Well, I tried.

I don't think that it was my performance, but my choice in repertoire. Unfortunately, I had to play my lowly Saint-Saens after a string of Rachmaninoff Thirds and Paganini Rhapsodies and I guess that my SS sounded like Hanon by comparison. I do have to admit that I played the unholy Hades out of it, but no dice this time. It was a fun experience nonetheless - once my friends and I found out that we didn't make it to the finals, the whole thing degenerated into a vacation (haven't practiced for 3 days and still going strong!). My host family was also very nice.

Now to get to work for the next one in January...

ooh that saint saen sometimes you just wanna! well you had fun anyway - i think competitions are a joke anyway, as just about the only way for a serious classical pianist to get anywhere... except for some fortunate few of course.

Your Gallic offering should have been just what the doctor ordered after all that cheesy gloop! Probably everyone's ears were too clogged with excess notes to appreciate it. Oh well, I'm glad to hear you played well and enjoyed yourself. What are you playing in January?

Well, obviously the jury has no taste, refinement, or discernment!

What's with the current plague of Rach 3rds in competitions? (Weren't there lots of R3 potential offerings at the last Van Cliburn?) :p

[ December 05, 2001: Message edited by: MacDuff ]

Zut.

just curious... those who made it to the finals, did they all play Rach 3s?

There were two Rach 3rds, a Tchaikovsky b-flat, one Rach Paganini Rhapsody, a Ravel G major, and one Brahms 2.

Woa... that's a pretty heavy hitting lineup. Were they played well?

The Brahms and the Tchaik were played very well (esp. the Tchaik), but the rest of the performances weren't really my cup of tea (mostly too loud).