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It starts today! And off I go to listen to our dear LisztAddict, can't wait to hear him If only I will have access to the internet in my friend's home in Warsaw, I will post as the competition unveils. Have fun there!


Mateusz

Ooooh, I am sure Liszt Addict will make a great impression. And it's wonderful to have our very own reporter 'on the ground'. Looking forward to your next news, Mati.

Hey!

I have just been able to get to the internet for a while. We've just finished first two days of auditions, which closes the first round of the competition. Theoretically 20 minutes ago results should have been posted, but I was not able to wait that long in the concert hall, and there are no results on the website. I'm pretty sure LisztAddict will get through, though.

There were some absolutely formidable pianists and their breathtaking performances. There were many really great and very good ones too. The "amateur" was not really fitting there, if I was to judge - everything has totally professional feel to it.

There were some mediocre or even bad ones too, to maintain the balance. There was a guy playing Heroic Polonaise, after another one playing Polonaise-Fantasie. His performance was... heroic. He was all over the place with his piece. With LisztAddict and my friend we called it a "Fantasy on a polonaise". It was not even a polonaise! Not to mention it wasn't in Ab Major anymore Totally individual composition and performance I know, we shouldn't laugh, but it was irresistible.

LisztAddict will give more meaningful insights in terms of performance quality as he has much more sensitive and trained ear than I do.

My quick thoughts:
- after more than eleven performances I was totally tired with Military Polonaise 40/1
- not that much, but I'm tired of Polonaise-Fantasie too ;-)
- The Hong Kong Lady (Chuifun Poon) left me speechless and I can't wait to hear her again
- I can't wait to hear LisztAddict again too (he will be playing Waltz 64/2 and Bach-Busoni Chaconne I absolutely love)

LisztAddict's quick thoughs:
- the piano left much to be desired. Middle range was dead, action was heavy and it wasn't easy to control (he managed to maintain mastery throughout his pieces though).

More tomorrow, after second round of the competition

Thanks for finding time & internet access to keep us updated!

To explain what I meant by saying that "amateur" is not really an adequate word - I have just found on YouTube a performance of Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto by Thomas Yu, one of the participants. Another participant is playing Rachmaninoff's 1st Piano Concerto. I was aware that level would be much higher that one would expect from "amateur" (which - especially here - is treated as a word for someone who is NOT good, and not those who are just not pianists by their job), but I must say I was shocked.

I would almost forget. There was a girl, her name was Dobrochna Jakubowska. She, according to the leaflet, was playing for just over two years while entering the competition. She was a really brave and cute girl, I must say. She has chosen a very appropriate repertoire for her skill, not pushing herself and therefore she managed to play everything cleanly and nicely. She received a great applause, and also some flowers from her friends. I couldn't stop smiling watching her - among other contestants, she was really special. She was not up to the standards of many piano virtuosos playing there - but she was special in her own way. I loved the performance.

The competition is finally over. Describing all the performances is pointless - nothing can resemble what we could hear live. The level was very high throughout, especially towards the final rounds. I must say I disagree with judges about certain pianists - there were some that, for me, didn't deserve getting in the finals, whereas others should be there for sure. The overall experience was breathtaking. I loved the social side of the competition - I was able to talk to most of the participants on a friendly basis during breaks, which I loved. I even got my sheet music signed by my favourite contestant

Organization, from my point of view, was pretty decent. There was only one thing I seriously disliked. The final concert, the only one when the audience was full of people (perhaps many important ones too), was strange. There was a long official talk, but very little playing. One or two pieces by three winners - they didn't break the 45 minutes barrier. I hoped for more playing, and perhaps different pieces than these heard in previous rounds.

The competition will be held every three years. The judges said that due to great demand they are planning to open two divisions. One for very proficient pianists (many contestants had degrees in piano performance, or have played for almost half a century and were at concert level), and one for those who can't play that well, but still want to participate and have at least a chance to achieve something. There were some people who played for a very shord period of time and participated regardless - they had wonderful experience in preparing for the competition and taking part in it. That's why me and my friend are going to participate in the next event too. Even though, it would be even more rewarding if we could play on the same level as other contestants. I like the idea of dividing the competition scene even more. I have no idea yet how they are going to achieve the separation - it's extremely difficult to put a line and divide amateurs into two different groups. I am very curious how they are going to achieve it, but am waiting eagerly.

I wholeheartedly recommend the competition - both for you as pianists and you as audiophiles. It would be a great joy to meet you in the next three years!

There is a small photo gallery on the competition website

http://konkurs.amator.chopin.pl/index.php

I hope it gets updated quickly - they were taking LOTS of photos, yet we can see only some of them, and only from the very first day.


Best regards!
Mateusz

Mati, thanks so much for reporting on this! I would love to have heard the young woman with two years of experience, too - I love live performances like that

It will be interesting to see how they can divide up the contestants into different divisions. I think it's a great idea, but then I'm partial to having lots of different levels for people. When I was ski racing one of our main goals was to give away as many trophies as possible, so when a division got too big we'd split it and give trophies in both new divisions But it's easy with ski racing because it's timed. Not so easy with piano.

So, you're going to be spending a lot of time over the next 3 years playing Chopin? Have a great time, because this will be really worth the effort. What fun!

Cathy

Mati, I've been out of town thus missed all of your posts. Sounds like a great time. Many thanks for sharing this with us!!

For those who would like to watch some photos from the competition, the official photo gallery has been put together.

http://www.chopin.pxd.pl/

Dzien 1-3 = Day 1-3
Finał - Finals
Ogłoszenie wyników - Results announcement
Koncert Laureatów - Winners' concert

Hi Mati,

Thank you so much for the information. I didn't know the existence of this competition until a few days ago. If only I could participate in it.

Nocturnes are my favorite works of Chopin. Don't know why they're not included in this competition. Not showy enough?

I'm dreaming of being one of the candidates for 2018. Now... Polonaise is the biggest hurdle to me. It seems that I can never play any Polonaise in my life.

What a wonderful event this must have been!

Mati, thanks so much for your reporting from the scene.