The Seventh New York International Piano Competition in Review

The Seventh New York International Piano Competition in Review

The Seventh New York International Piano Competition (NYIPC), under the auspices of The Stecher and Horowitz Foundation
Greenfield Hall, Manhattan School of Music, New York, NY
June 22, 2014

Music competitions today seem to sprout up practically anywhere that there are instruments, such that the array of contest names in winners’ biographies rapidly becomes a blur, from the first annual This prize to second national That award. I must confess that, because of this blur, it took me a while to take notice of the Stecher and Horowitz Foundation’s New York International Piano Competition (NYIPC), which started in 2002. Naturally I had known the names of duo-pianists Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz (no, not that Horowitz!), as the duo had enjoyed decades as a performing team since 1951, including being the dedicatees of Walter Piston’s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra and giving it its premiere. In addition, the duo had created a school, a foundation, teaching publications, and more. What I had not realized, though, was that these two musicians, along with their distinguished colleagues and friends, were on a mission to do something very big for the future piano world. They have done just that with the NYIPC.

Unbeknownst to me (as I sometimes only briefly scan the biographies of young artists I review), I had already reviewed or heard some of this foundation’s prior winners, several of whom are now firmly ensconced in their young careers or appearing as finalists and winners of competitions around the world (click here for a list of past winners- New York International Piano Competition Winners List). Clearly this competition has become a magnet for some of the best young pianists today, and the reasons are many. Naturally the total of $50,000 in prizes is one reason (the First Prize winner taking home at least $10,000). Exposure is another, with leaders in the field hearing these winners, learning about them in glossy brochures, and even reading personal statements on music written by the contestants themselves. This year’s brochure incidentally featured letters from our governor, mayor, and others, with a cover illustration of an official Competition Egg created by none other than Theo Fabergé (late grandson of the legendary Peter Carl Fabergé)!

JOYCE B. COWIN FIRST PRIZE Jun Hwi Cho, Age 18 Country of Birth: South Korea Residence: Flushing, New York Cash Award of $10,000 Concert and Recital Appearances

JOYCE B. COWIN FIRST PRIZE
Jun Hwi Cho, Age 18
Country of Birth: South Korea
Residence: Flushing, New York
Cash Award of $10,000
Concert and Recital Appearances

Apart from ever-growing prestige, an additional draw of the NYIPC is the care shown for each contestant, evident in the humane contest rules whereby no contestant is eliminated from round to round – every contestant gets to play every round. Muffing a passage in an etude does not render one unheard in one’s stronger offerings, say, a sonata or a concerto. Such rules evolve when musicians are running things! Beyond these considerations, each of twenty-something participants, not just the top winner, leaves with enough cash to compensate for the effort (even for those travelling from China, Russia, the Republic of Georgia, and the United Kingdom), while also gaining a lasting relationship with this foundation through concerts, mentoring, and more. Oh, that I were twenty-one again (the age range is 16-21)!

If it seems that I have acquired a case of Stockholm Syndrome on behalf of the NYIPC, I did sit through an hour-long set of speeches detailing these strengths, prior to hearing this year’s winners all too briefly – necessary pomp, one supposes, given the considerable fundraising behind it all. Fortunately, all was enlivened by the witty commentary of renowned radio personality Robert Sherman, who also briefly interviewed each of the four performing winners; one wished, nonetheless, for more music.

SECOND PRIZE Daniel Kim, Age 17 Country of Birth: United States Residence: Lexington, MA Cash Award of $6,000 Concert and Recital Appearances

SECOND PRIZE
Daniel Kim, Age 17
Country of Birth: United States
Residence: Lexington, MA
Cash Award of $6,000
Concert and Recital Appearances

The first performer up was Daniel Kim, as winner of the Best Performance of Commissioned Work, Nocturno Nazqueño, by Gabriela Lena Frank. Ms. Frank, a brilliant composer of multicultural background (Chinese, Peruvian, Lithuanian, Jewish) seems to favor her Latin American side, in a style evocative of South American landscapes and folklore. Seventeen-year-old Mr. Kim projected the musical imagery sensitively and convincingly, a remarkable feat considering the scant few months he had to get to know this music. On being asked by Robert Sherman how he felt when first looking at the score, he replied with candor, “the first thing that went through my head was probably panic.” Indeed there were considerable challenges, interpretively and technically, including the need for nuances in timbre, rapid repeated notes, wide stretches, and, as one was led to understand, some aleatoric elements to reveal each player’s uniqueness. Mr. Kim went on to say, though, how he enjoyed it as he started to embrace the elements of mystery and dance and the feeling of the lives of the rancheros. All of these were very much present in his performance, and if they were half as present in the twenty-odd performances of other contestants, then Ms. Frank is quite fortunate – as well as the young pianists. The commissioning of such a work to be disseminated throughout the world is a win-win enterprise.

