Di Wu plays Dvořák
Just a few measures in: !. I’m feeling much more intense chemistry here than with Kunz.
Third movement: first impressions confirmed. Wu is a wonderful chamber musician, attentive, generous and agreeable; I was cool, leaning positive, on her preliminary-round recital, but if she doesn’t advance on the strength of this collaboration I might burn something down.
James McQuillen
May 28th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Already, this lady is BLOWING me away !!
May 28th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
She cares. Oh my, I’m with gn. Pay attention folks.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Di Wu’s rehearsal was such a delight to watch and went so well, that I expected her to win the battle of the Dvo?ák’s and so far, she is, IMO.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Enormous difference! The string players are inspired! This will put Kunz with his back against the wall for his recital.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Day and night difference with Kunz. It’s hard to get a good sense of the quality of sound — the Hamburg seems a little thin and tinkly to me, but maybe just the miking situation.
Di Wu has an involving energy, and has a much more sensual and sentimental feel for the lines, I find, and shapes them more nicely with pedal than Kunz, who struck me as a bit “square.” She seems like she’s really part of the group;Kunz felt more like an accompanist to me.
She also *smiles*. We like happy times!
– MH
May 28th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Roger, I completely agree with you. Someone made the comment earlier that Kunz even seemed a bit tentative. Well that’s much more obvious now, isn’t it?
Brad, as much as I am supporting Lam, your comments, I fear, may be valid. Her weakness was in the pieces that I am neither familiar with or even got to hear because of tech glitch.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Absolutely !! She’s SO generous in giving them room to “breathe” !!
May 28th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
Did you see the smile on her face at the conclusion of the Allegro, and rightfully so! Yes, Brad, an amazing difference between the two.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Yes, just what I said before this thread got going, the Quartet seems to have picked up on her energy and is playing far better for her than in the earlier performance. THIS is intense music making. LOVING IT.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Goodness, they’re all into it!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
hmmm… what am I missing that you all are hearing?!?!
Her rhythm is unfocused, voicing bland, pedalling often indiscriminate, passagework utterly fingery. I hear backing away from moments of most urgency, unawareness of the length of lines, lack of poignancy in the tunes, little sensitivity to harmonic changes… ???
Wow, the opening phrase of the Dumka was pretty substance-less, no?!?!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
Well, she certainly seems like a much more internally dedicated chamber musician than soloist, I think. Her sense of ensemble is wonderful — there is no distinction between the Quartet and her. Really amazing.
I was not going to come back to these blogs because of the unfortunate manner in which the semi-finalists turned out. But, I watched a totally inspiring film this evening about Fernando Bujones and fell back in love with the art form.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
She’s way more comfortable. She’s having fun–integrated into the group.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
They are only in the 2nd movement and this might already be the best musical performance of the competition for me so far. And what gnwelch says about the room to breathe….YES. And they are all breathing together. Its all alive with intensity, and her attentiveness to them is wonderful.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Di Wu plays the piano with her entire body. At the very least her relaxed arms are behind every note and her mind is focused on each sound until it dies. Eduard Kunz, on the other hand, rarely brings his body into play. In effect, I think he plays on the keys. Di Wu plays into the keys, and the results speak for themselves.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I need to update the post, but in the interim: she’s awesome.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
OMG !! Goose-Bumps !!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m glad the Dumka is over, so I can breathe! Simply out of this world!! What more can one say?
May 28th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
You could sense a difference in energy from the moment they all walked out onstage and she had such a big smile on her face!
The energy of the whole ensemble is completely different here - I’m so enjoying this performance. I love how in this movt (3rd) she imitated the violinist’s opening phrase. She’s listening!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Just beautiful!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Already, I’m thinking this COULD be the chamber-music winner !!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
2nd mvmt was breathtaking! The Quartet obviously is really enjoying themselves too! Her communication towards them is fantastic. You can feel the magic in the hall! (Or even through the computer screen!)
