The Tchaikovsky competition starts June 15th. Taking a page- and a chairman- from the Cliburn, the TIC will also have a webcast. In fact they hired a web producer to organize what sounds like a potentially interesting set of programs, in addition to the performances.
Most of the competitors are Russian, though efforts have been made towards diversity.
The jury is awe-inspiring and includes Ashkenazy, Freire, Bronfman, Alexeev, Barry Douglas etc.. (but no Kaplinsky!).
Some competitors are from the Cliburn pool : Trifonov, Andrew Tyson (1 of 2 from the US), Kunz, Lukas Vondracek.
Things look pretty professional.. I am hoping for some interesting performances. Expect lotsa Tchaikovsky and Russian composers (mandatory).

Thanks for the info. Certainly will tune in.

Isn't Yeoleum Son in it, too?

You are right. Here she is on the Tchaikovsky competition You Tube Channel, going at the Liszt/Paganini Etude. It looks like they have an excerpt from one of each of the candidates. She looks more grown-up since Fort Worth.

Wow, I absolutely welcome the opportunity to experience more Sonny, but I'm surprised that she's in the competition. I figured a silver at Cliburn is as good as a career jumpstart as you can expect - and she seems to have been doing fine since. I think the only thing she could do better this time around is to grunt a little less during her Prokofiev cadenza

I'll be rooting for her regardless.

-Daniel

Okay, I am getting old, but I really thought I had seen a webcast of an earlier Tchai. Was it another competition from Russia? Whatever, I clearly remember Petrov nodding off during one competitor's performance.

Goodness me, wouldn't you? They have to sit there all day listening to very similar repertoire a lot of the time.

Well, I might, but I'm not an adjudicator at a major international competition. They are, after all, getting paid to give the appearance of paying attention.

Sometimes its just difficult to stay awake, even if you're enjoying yourself.

Petrov who?

26 out of 30 competitors in piano are either from Asian nations or countries in the former Soviet Union.

I'm glad Trifonov's competing. I thought he deserved at least 2nd prize in the Chopin competition and now he'll have his chance. I like his playing very much.

And of course, I love Yeol's playing too.

I'll be keeping track of this competition...

Bear in mind Trifonov has already won Rubinstein competition this month. I will be rooting for him in the Tchaik, as well as for Yeol. I am always afraid though that pianists who have already won important competitions are kind of gambling participating in the next one. It is difficult to predict the impact on their careers if for some reason that would fail the Tchaik (not that I think it would happen, they are both exceptional).


M.

I couldn't find information about the webcast on its official website. Can someone post the related link? Thank you

Btw, I am very scared of Aleexev - used to have one lesson with him

My favorite pianist there by far is Boris Giltburg, hope he wins!

Nicolai

He just had stroke...

Andromaque,

Thanks much for the Yeoleum performance. I have never been more impressed. If someone would ask me what a concert grand is supposed to sound like I'd tell them LIKE THIS! I can picture her talking to the piano and saying: "You will do as I ask!"

Bech

I am rooting for him as well. I met him when he came to my school last year and gave a recital and masterclass. I found him very inspiring in the Q&A session, very nice guy too. Also, I thought he played very well in the Rubinstein Competition a few weeks ago, where he got 2nd place.

I didn't know Giltburg was in the Rubinstein competition...

What a beautiful sound he has, never harsh.

Congrats to him on winning the 2nd prize!

The live streaming starts today (8 a.m. PDT). It is a little tricky to get signed up. I found the link to register on the Facebook page. You have to register with a user name and password.

Today is the gala opening concert. The competition starts tomorrow, June 15. Unfortunately it looks like there will be no "on demand" viewing. For us on the west coast, it means getting up at 2 a.m. for the first round of the day, and then it starts up again at 8 a.m. (pacific time).

The live streaming is already on:

http://pitch.paraclassics.com/

Don't miss! Matsuev plays!

Anyne else having a problem with that link now? It worked for me last night for the Tchaikovsky Concerto, but I don't get a live performance right now.

It was not working for a while, but is working now. May need to refresh your screen.

Sinchuk's playing Schubert right now.

Sara Daneshpour, Iranian-American just finished a great performance of the Prokofiev B flat sonata.