THIRD PRIZE Yilin Liu, Age 19 Country of Birth: China Residence: San Francisco, CA Cash Award of $3,000 Concert and Recital Appearances

THIRD PRIZE
Yilin Liu, Age 19
Country of Birth: China
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Cash Award of $3,000
Concert and Recital Appearances

The next performance was of a four-hand piece by Franz Schubert, Rondeau in D Major, subtitled “Notre amitié est invariable” (“our friendship is unchanging”) and performed by the First Prize winners of The Melvin Stecher and Norman Horowitz Prize for one-piano, four hands, Thomas Steigerwald (21) and Max Ma (17). A touching reminder of the years of performing together for Stecher and Horowitz, the piece seemed also to allude to the friendships that are inevitably launched as these young performers team up with their ostensible “rivals” – a beautiful element to include in a competition. Mr. Steigerwald and Mr. Ma, after just a week of rehearsal, seemed already to have forged a collegial bond and performed with good mutual sensitivity. What was perhaps not quite there in terms of unity of conception was more than compensated for by hair-trigger reflexes and acute listening.

 

MELVIN STECHER AND NORMAN HOROWITZ FIRST PRIZE ONE-PIANO, FOUR HANDS ENSEMBLE  Max Ma, Age 17 Country of Birth: United States Residence: Newcastle, Washington

MELVIN STECHER AND NORMAN HOROWITZ FIRST PRIZE
ONE-PIANO, FOUR HANDS ENSEMBLE
Max Ma, Age 17
Country of Birth: United States
Residence: Newcastle, Washington

 

 

Thomas-Steigerwald-1

Thomas Steigerwald, Age 21 Country of Birth: United States Residence: Uvalde, Texas Cash Award of $3,500 Divided between the winning team

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel Kim returned to the stage to perform as soloist winner of the Second Prize, this time playing the first movement of Schumann’s G Minor Sonata, Op. 22. With a good sense of the drive that suits this work so well, Mr. Kim gave the movement a good solid delivery, no small achievement in such a challenging environment. One could see tremendous potential in this performance, and the fact that it was subject to the slightly “on edge” feeling that comes from an awards concert was in fact an advantage, as an impetuous spirit is an asset here. One looks forward, nonetheless, to hearing Mr. Kim in more extensive performance and in a more controlled setting.

Last of the performers was First Prize Winner (Joyce B. Cowin Prize), Jun Hwi Cho, age 18, performing Chopin’s Polonaise in A-flat Major, Op. 53 (the “Heroic”). Speaking beforehand about having hurt his right hand, Mr. Cho was jokingly reminded by Robert Sherman that in his accompanying statement he had written, “I will overcome any hardship I have in order to become a great pianist.” Overcome he did, and there was power and speed enough in his left hand to more than compensate for whatever might have affected his right hand – and frankly the right hand sounded quite capable as well. Mr. Cho showed a good deal of the firepower one expects to hear in a prizewinner, and one looks forward to hearing much more from him with the coming years.

 

FOURTH PRIZE Seol-Hwa Kim, Age 21 Country of Birth: South Korea Residence: Goyang-Si, South Korea Cash Award of $2,000 Concert and Recital Appearances

FOURTH PRIZE
Seol-Hwa Kim, Age 21
Country of Birth: South Korea
Residence: Goyang-Si, South Korea
Cash Award of $2,000
Concert and Recital Appearances

One would have loved to hear in addition the prizewinners Yilin Liu (19), Seol Hwa Kim (21), Ning Yuen Li (20), Ling-Yu Lee (20), and all the others, but alas, there are limits. For that matter, one might have wanted to hear members of the jury, which included Tong-Il Han, Jane Coop, Jon Nakamatsu, Thomas Schumacher, Orli Shaham, Jeffrey Swann, and a screening jury of Francis Brancaleone and Anthony LaMagra – perhaps another time. Meanwhile, one eagerly awaits the festivities of 2016!

