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Cliburn Blog
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This promises to be an especially interesting evening for those who care about the competition aspect of this pianistic fest.  I'm certain that one of these three will be a finalist, and quite probably two of them. But it'll be no less interesting purely for the music and musicians. Evgeni Bozhanov ...
3 years ago | |
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Kunz starts off with the driving repeated motif of the "Waldstein" sonata.  The notes are crisp, clean and clear. Kunz's Scarlatti in the preliminary is a reference point here.  He may have been criticised for the somewhat overly romanticised reading of the sonatas, but Kunz draws from the palette.  The question ...
3 years ago | |
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Now, we are hearing the Schumann quintet.  We've already heard Tsujii and Lifits who have set the bar very high through their interactive performances.  I am anxiously waiting to hear how Vacatello's dynamic passion gets translated. The interpretation is very loving, and intimate initially.  The restrained first movement followed by the ...
3 years ago | |
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By Mike Winter Nobuyuki Tsujii, the 20-year-old blind pianist who became one of the 12 semifinalists and a media centerpiece, showed how he can play in ensembles.  Basically he leads the group: the first violinist watches Tsujii and the other members watch the first violinist, Edward Dusinberre.  When Tsujii gives an emphatic up-and-down ...
3 years ago | |
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Michail Lifits presented an extraordinary Schumann Fantasie, so it's not surprising that he cose that composer's Piano Quintet, which he explored deeply with the Takacs.  Their performance was a strong contrast to Tsujii from a few hours before, which was fairly straightforward.  Lifits' Schumann Quintet was a competition highpoint, and ...
3 years ago | |
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We're at the halfway point in the semifinals.  Everyone has played once, and to refresh your memory, here's what you've heard: Solo: Mariangela Vacatello: Liszt, Hagen & Scriabin Evgeni Bozhanov: Beethoven, Bates & Schubert Andrea Lam: Haydn, Brahms, Stravinsky, Bates & Ginastera Haochen Zhang: Chopin, Bates & Liszt Kyu Yeon Kim: Beethoven, Hagen & Mussorgsky Yeol Eum ...
3 years ago | |
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Now that we have gone past the half-way mark in the semi-finals, we are going to go through the 12 semifinalists again.  This time, those who performed chamber music in the first half will perform a solo programme and vice versa. So, we are now about to hear Ran Dank perform ...
3 years ago | |
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While some pianists tire as the rounds wear on, others get better, and Haochen Zhang so far is in the latter category.  But that would be hard for Zhang to do, because Friday's recital was about as good as piano playing gets.  We've all heard the Raindrop Prelude before, right?  OK, but ...
3 years ago | |
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Andrea Lam gave a dazzling preliminary recital, but unfortunately had an off night at the semifinal stage.  She started off wonderfully with the popular Haydn C major sonata, infused with sparkle and life.  The performance could have accompanied a Charlie Chaplin silent film.  But somewhere in the middle of the Brahms six ...
3 years ago | |
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by Mike Winter At the Cliburn, it's possible to hear two pianists perform the same work, on the same piano, within hours of each other because programs are chosen long before pianists' performance order is. This happened Thursday night with near back-to-back performances of the Dvorak piano quintet, and two more contrasting versions are ...
3 years ago | |
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