I see 5 pianos on stage, including a Yamaha CFX, a Hamburg Steinway D, and a Fazioli.

http://www.tchaikovsky-competition.com/en

I´d recommend everyone to check out the swedish cellist Jakob Koranyi. I studied at the same academy as him in Stockholm, a very special talent. He won 2nd prize in the rostropovich competition last year, as well.

Absolutely delightful Haydn.

So much talent makes me weep..
I also caught Maria Tretyakova. SHe palyed teh appassionata, 2 pieces from the Seasons and Rahcmanino's Corelli var. She was very moving.. An incredible musician. So good you forgot how technically superlative she really was..

excuse me for asking... prokofiev 7th sonata, how fast are the 1st and 3rd movements supposed to be? i like her tempo but on youtube all the argeriches and lang langs play them like twice as fast.

Whose Prokofiev are you talking about Lingyis?

Sara Daneshpour of USA (i think--the girl who played before Jong-hai Park)

by the way, Jong-hai park's K330 really wasn't all that special, i thought. what do you think?

Check out Timur Scherbakov's repertoire. In addition to throwing them the kitchen sink in his Stage 2 recital (11 pieces, including one which looks to be his own composition), he's scheduled "Rhapsody in Blue" as his free choice concerto for the finals.

Any live streaming links, pls?

Stickied! Please continue...

I am surprised to see so many Rach 3 in the repertoire, also surprised by the lack of Bach...

my laptop speakers seriously suck.

One rarely hears Bach at all in competition and quite frankly I'm disgusted by this fact.

What surprises me is the fact that NO ONE programmed Tchaikovsky's 2nd Concerto... it's a heck of a piece. It is less brilliant than the first, yes, but that poor jury, having to listen to those damn opening bars 30 times in a row... and the poor orchestra, and conductor! Maybe because they're all afraid of the 2nd - waaaay more notes.

How is the clarity of the broadcast for you guys? Mine is a bit low resolution- wondering if it's my computer or just the broadcast...

Anyone else hear Seng Jin Cho from Korea? I haven't watched all the competitots or complete recitals so far, but I thought his performance was sensational. Usually I'm bored by Dumka and had concluded I didn't really like the piece much, but his performance changed my opinion of that piece. Folllowed it by a beautiful Waltz from the Seasons and an amazing Dante Sonata.

Anyone heard of the composer Sofia Gubaidulina? Her "Chaconne" is the first work by a female composer I've heard in this competition. Very interesting piece, played by Yulia Chaplina.

Ah, I remember, this is the competition where there isn't necessarily a first prize given. Makes it kind of interesting, I guess.

I have seen pianist Boris Giltburg in concert. I thought he was quite excellent, particularly his Prokofiev Sonata #8. He has also recorded this work for EMI Classics.

Am I missing where you can watch the performances from earlier in the competition? Or do we only get to see live streaming? The Cliburn website let you see any of the rounds at any time.

Having just heard Trifunov, I will be shocked if he doesn't get to the finals.

I do feel sometimes that the super close ups of the performers' faces from the front are almost intrusive on the performers' private emotions.

Can't wait to her Trifunov play live at the Mannes IKIF during the last two weeks of July!

Listening to Yeol Eum Son. Such artistry on the Beethoven sonata.

Wow, on the last Tchaikovsky she makes the Yamaha CFX sound like an orchestra!

I listened to Mr. Eduard Kunz, who seems to be a very compelling artist. He had a very assured performance, and evidently has a talent for developing good rapport with the audience.

Is it typical that a competitor would choose the same piece for two major international competitions? I remember he did the Waldstein at the Cliburn as well. In my judgment he has made a large amount of progress with the piece.

Listening to Trifonov now.. Brilliant . Prokofiev, Scarlatti, Tchaikovsky, Barcarolle, Mephisto Waltz.. He is dripping in sweat and his fingers must be ready to fall off. But he is making gorgeous music.

Yeol Eum Son (sp??) follows, with Beethoven Op.111 and 4 or 5 Tchaikovsky pieces.. A bit of a funny choice..

The Moscow crowd is loving Trifonov. They brought him back 5 or 6 times.

Browsing through the piano / cello and violin juries, I find to my great shock A SINGLE WOMAN... Anne Sophie Mutter is a "guest" judge on the violin competition. She will be participating only in the finals. It is really ridiculous that they could not find a few women to participate..

