23 May, 1:00 — Soyeon Lee, Di Wu and Vassilis Varvaresos
Helllloooooo, Fort Worth! Greetings over your orthicon tube!
Michael Hawley here. Like Ken, I’m a Cliburn IPCOA alum: I play the piano, and in an emergency, move it. Of course, the hard part is moving an audience. I’m going to be in Fort Worth for the full final performances (June 3-7), but I’ve been able to listen closely to this round and thought I would chime in with a few impressions. It’s a particular treat to hear the music being programmed by this trio of pianists because I’ve played most of it myself — all of it with the exception of the Carter Catènaires, the Albéniz Iberia, and the Ravel Miroirs, though I know the latter quite well (especially the Ravel). And it’s so nice to see friendly faces (Louise Canafax! Steve Cummings! Oh, and several in the audience).
I’d heard about Soyeon Lee (29) (http://soyeonlee.com) before: she made a splash by giving a recital in a gown made of 6,000 recycled plastic juice pouches:
A plastic juice pouch dress sounds a bit sticky to me, but she’s got a lot to say about the environment, and no doubt a lot to say in her music-making, too.
She’s a returnee from 2005. Her afternoon program: the first book of Albéniz’ Iberia, and Schumann’s Carnival. For my taste, I thought the Albeniz could have exuded a little more Latin charm. It felt a little too restrained. The Schumann had more of the manic, nervy Florestan/Eusebius quality I expected. It’s nice when the personalities of performer and composer seem to “click.”
Di Wu (24, China) is another returning competitor, and she brought the audience out of their seats with her fiery Liszt-Gounod… but I’m getting ahead of myself. Di exudes a focused, serious, concentrated energy. Maybe a little too serious…? She lead off with the little Haydn C major sonata, polished and perky. Lovely playing, and clean as a whistle. She’s awfully restrained, though, barely cracking a smile — and this is a piece that’s full of jokes and humor. Reminds me a bit of Michelangeli. Maybe her Ravel makes me recall him: her sound is lush, sparkling, full of the fresh texture and the quality of sound, yet emotionally “cool” and restrained. Gorgeous, and yet… Do you happen to know the Michelangeli performance of the Ravel G major concerto with Celibadache? I remember how much I revered Michelangeli’s landmark recording:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySKtp9Pt6JM
It’s perfect, of course. But look what happens when Leonard Bernstein plays (and conducts) the same thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwSQQ2qIc-0
I don’t mean to diminish the “fear factor” of playing in a competition like this. But you can see what a difference Michelangeli’s icy, introverted “coolth” makes in contrast to Bernstein’s orgasmic “warmth.” Reminds me of one of the best pieces of pre-competition advice I received: You can play all the pieces; Now, make love to the piano.
I admit it, I adore the Gounod-Liszt. One of the all-time great salon hacks. Di certainly flew through it, and it had the right effect. In transcriptions like this, though, I think one is more than entitled to take a few liberties: surely these things weren’t meant to be taken so literally. Am I the only one who loves Earl Wild’s recording of this (on his Demonic Liszt album of many moons ago)? Check it out, and enjoy the marvelous, exquisitely over-the-top extras he ladles in. Bravissimo, Di.
Vassilis Varvaresos (26), from Greece via Juilliard, makes it three Juilliard ringers in a row. His Beethoven Moonlight was handsomely chiseled.
Doh! My laptop crashed! I missed the Carter. Damn! The one piece this afternoon I didn’t know and was especially curious to hear! My friend Tod Machover was a protege of Carter’s, and I gather it had more notes per dollar than most banjo music. Damn!
Liszt Sonata: Permission to speak freely? GAAAAAH! Unmusical, painfully bangy at times, too fast, no poetry, utter lack of sensuality. The clumsy quality of sound left me completely flat. In keeping with tradition, he who plays loudest gets a few folks standing, but I have the sense that, this time, many were standing to leave. I have strong feelings about this piece. I’ve played it since college, and performed it here in the finals of the 2000 Cliburn amateur competition. Sorry, Vassilis, but this performance struck me as a quick ticket back to DFW, unfortunately.
Well! Interesting as ever. I’m reminded of a remark Richard Dyer made after seeing the documentary movie about the Cliburn Amateur competition: These people play the way they are. In all cases, it’s fascinating to get a feel for the personalities of the performers. After you hear someone play, ask yourself: do you think it would be fun to continue the conversation with the performer over drinks? And were there moments in the music that really hit you — the sorts of moments you might remember for years to come? I’m already flashing back on memories of Olga Kern (who just about melted down half of Texas when she came out in a deep red hip-hugging dress to deliver multi-orgasmic performance of the Rachmaninoff 3rd); or bubbly, vivacious Joyce Yang who could probably win a standing ovation by playing the spoons, let alone Prokofiev 2nd. By definition many of those sorts of moments lie ahead.