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Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition for Young Pianists in Review

3rd Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition for Young Pianists: Gala Winners Concert
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium, New York, N.Y.
June 9, 2013

Music competitions, amid all the flak they receive, offer some undeniable boosts to young performers needing experience and exposure; beyond that, though, they expand musical audiences to include listeners drawn by the more sporting aspects of musical performance. There may be no better example than the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, which has just concluded amid passionate Tweeting and arguing over favorites. On the heels of this spectacular event is a specialized contest in New York for the junior circuit (up to age nineteen) that may be a similar launching pad (albeit on a smaller scale) for some future stars. The Rosalyn Tureck International Bach Competition for Young Pianists honors the late great Bach interpreter by encouraging talented young pianists to explore the many different categories of Bach’s works (from the contest’s Category One’s Short Preludes and Fugues through Category Eight’s Goldberg Variations), and also those of contemporary composers, as Rosalyn Tureck was known to promote. Interestingly enough, this time it counted on its illustrious jury two prior Van Cliburn First Prize winners, Alexander Kobrin and André-Michel Schub – as well as Jeffrey Swann, Michael Charry, Sharon Isbin, John McCarthy, Zelma Bodzin, Max Wilcox, and Golda Vainberg-Tatz (the competition’s Director and Founder). Enjoying in addition the patronage of one of the world’s finest pianists, Evgeny Kissin, the Tureck International Bach Competition seems destined to gain prestige and continue drawing superb talents from far and wide.

Performers with the highest honors received “The Rosalyn Tureck Award” for their category, but there were also many Honorable Mention recipients who performed. One of the youngest winners, Neng Leong (age seven), kicked off the recital with Bach’s Fantasy in C minor, BWV 906 (all works in this review henceforth assumed to be by J. S. Bach unless otherwise specified). Young Ms. Leong’s mature and self-assured rendition was in stark contrast with her small stature and the sight of small feet dangling, unable to reach the floor.  Similarly Mingzi Yan (age eight) played the Fugue in C minor, BWV 961 with remarkable solidity and polish; she will undoubtedly find increased tonal variety with time. Connor Ki-Hyun Sung (another seven-year-old) contributed a commendable performance of the Invention in G minor, No. 11, BWV 782, followed by Liam Kaplan (age fifteen) playing the Invention in A Major, No. 12, BWV 783, with musical fluency and ease. The complexity of works generally increased, and the Prelude and Fugue in F minor, WTC I, BWV 857, was programmed next, played by Li Mengyuan (age thirteen). It was well polished, with thorough attention to imitative entries. One was reminded at this point how much good teaching undoubtedly went into each performance.

Movements from the suites brought more elements of Baroque dance into the mix, starting with Yali Levy Schwartz (age nine) playing the Allemande, Gavotte, and Gigue from the French Suite No. 6 in E Major, BWV 817. She showed extraordinary poise and control for one so young.  Next, Fiona Wu (age nineteen) brought complete mastery of contrapuntal detail to movements from the Partita No. 6 in E minor, BWV 830. Her unassuming, almost self-effacing entry onto the stage belied her intense immersion in its Toccata, Sarabande, and Gigue. Another lively Toccata, the D Major, BWV 912, came to life in the hands of Victoria Young (age thirteen). Refreshingly dancelike in feeling, it swept up both listener and performer (with only tiny glitches, which were masterfully overcome). Huan Li (age fifteen) was impressive in the Sinfonia, Allemande, Rondeau, and Capriccio from the Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826. Here were subtleties of articulation and dynamics, accomplished with fleet-fingered precision even in the Capriccio’s notorious leaps.

Moving on to the Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971, Anson Hui (age fourteen) acquitted himself well, especially in the livelier movements. The gem of a central movement was sensitively played and with continued development will be sure to gain in sustained intensity through its long-breathed phrases. Derek Wang (also fourteen) was declamatory and bold in his Toccata in C minor, BWV 911. One might argue that he tended to overplay in the forte passages, but it certainly was good to hear a robust interpretation (without any kid gloves in the name of historic fidelity); thankfully, he reveled in all the extremes, so his softer passages were equally engaging.

All contests have their big surprises, and Allison To (age twelve) was one. She proved to be one of the most refined and artistic for her age (or perhaps any age) in her performance of the Aria Variatta alla maniera Italiana, BWV 989. Not only did she win the Rosalyn Tureck Prize in her category (“various works”) but she was also the winner of the Evgeny Kissin Grand Prize Award, in recognition of the performer deemed most promising. This is a young player to watch!

Also outstanding was Athena Georgia Tsianos (age sixteen). While closing the evening with Bach’s English Suite No. 6 in D minor, BWV 811 (Prelude, Sarabande, and Gigue), she also played David McIntyre’s “Butterflies and Bobcats” for which she had won the Prize for the Best Performance of a Contemporary Work. She offered arguably the most exciting performance of the evening in this vibrant composition, and one will eagerly await many further performances from her.

There was no Category 8 winner (for the Goldberg Variations), and the Category 7 winners (Concerti) did not perform. What was programmed, though, was more than enough. Congratulations to all these young artists!

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