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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 343
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Coaster -
I watched your semi-final performance again just now. No, I was not looking for flaws or mistakes. On a contrary, I was telling myself why I started playing the piano again. Your performance - stage presence, the passion, along with technical skills says it all. It is not about the competition (for me); it's about doing your best, it's about sharing music with people; it's about showing people how much you enjoyed the pieces you play. You absolutely got it. I was deeply touched. Whatever the "wildness" you were talking about, no need to change a thing - it is part of who you are, and it's working!
I am also a friend of SiFi. If you do come to DC area, please let me know. Would love to meet you and hear you playing more.
Congratulations again on a huge success and a wonderful journey.
PS: I was writing this as a PM but now decide to make it public. Thank you so much!!! I am considering WIPAC in August, since I've already got repertoire ready and all, y'know... DC is a short train ride away from Lynchburg. And I used to live in Herndon, so I've still got friends in the area. It might be fun!
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Coaster: Besides WIPAC, I hope you might also consider Boston, which ought to be just about a year from now, if they follow their usual schedule. I imagine you know about it, especially since Robert Finley (the head guy) has been hanging with you guys in Fort Worth. It's a very well-done event too, and a very loving environment. I hope to be in it -- and I'd be thrilled to lose to you! 
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,746
1000 Post Club Member
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1000 Post Club Member
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So ... are there any competitions for the more "mere mortal" kind of amateur performers? 
- Schimmel Upright
- Kawai VPC-1 with Pianoteq
Any issues or concerns are piped to /dev/null
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,656
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OP
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Thank you so much!!! I am considering WIPAC in August, since I've already got repertoire ready and all, y'know... DC is a short train ride away from Lynchburg. And I used to live in Herndon, so I've still got friends in the area. It might be fun!
You must come! I'm going to apply - deadline is July 10th. It's a really nice event, and you'd get to meet Midlife, who is a truly wonderful chap (and a much better pianist than he gives himself credit for). You can come practice on my L and stay for dinner. Bring family. We'll have a blast! Please say yes!
SRF
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Have y'all noticed.....Three of the six finalists are playing the same concerto movement -- 1st mvt of Beethoven #3. And one of the others is playing another Beethoven 1st mvt (#1). Thank God Ken is playing Mozart.  (K. 271, last mvt) (The other pick is Saint-Saens, last mvt of F major.) Kinda weird that it sorted out that way....
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 113
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Have y'all noticed.....Three of the six finalists are playing the same concerto movement -- 1st mvt of Beethoven #3. And one of the others is playing another Beethoven 1st mvt (#1). Thank God Ken is playing Mozart. (K. 271, last mvt) (The other pick is Saint-Saens, last mvt of F major.) Kinda weird that it sorted out that way.... Of the 69 contestants in the program (someone dropped), the top picks were - 15 Schumann (i)
- 10 Beethoven 3 (i)
- 7 Beethoven 5 (iii)
- 5 Saint-Saëns 2 (i)
- 4 Mendelssohn 1 (iii)
- 3 Beethoven 2 (i)
- 3 Mozart 21 (i)
- 3 Mozart 23 (i)
so the biggest surprise is that there's no Schumann. The six eliminated semifinalists had programmed Beethoven, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Schumann, though; nearly all of the Schumann players fell out early.
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Great information. Thanks mustard erg.
The guy who withdrew was the only Russian, Sergey Veretinnikov. He would have played the Bach D minor first movement.
SRF
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Joined: Nov 2009
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LOL!! About a minute and a half into the Mozart, for a couple of seconds Ken happened to look straight in the direction of the camera that was active at the time. It had the effect of seeming like he was looking right at us. Instinctively I smiled and waved back at him. -------------------------- P.S. Now he's done, and here's a quick thumbnail review: GOOD ENOUGH TO WIN.  Keeping in mind that the decision is cumulative, meaning all the rounds are taken into account, and that there's a fair chance Ken was 'ahead' going into this final round, I think he has a very good chance to be #1. Gregory Knight was excellent -- good enough to win too, if he happened to be ahead going into this round. But in terms of this round itself, I think Ken was more outstanding. I know that there are 4 people yet to come. But Ken is in a very strong position.
Last edited by Mark_C; 06/25/16 04:44 PM.
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Matthias Fischer is making a great case for himself too. (Playing right now -- 1st mvt of Beethoven #1.) I only heard bits of his prior rounds and don't know exactly how he did except that obviously it had to have been superb or he wouldn't be in this round. I'm familiar with his playing from many events in the past, and I know that he's terrific, but besides that, based on my past impressions, he's going "against type" with his concerto pick -- and doing great. Seeing him play this concerto and doing it so great reminds me of the first time I saw Robert de Niro do comedy, when I was used to stuff like "Taxi Driver." Matthias has a great chance to be #1 too. BTW, anyone know, what cadenza is this that he's playing? P.S. Resist the temptation to pronounce his name "Mathias." It's MAH-tyahss. Or that's what I think it is anyway....