May 28th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I’m sorry, folks, but I am with AG here. Personally, I would prefer a little less smiling during inopportune/melancholy moments! I am afraid that looking “involved” (which seems to be all the rage!) happens to distract the performer from the actual task of feeling the music properly and connecting with one’s colleagues. But even so, I would forgive the “smiling” if I agreed with the interpretation…
May 28th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
I respectfully disagree, A. It seemed that musically, she was moreWITH the ensemble. Great blends of sounds. I could feel the energy without even looking at the screen.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Di talked in the rehearsal about her tending to rush or play a certain section too fast as I recall. Did anyone think she did that a few times in the 3rd and 4th mvts? Great performance regardless. Thought it nearly verged on being slightly frantic a few moment there. Maybe, its just how different this was from Kunz that makes me feel this way.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Anyone have an idea what the judges are looking for in the quintets? If it’s a sense of communication, collaboration, and energy in tandem with musicianship, then Di Wu has jumped out to a strong lead on the day. And seriously, are we going to get a studio-recording quality, polished interpretation after a 2 hr. rehearsal crammed into this insane semifinal schedule? Sure, it may not come out great on CD, but the energy and communication were exciting. Everybody sounded like they were on the same page, Takacs sounded looser than earlier today, and the give and take of the ensemble–what live chamber performances should have in spades–was quite enjoyable.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
To me, this was one of the most exciting chamber performances I’ve heard in years. The collaboration between the strings and piano were first rate. Wu’s musicianship in this piece was outstanding. There’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll medal. What’s not clear is what color the medal will be. Too early and too many others to hear.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Brava, truly thrilling performance!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
With respect to the bloggers comment that Wu should advance on the strength of this collaboration alone:
Unfortunately, I’m not sure how highly the jury values the chamber music, and if an amazing chamber performance alone is enough to guarantee a slot in the finals. Davide Franceschetti took home a Chamber music prize in 2001 and still didn’t make it through, as did Naida Cole in 1997 and Richard Raymond in 1993 (Cole even took home the new work prize too…go figure).
May 28th, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I am amazed that these pianists are able to put together an acceptable chamber music performance with only one short rehearsal. It is so very different from playing a piano concerto, when one is a soloist. Here, each part is equally important. Heaven help the pianist who comes to this part of the competition with little or no experience in collaberative playing!
May 28th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
She is very musical and well prepared. Gosh Dvorák is a beautiful pc. I think she brought lots of the beauties out. I didn’t see much of the chamber music this time but with all I have seen, none of the pianists is an experienced chamber musician. Solo and chamber music require very different things. Solo is between you and the composer and chamber music is between you and other musicians. I used to have to play with other people (as a job). I would not choose to do it. For a pianist, solo and chamber music carry completely different weights.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I’m with A and AG here, playing downbeats together and grinning in self-congratulation doesn’t make a successful “chamber music” performance. This is a real piece of music (chamber music is music too!) and it’s too bad that it’s being treated here like just another competition hoop to jump through. If Cliburn took it seriously they would allow more rehearsal and see if the competitors could come up with something legitimate.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Nick,
Solo is between you and the composer, and chamber music is between you and other musicians *and the composer*! I am not being facetious here, but I just want to emphasize that chamber music does not begin and end with being together as an ensemble, or with the correct balance among the players, or with smiling at one another: those are just the fundamental principles (give or take). The challenge is to bring across the composer’s intention, notwithstanding all the variables.
May 28th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Marcus Cato, please stick around. Your comments are valuable.
Kevin, you’re right to question how much the jury values the chamber performances; I’d like to know more about that myself. But I think Franceschetti lost not because of his chamber performance, which was indeed invigorating, but rather because his semifinal program was wildly ambitious in offering the Diabelli Variations, which he made nearly note-perfect but in all other respects not perfect.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Di Wu was entirely convincing to me tonight. I was beginning to look around the archives but decided that this performance was to incredible to miss. The thing that I noticed the most was the listening between Wu and the quartet as well as the connection. You almost felt as though she was a part of them. I am watching Ran Dank’s performance, but it lacks that connection, they seem completely seperated. Her (Di Wu) performance had me glued and I really wish her luck in the next round.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Hi A, You are right. Music is the purpose. Without saying the composition is the most important. I thought it was a given. I agree with you. Glad to see some die hard fans here. I am becoming one.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Wu’s was probably the best of the chamber works today and by far the better of the two Dvorak quintets on the evening. I have no idea if it came out like this on the webcast, but in the hall, the balance was absolutely perfect.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
Didn’t Nakamatsu win the best new work in ‘97? It was Balcoms 9 Bagatells. After he finished the piece Wm. Balcom jumped to his feet and clapped with joy. For what it is worth, I think Jon was the first to play it .
May 28th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Nakamatsu’s etudes cannot be surpassed and we heard him in the try outs in Feb. 97 in Landrath Auditorium. He blew us away and has ever since.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:54 am
If Di Wu is having a good time and having fun with the Takacs, more power to her. This is a 5-person team. Let’s not get too serious, let’s just enjoy music, life, performance …. As long as the team gets it done, that should be good enough. She is a good girl.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Dear blog friends,
I hope that you agree with me that Haocheng Zhang is truly a gifto to the world. His depth is prodigious, his sound is careful, but colorful. What a remarkable pianist. I feel so thankful to hear such beauty from someone so young! Bless you, child!