Dmitri has 2 students here from Royal College of Music, London:
Yulia Chaplina
Alexander Romanovsky


another student from RCM. but he studies with another teacher
Alexei Chernov


I quite like Yulia. Shame I couldn't watch the webcast due to some reasons...

It could be that those of stature whom they inquired after were simply busy? I love Mutter, though. I know I'll probably take some heat for saying so...

Heat for saying that you love Anne Sophie ??? Nah!! She is brilliant.

Heat for claiming that all women pianists are too busy to judge the Tchaikovsky competition??? Hmm... You must be in more than usual grumpy mode, to say the least.. The probability of 1)gathering a crew of that caliber for juries and 2) that happen to all be available 3)but not a single woman was, is close to nil, statistically.

Well, maybe not from you, but I know a few that will take me to task for saying so. I must admit, for as much as I do love her playing, her Beethoven (what I've heard anyway) quite frankly sucks.

No way! Actually I'm in a pretty good mood today =) I've no doubt that you're correct about the statistics of the situation. Twas just throwing something out there is all.

She is no Oistrakh or Leonid Kagan or Ginette Neveu.. But nearly that good.
The first time I saw her live was very memorable.. I was taking an after dinner walk with a (new) boyfriend in Philadelaphia and we passed the Orchestra Hall. There were huge banners announcing Mutter playing with the Phil Orch. conducted by Sawallisch. Chivalrous BF walked in and bought us tickets on the spot. I was very young chronologically and musically.. But she was a stunning sight. She played the Brahms concerto. I have loved her ever since though I do not always love her sound.

Very annoying with the video and music out of sync. For me, it makes watching the video almost worthless.Like watching a movie where the dialogue and character's lips are out of sync. I didn't have this problem yesterday if I remember correclty.

I understand what you mean. 90% of the time (and 100% of the time whenever it's messing up like this), I just listen without watching the video. But that's just me.

It is better now. Giltburg playing the Chaconne.


Anyone knows what happened to Tyson and Vondracek? They seem to have withdrawn from the competition before the first round.

I'm trying to listen to some of the performances on the archives, but there seems to be a bunch of them missing. There's only about a dozen or so of the piano performances up from the first four days. Am I missing somewhere where the rest can be found?

I looked also. I think they're just posting random videos. Very happy to see Trifonov, Kunz, Yeol Eum Son and Daneshpour advance but sorry Giltburg did not.

OT, I think John Rubinstein is an odd choice as commentator. He and the Russian woman seem to have a very ... I'm not sure what term to use but I find their interactions kind of awkward and uneasy.

I was not very surprised that Giltburg did not advance. I was listening on high quality Bose speakers, and granted the broadcast itself may have been suboptimal, but the quality of Giltburg's sound was rather pale, especially in the Chaconne. I could be wrong but that was what it was to my ears.
Loved Alexei Chernov. Beautiful OP. 111 which I liked a lot more than Yeol Eum Son's, though she is quite good. His program was rich and impeccably delivered. His Tchaikovsky was gorgeous and his Mephisto managed to be both devilish and beautiful.. It was a real treat.

I concur. Although I really like Giltburg, I felt he gave a much stronger performance at the Rubinstein competition. It also looked like he was not feeling very well.

Looking forward to Round 2.

Hmmm...it seems a shame that Yeol Eum Son chose to play Kapustin's Variations in Round II. Quite risky since the jury didn't seem to know it.

Then shame on them, since half the jury is Russian.

Well she did pass to Phase II. Shocked that Kunz did not. He was an audience favorite.

And Kapustin is a graduate of Moscow conservatory. Still, I think he is the one of the greatest composers of our time.

You're still here!

This is frustrating - how do I find out what the competitors are playing? The organization on the Cliburn site was far superior to the this.

Go to "Competitors" and select the name of the pianist of interest. You will see a short bio and a list of their pieces.


I noticed the absence of Nelson Freire from the jury today. Apparently he quit after the first round because he is "exhausted" !! One wonders if there is more to this story. There were a lot of disgruntled people about Eduard Kunz not advancing to Phase II.

I question a couple of those who did advance to the next phase.

Pray Tell??

I watched Pavel Kolesnikov (I think it was the Round II, Phase I performance). Great choice programming Scriabin's Sonata #2. Such a lovely sonata, and I thought he did a wonderful job with it.

