Tchaikovsky Competition winners at the gala, which also Mikkeli, ie piano soloist race in second place on Wednesday elected 19-year-old George Li attended. The American super-power of its own sähikäismäistä energy [what is this special Scandinavian energy that George Li possessed?] and charisma. Liberating is the sparkle and the technology is squeaky clean. Mikkeli audience loved him. The Russian aristocracy soloist still missing. [Is the article referring to Masleev?] Li was a welcome boost for the festival. It is a cultural achievement to the young award-winning Finland soon after the resolution of the Moscow Tchaikovsky competitions.

Sibelius's first symphony went intensively, but all too jagged, because there was no rehearsal time. Quite a hubbub of chatter Gergiev brought by adopting the Sibelian orchestral storm prolific rampant. This is the second Sibelius interpretations extreme compared to Paavo Berglund analytical X-ray.

HS.fi Culture Also read the Sunday Gergiev concert estimate.

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Original text:
George Li aloitti Mikkelissä "voittajien paraatin"
Kulttuuri 6.7.2015 2:00
Vesa Sirén

82

Arvio: musiikki
Mikkelin musiikkijuhlat. Pietarin Mariinski-teatterin orkesteri Valeri Gergijevin johdolla torstaina Mikaelin konserttisalissa. Solistina pianisti George Li. – Sibelius, Tšaikovski.

On tämä vähän pelottavaa. Myöhästelevä supertähti Valeri Gergijev herätettiin auton takapenkiltä lauantaina noin klo 18.45. kun kuljetus saapui perille Mikaelin konserttitaloon.

Hän kävi vartissa läpi Jean Sibeliuksen Tuonelan joutsenen. Sitten yleisö päästettiin sisään, ja hän johti sen syvemmin ja intensiivisemmin kuin Franz Welser-Möst Wienin filharmonikkojen edessä Musiikkitalossa kesäkuussa.

Muuta ohjelmistoa ei harjoiteltu sekuntiakaan. Toisaalta orkesteri oli soittanut Pjotr Tšaikovskin ensimmäistä pianokonserttoa viimeksi päivää aikaisemmin Gergijevin kanssa Pietarissa Tšaikovski-kilpailun voittajien gaalassa, johon myös Mikkelin solisti eli pianokilvan kakkoseksi keskiviikkona valittu 19-vuotias George Li osallistui. Yhdysvaltalainen superkyky omaa sähikäismäistä energiaa ja lavakarismaa. Soinnissa on säihkyä ja tekniikka on putipuhdas. Mikkelin yleisö rakasti häntä. Venäläinen aristokratia solistista vielä puuttui. Li oli tervetullut piristysruiske festivaalille. On kulttuuriteko tuoda nuoria palkittuja Suomeen pian Moskovan Tšaikovski-kilpailujen ratkeamisen jälkeen.

Sibeliuksen ensimmäinen sinfonia meni intensiivisesti, mutta liiankin rosoisesti, koska harjoitusaikaa ei ollut. Melkoisen mekkalan Gergijev nosti antaessaan sibeliaanisen orkesterimyrskyn velloa valtoimenaan. Tämä on Sibelius-tulkintojen toinen ääripää Paavo Berglundin analyyttiseen läpivalaisuun verrattuna.

HS.fi Kulttuuri Lue myös sunnuntain Gergijev-konsertin arvio.

I'll help with a proper translation later today when I get to a proper keyboard...

My favorite lines from that Google translation are . . .

Liberating is the sparkle and the technology is squeaky clean.

Quite a hubbub of chatter Gergiev brought by adopting the Sibelian orchestral storm prolific rampant.

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I'll have to start writing my armchair reviews like that!

Quite a hubbub of chatter we brought in here by adopting unsubstantiated controversies storm prolific rampant.