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Joined: Nov 2002
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68 pianists, whittled down to Men playing Beethoven. 
"If we continually try to force a child to do what he is afraid to do, he will become more timid, and will use his brains and energy, not to explore the unknown, but to find ways to avoid the pressures we put on him." (John Holt) www.pianoped.comwww.youtube.com/user/UIPianoPed
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Joined: May 2005
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I thought Greg's playing was superb.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Ken picked a tempo that was too fast - and his playing suffered as a result.
Matthias was fine - but he played from the score. I can't imagine the judges awarding first prize to a contestant who couldn't play the concerto movement from memory. Wonderful cadenza however.
Aymonodi - so relaxed - total control.
Slavin - solid as usual.
Yu - very very impressive !! Terrific technique.
Last edited by Carey; 06/25/16 10:13 PM.
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Matthias was fine - but he played from the score. I can't imagine the judges awarding first prize to a contestant who couldn't play the concerto movement from memory.... A couple of things: He was far more than fine! And, I doubt that using the score will count much against him, if at all. Although I greatly value playing without it, I think the main issue about it is that it can take away from the music-making and usually does, but that if it doesn't, it's hardly an issue -- and I'd guess that most judges would see it similarly, especially in an amateur competition. In this case, I think he played superbly, regardless of using the score. I couldn't discern any sacrifice at all. Slavin did extremely well too, and Yu (playing right now) likewise. We'll have several extremely worthy winners. In a situation like this, I always wish to see multiple 1st prizes -- but competitions seem reluctant to do that, although The Cliburn has sometimes done it, in both the pro and amateur competitions.
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Joined: May 2005
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Matthias was fine - but he played from the score. I can't imagine the judges awarding first prize to a contestant who couldn't play the concerto movement from memory.... A couple of things: He was far more than fine! And, I doubt that using the score will count much against him, if at all. Although I greatly value playing without it, I think the main issue about it is that it can take away from the music-making and usually does, but that if it doesn't, it's hardly an issue -- and I'd guess that most judges would see it similarly, especially in an amateur competition. In this case, I think he played superbly, regardless of using the score. I couldn't discern any sacrifice at all. Slavin did extremely well too, and Yu (playing right now) likewise. We'll have several extremely worthy winners. In a situation like this, I always wish to see multiple 1st prizes -- but competitions seem reluctant to do that, although The Cliburn has sometimes done it, in both the pro and amateur competitions. I appreciate your perspective on the page turning - but I believe the "memory" thing should factor heavily - particularly in an amateur competition of this caliber. To Mattias' credit, his music-making didn't suffer by the page turning - and the page turns were masterfully executed. The overall quality of competitors in this competition was exceptionally high - and not just the six finalists. I'm so impressed. This has been an amazing week.
Last edited by Carey; 06/25/16 06:24 PM.
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Still waiting. Sensing there may be deadlock somewhere.
SRF
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Still waiting. Sensing there may be deadlock somewhere. It's not necessarily anything about the top prizes. They have other decisions to make, like who gets Best Baroque, Classical, etc. -- and often these go to people who weren't in the finals; also sometimes one or more of those seem to be given as sort of 'consolation prizes' (or, maybe it's more accurate to see them as "judges' wheeling-and-dealing compromises") for a finalist who 'only' gets 2nd or 3rd prize (or none) but who some of the judges felt should have won. So, there's much to decide besides who wins and who gets 2nd and 3rd. I always hope for multiple 1st prizes, when there's more than one person who deserves it, which is easily the case here -- which sometimes gets done although not usually.
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Joined: Nov 2009
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Going to dinner, taking too long. Y'all cover it for us.....
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 464
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Will awards be given posthumously?
"I will hear in Heaven." Beethoven
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,201
3000 Post Club Member
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Olga arguing with Nelita?
WhoDwaldi
Howard (by Kawai) 5' 10"
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Joined: Aug 2014
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Absolutely terrible way to announce the awards. We knew the top three before they even got to them. I feel so bad for Ken and the others. They need to fix this.
Edit: By the way, it was Thomas, Michael, and Xavier, in that order.
Last edited by SiFi; 06/25/16 08:52 PM.
SRF
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Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 438
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Well, it's over...
1st prize - Thomas Yu
2nd prize - Michael Slavin
3rd prize - Xavier Aymonod
Outstanding performance
Baroque era - Clark Van Griffith
Classical era - Ken Iisaka
Romantic era - Matthias Fischer
Post-Romantic - Jasmin Tiodang
Audience Award - Thomas Yu
Press Award - Thomas Yu
Jury Discretionary Awards
Deirbhile Brennan
Lana Marina
Creative Programming Award
Gregory Knight
Last edited by f3r; 06/25/16 09:02 PM. Reason: Missed one
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