On this forum, we often complain about excessive facial expressions and/or body movements. However, Pavel may be suffering from the opposite. He is such a stoic at the piano that he looks as if he doesn't care about the music. I'm sure this isn't the case, but unless the judges closed their eyes perhaps they would receive the wrong non-verbal message.

Hi remline,

I couldn't agree more. I became aware of Pavel Kolesnikov a couple of years ago through u-tube, and greatly liked what I heard.

When I saw that he was in the final 30 for the Tchaikovsky, I decided to follow his progress. I watched "Round I" and said to my wife (who is a musical neophyte .. don't tell her I said that!), that despite how good I thought he was, he would probably not progress, for the very reason you seem to suggest.

He seems to have, as you say, that certain "stoic" persona at the piano. A characteristic I have observed in a handful of other pianists that have emerged over the years from the Russian Conservartories (though maybe that is changing).

I tend to liken his style of visual performance to that of Ashkenazy, or Lugansky (one of his teachers, so maybe no coincidence), neither of whom seem to display these excessive facial expressions/body movements that you refer to. Certainly other competitors at the Tchaikovsky seem to exude more, and maybe you're on to something here in relation to its ultimate effect on the audience/judges.

Gerard

I was really hoping that Eduard Kunz would be chosen for the next phase. His performances in Round I and Round II Phase I really resonated with me. He is 30 years old now, so this is his last and only chance for the competition, I believe. :-(

Kunz is a wonderful pianist with a big personality on stage. (And he ain't bad looking either!) I think he will have a very, very nice career. I'm not sure if it will be a BIG career. Alot of that has to do with management and how driven he is.

Pavel most impressive. His even demeanor doesn't bother me
at all. But did you hear the pounding damper pedal?
Too bad he didn't realize just how loud it was and make
necessary adjustment.

Chernov leading, I would think. His bio., repertoire, portrait, etc.missing from the web site line-up.

Just had a chance to catch up on some of the performances in the archives. I have to give some love to Yeol Eum Som. What a risk taker, programming both the Tchaikovsky-Feinberg and Kapustin!

I loved her Schumann, another risky competition choice. She has a real personality in her playing amd a wonderful stage presence. But alas, I think it will be many, many years before a woman wins the Tchaikovsky.

how are the subsequent rounds judged? are round 1 results included?

Given that I am just an adult re-learner who is unfamiliar with the concert pianist world, I have no insights as to why Kunz did not move on to the next phase. Would you by any chance have any thoughts on this?

Given that I am just an adult re-learner who is unfamiliar with the concert pianist world, I have no insights as to why Kunz did not move on to the next phase. His performances just simply touched me. Would you by any chance have any thoughts on this? Thanks in advance!

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?

I think he is referring Tomomi Nishimoto, the current Principal Guest Conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra of Russia (Svetlanov Symphony Orchestra). She is Japanese and so Gorenstein's rude remarks may have something to do with certain prejudices of his.

From her website:

"...graduate of the Osaka College of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Composition. Upon graduation, Nishimoto went abroad to the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory in Russia and pursued further study in opera and symphony conducting. She is a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan’s Internship in Arts and Music scholarship and Idemitsu Music Award.

As a talented conductor, Nishimoto has held various appointments in her career. From 2004 to 2006, she served as the Principal Guest Conductor for the St. Petersburg Mussorgsky State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. She has also served as the Chief Conductor and Artistic Director for Russian Symphony Orchestra of the Tchaikovsky Foundation from 2004 to 2007. Other accomplishment of Nishimoto’s during her time in Russia includes performance with the Moscow City Symphony Orchestra "Russian Philharmonic". All these posts are seldom granted to those of non-Russian background."
(I have pointed out in bold something noteworthy.)

So it all makes sense. When he says "this is Nishimoto's cousin, I've seen it already. We don't need this" he is probably saying that he doesn't much care for Nishimoto (his own principal guest conductor) and that Narek Hakhnazaryan (an Armenian) is of the same mold. It could just be that he doesn't care for their musical sensibilities but I can't help but think that their ethnicities are also a factor.

Apparently Gorenstein apologized and recused himself (or was replaced). The competitor accepted his apology. Norman Lebrecht summarizes the saga.
Here is Lebrecht's Arts Journal ( a fun read.. Check out the saga of the Brazilian orchestra whose members were forced to re-audition while you are there. The conductor has been boycotted by many prominent musicians, incl. Joshua Bell. But I do digress).

