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I think Han Chen won that battle of the Liszt sonatas.

This is my first exposure to Chen & he's now also on my list. Great rhythm, ear for detail, and sense of structure. Soulful but never over sentimentalized, always keeps the flow.

Remarkable suspended time at the end (which the audience just had to crash into with applause. Grrrrr!).

That version makes one forget a lot of others.

I think he's a contender (for final) with Dasol Kim, Leonardo P., Favorin.

OT, has anbody ever noticed that Mr. Slatkin favors Harvey Updyke?

http://www.southernpigskin.com/archives/harvey-updyke-out-of-jail/

Tony Yike's Liszt b minor ending too perfunctory for my taste. The drama was a little lacking in my own opinion.

Smashing dress on Elizabeth Joy Roe.

Delightful Haydn from Honggi Kim and he had a big smile as he finished. I think the next work might just kill me though.

Lovely Haydn from Kim - let's see how he does on the Rach. He's come off as more of a finger technician in his previous stuff, so I'm curious how he'll deal with this.

According to the live feed, all 30 pianists should be awarded the gold medal of this competition and of every other future and past Van Cliburn competition and any other future and past non-Van Cliburn piano (and non-piano) competition.

Plus whatever they just played has become the commenter's "best ever" version of that piece.

This Rach is pretty freaking amazing so far - amazing sweep, incredible clarity in the voice leading, and a huge sound. He almost makes me want to learn it. If things keep going like this, he's in for sure.

I don't think anyone will ever outdo Ogdon in this sonata, at least not in my lifetime. Kim seems entirely comfortable nonetheless.

This seems like a very idiosyncratic reading of the sonata. But I can't say I've heard it performed that many times so please correct me if I'm wrong. I've heard Khozyainov's version which was blisteringly romantic.

Ogden was amazing! So tragic he died so young and had so many difficult mental health issues. Chen's Rach, I think, is going very well.

Possibly. Kim definitely has a well-formed interpretation of the piece and is in complete command of this. The ending of the first movement was incredible (starting to sound like the Medici feed, sorry...).

Maybe idiosyncratic, but I think highly effective. Somehow he seems to make this work hold together in a way I've never heard anyone else manage.

I really should have clarified. I don't anyone will outdo Ogdon...equal by means of a different vision, definitely. Depending on the third movement, Kim may do just that.

I think the competition at this point isn't basically a Favorin-Kim-Sunwoo-Kim showdown. No one else is playing on their level.

This makes me glad about the jury's shuffling. These kind of players probably wouldn't have made it past the screening auditions if we had last time's panel and the blatant nepotism that plagued the last few competitions. This is a real Renaissance for the Cliburn.

I like this better than Kholodenko's so far. Strong but never forceful, expressive but never sentimental. Very transparent handling of textures, which is no small feat for this piece.

You know, I've never watched a competition as intensely in the past, so I can't compare. I can say that I think the best pianists are prevailing as of the first elimination. Things have been as fair and as reasonable as I believe possible, and I'm greatly pleased.

Hmm, I loved the third movement. I'm also frustrated though. I wanted one moment where I felt things really took off.

Well that definitely made me listen with new ears.

My first exposure to Honggi Kim. Not quite at the technical level of Dasol Kim or Sunwoo but still above most others. Did a good job of keeping the Rachmaninov sonata from being so draining on the listener without sacrificing drama.