Unlike many of you, I will probably not have the luxury of hearing most of the preliminary rounds, but I’m pretty certain that you’ll all sense a day and night difference between performers who sort of buckle in and drive through their pieces, and the ones who aren’t afraid to be themselves, who let their passions show, who really have interesting things to say. People who aren’t afraid to let their enthusiasm radiate.
Hope to be able to catch tomorrow (Sunday) evening’s round.
Best to all of you.
— Mike (mike@medial.mit.edu)
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Mike,
I know you are going to slap me for repeating this, but you are far too modest. You are a CO-WINNER of the 2002 International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. I was a loser in the 2007 IPCOA.
For those who were not there in 2007 to understand the inside humour, I recommend listening to the speech given by Maestro Jon Nakamatsu:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5smz7gycqQ
May 23rd, 2009 at 4:52 pm
I was wondering what Hawley would have to say about the Liszt Sonata. It was not good for all the reasons he gave. I was looking forward to hearing Di Wu after reading about how much she’s accomplished since the 2005 Cliburn, but overall it was disappointing. The Ravel lacked the extremes of dynamics, especially in Une barque (from pp to ff or fff in a measure, e.g.) and in Alborada. Une barque was also far too rhythmically rigid — not at all “D’un rythme souple”. Although the Faust was played well, it just didn’t go enough for broke. And no candenza? I understand the timing limitations, but I think it would have been better to drop one of the shorter Ravel pieces and play either the Liszt or Busoni cadenza. It just felt like something was missing without it. In her offstage interview she mentioned that she’d just picked these pieces back up two weeks ago after her Alice Tully Hall debut. Well…draw your own conclusions.
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Mike, it’s tragic that your computer crashed during Varvaresos’ Carter. It was shaded, clear, not harsh at all, and full of those Schumann-like bipolar moments that are all over Carter. Worth visiting the archives. His Liszt performance just didn’t have the command, control and color that it needed.
Yes, Soyeon Lee’s account of Book I from Iberia might have had more flexibility, but I heard much charm and Spanish secrets without being excessvie. I found her Carnival utterly magical. She gave the sense that she was inventing the piece. In many hands, Carnival’s repeats are narcotizing. Not here. Not for a moment. Soyeon varied them with sophisticated voice leadings, real nuance, and attention to the score’s details. It’s worth a rehearing if you missed it.
Di Wu is vexatious. Her technical command is unlabored and was impressive in long stretches of the Ravel. There’s much to admire (even envy). You’re dead on to bring up Michelangeli: I admire what I hear but want to feel pulled closer. The Liszt transcription was splendid: elegant, full of fun and sinister.
May 23rd, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Brad, Di Wu’s Tully Hall recital primarily contained pieces from her semifinal choices. That surprised me.
May 23rd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Di Wu has strong fingers and a very competitive personality. She has strong teachers, and this is her second time coming to Cliburn competition.
I propose to invent a Cliburn Competition prize for the strongest fifth finger in the world and give it to Di Wu. Such amusement to be complimented as having an “excellent fifth finger.” What would we say about Michelangeli…wouldn’t get this prize (I suppose he would be offended as an artist). All the pieces she plays with the “same strong fingers,” and it all sounds the same (just strong or stronger!).
You know, she can come many times again to Cliburn and her fingers and personality would be stronger…all her teachers would be there, but Wu would be the same as in 2005.
Why do we have to hear it again? Does Julliard have preferences for their pupils? Can another pianist be admitted to the competition without political connections?
May 23rd, 2009 at 11:50 pm
John,
I’d say a lot of us have pretty strong 5th finger. Fine pianists can lock it up through the tendon, and using the arm. Let’s go for the strongest 4th finger!!!
May 24th, 2009 at 3:51 am
That 4th finger can make all the difference, Ken
I am very much enjoying the three bloggers and the commenters, and we’ ve only just begun.
May 24th, 2009 at 9:34 am
Simply said, Vassilis had the audience on the edge of their seats at moments of intensity and passion. I watched the audience privately wipe away their tears as Vassilis, through Listz piano sonata in B minor, brought to life Faust’s themes of compassion, betrayal, anger and love. To be in the Bass Hall and then listen to the audio on the computer is no comparison. This was truly a performance that left my heart yearning for more.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I just listened to Di Wu’s preliminary performance for the first time, and I’m surprised people are praising her technique, and that she has advanced to the finals. She played the flourishes in Une Barque sur L’Ocean very messily! Didn’t anyone else notice? It caught my ear when I wasn’t even paying attention. I’m surprised I don’t see any comments about it here.