Wow, Cho NAILED the Rachmaninoff.

I missed that. I switched to the stunning Shostakovitch violin concerto and Sergei Dogadin. It was a spellbinding performance. I caught some of Romanovsky's Tchaik I. It was fine.

I am, too, finding myself torn between the cello, violin and piano concertos right now. I hope to watch them all in the archive.

I catched Cho's Rach though and didn't find it that exceptional, he had great power and some beautiful moments, but somehow lacked the lush Russian sound I was looking for.

I think Daniil nailed the Tchaikovsky though.


M.

He was passable, IMO - didn't really match the level of artistry displayed in his previous rounds. It's really an endurance test at this point, and I think his fatigue is showing.

Only caught the end of Romanovsky but wasn't blown away by what I heard.

I also did not hear resonant deep Russian sound today, but I am listening in at work with crappy speakers..
Interesting that 3 out of 5 chose Rach3 as their second conerto (or 3rd if you include the Mozart.. This is one tough competition), the remaining two are doing Chopin (Trifonov, his forte) and Brahms 1 (Chernov). Son changed from Prok2 to rach3.

I caught Cliburn saying that he heard Arthur Rubinstein play the F sharp minor polonaise and it was so beautiful that he never played the piece in public. Same with Petrushka after hearing Emil Gilels play it. He said he "put the piece up" and never learnt it. (I think that was a cop out though.. an alibi not to learn the monstrous piece ). Van Cliburn is so incredibly charming, very charismatic even at his age.

I MUST WATCH. WHAT DAY AND TIME WILL THAT BE?

I think it's the last performance tomorrow but you should check on the website and convert to your time zone.

Schmalzy concerto is on Thursday at 650 AM Eastern.

Do you know who is the man interviewing him? After Cliburn did the interview, the man said Cliburn "always mention his father".

John Rubenstein, Artur Rubenstein's son.

I've been watching the rehearsals. The first rehearsal the other day was very surprising. Chernov seemed unprepared in both of his Concertos. He had many memory slips in both Concertos and had to stop a few times. I am watching his 2nd rehearsal right now today, it seems better, but compared to Son's rehearsal just before, it doesn't hold up. It's got to be very difficult at this point to keep up so much music including two very difficult Concertos back to back.

THANK YOU. I WILL HAVE TO GET UP EXTRA EARLY TO BE ABLE TO CATCH THAT, BUT THAT'S OKAY.

I watched Yeol Eum Son play the Rach.3rd and Alexei Chernov play Tchaik.1st.
Son played a riveting performance, start to finish. She played to WIN.
The musically wonderful moments were there, one after the other, exciting,
brilliant, thoughtful, lyrical--you name the musical quality, it was there
in abundance. I thought Mr.Chernov was playing to survive. The performance
sounded tired, lacked consistency in intensity, brilliance, exhuberance--as though he would be glad when it was over and he had survived. Indeed, this competition
is for olympians--and not all can achieve THE GOLD.

You're right, nola. Yeol Eum Son was electrifying. As I watched her I could not help thinking that she is music...it was as if the membrane between the performer and the music had dissolved.

I wish Kopachevskiy were in the final too...

Yeol Eum Son's Rachmaninoff's 3rd seemed too fast for me, as if a sportsman was running very fast, swallowing the most important pieces... I've heard this concert in so many interpretations and would never even thought of putting this in first best 10 of them...

And I really like Chernov's Tchaikovsky concert - it seems passionate and lyrical.

I wish we knew what Dmitriev would say about the competitors - he hears so many versions of this concerts in his life - what pianists would he choose as a winner and best professional?

Seems as though the finalists (those I've seen) are using the Steinway. Today, in rehearsal Yeol Eum Son played the Tchaik.on the Yamaha. Comments/observations?

The drama continues at the Tchaikovsky

An article from tom Service at the Guardian, relating that Barry Douglas was "barracked" by audience members "shaming him and the jury" for not advancing Lubyantsev and Kuntz and demanding that Gergiev intervene.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/tomserviceblog/2011/jun/29/tchaikovsky-competition-moscow

Anyone know if the hall for the piano competition lacks air conditioning?

Throughout the competition there have been many closeups of sweat pouring down competiors faces and noses, more than I've seen anywhere else...practically dripping off their faces. Competitors hair looking like they had just come out of a shower by the time a performance is over and during one of the earlier performances Yeol Eum Son's long hair so wet a long chunk of it got caught in her mouth for quite some time. Today Trifunov takes of his jacket after the first bow and then takes off his bowtie after the second bow. And the commentator's sayng many in the audience were using fans.

Oops, I slept in, and missed the Brahms. Shame on me.

But after looking at the website, was that the very last performance of the competition? We just await the results now, right?

EDIT: I just found that most of the performances are on YouTube. I watched some of Son's Rach 3 and it surprised me with how good that piece really is! Hopefully the Brahms will be up soon. I'm not sure if I can sit through all those Rach 3's or Tchaik 1's though. (I don't know if I could sit through even one Tchaik 1.)

Does anyone know when the awards ceremony goes on in NYC? The Tchaik website says 20:00 in Moscow which I think converts to noon in NYC, but I can't get any live broadcast at the site now??

Got it like 15 mins ago. But the ceremony hasn't started yet. Who would you pick? I reckon they all deserve to be the winner (apart from Chernov. Sorry I didn't mean to be rude to him)

Everyone in the audience is fanning themselves again. No AC in Russia??

Is it live now?

I am still seeing a page which just says

LIVE IN 00.00:00:00

Did you try refreshing the page?

Yes but still nothing changed

Warning: Don't watch Wimbledon and the awards ceremony simultaneously like I am! I was concentrating mostly on the Tchaikovsky and all of a sudden I hear a loud scream. For a few seconds I thought someting terrible had happened at the Tchaik only to finally realize it was just Sharapova screaming while making a shot as she often does.

I restored the password and it is fine now.
Thanks.

Maybe something was lost since English wasn't his first language, but it seemed very awkward when the presenter for one of the audience choice award described them as the most important awards.

Trifonov 1st
Yol Eoum Son 2nd
Seong Jin Cho 3rd
Romanovsky 4th
Chernov 5th


Romanovsky and Chernov are visibly p'oed.


The 1st prize for cello went to Narek Hakhnazaryan (the "village idiot" subject of racist statements).
No 1st prize for violin but 2nd prize split between Sergei Dogadin and Itamar Zorman

Trifonov

Romanovsky........

Why? He said exactly that, and clearly explained why it is the most important award.



I guess not. Just like here in Poland, there is not a single concert venue with AC I am aware of.

But it isn't the most important. The prizes determined by the jury are the ones that are remembered and effect the artists' careers and the history of piano playing.

While that might be true... Lang Lang clearly has won audience's choice award many times over and has affected the piano playing especially to hundreds of thousands of Chinese kids.

Results article:

http://www.examiner.com/piano-in-san-fra...ano-competition

Anyone know what solo piece the second violinist(Nigel Armstrong?)played at the winners concert? Also what piece did the the second cellist play?

Program for the July 1st concert (taken from a Facebook posting by the organizers)

Narek Hakhnazaryan (cello): Tchaikovsky. Rococo Variations
Itamar Zorman (violin): Mozart. Concerto No. 3 for Violin and Orchestra, 2nd movement
Nigel Armstrong(violin): Corigliano. STOMP
Sun Young Seo (voice): Catalani. Aria di Valli (Ebben? Ne andro lontana)
Jehye Lee (violin): Wieniawski. Polonaise Brillante
Ivan Karizna (cello): Schedrin. Kadrill from the opera 'Not Love Only'
Sergei Dogadin (violin): Tchaikovsky. Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, 2nd-3rd movements
Yeol Eum Son (piano): Prokofiev. Concerto No. 2 for Piano and Orchestra, Scerzo
Edgar Moreau (cello): Penderecki. Violoncello totale
Alexander Romanovsky (piano): Chopin. Nocturne in Cis minor
Amartuvshin Enkhbat (voice): Mongolian Folk Song
Seong Jin Cho (piano): Tchaikovsky. 'Dumka'
Jong Min Park (voice): Tchaikovsky. Arioso of King Rene
Daniil Trifonov (piano): Tchaikovsky. Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, 2nd-3rd movements

Daniil Tifonov plays.....Daniil Trifonov.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvPfWzyZIO8&feature=related

damn, Trifonov is LEGIT!!!

I don't know if she's had a big career, but there are a few videos on YouTube, and she has made two CD's of Russian music with EMI. Her playing sounds very poetic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEEX8V8Cjpo