Mayumi Sakamoto plays Bach, Mendelssohn and Rachmaninoff
Sorry for the delay, folks; I gather that I’m not the only one having problems with getting the site to load. My guess is that there’s a lot of traffic, as well there should be, because what a terrific finish. In case there are further problems–and given that you’ll be wanting to discuss the big news soon–I’ll keep it brief. Sakamoto hugely impressed me. Her Bach struck me as a setup to the Mendelssohn in much the same way Son’s Haydn seemed to setup her Schumann: bigger and more ambitious than most, but incisively played. The Variations Sérieuses were flat-out great, and raised again the question of why there’s not more Mendelssohn on these programs. He was a fabulous young pianist himself, and this year is his bicentennial (happy 200th, Felix). Sakamoto’s overall conception of the piece was compelling, her transitions deft, her contrasts illuminating, and her tone gorgeous and warm. The same goes for the Rachmaninoff, which was rich and fluid, and about which I hope we’ll have more to say later, because I’d definitely put her among the top twelve–who are about to be announced. Thank you all, competitors, and good luck.
James McQuillen
May 26th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Maybe you folks could START with your names?
May 27th, 2009 at 12:11 am
James, I finally figured out it’s you! Thanks for getting us caught up.
May 27th, 2009 at 12:12 am
I very much concur with the positive comments on Sakamoto. And yes, we should have had more Mendelssohn imo. With Beus out we won’t get to hear his performance of the Opus 6 Sonata. I saw it performed live for the 1st time ever when Stephen did it in Miami and the 4th movement in particular is quite amazing and a virtuoso tour de force.
OK, back to Sakamoto- Very disappointed she did not make the semis and I also would definitely had her there. Even in the midst of all that power she displayed, she maintained that deep rich tone and shimmering contrasts of color. At various moments [no pun intended] of the Rachmanioff, I found myself near tears. I can’t properly or fully put into words why, but she swept me away with her playing. Surely we could say it for so many of the others who did not move on, but as I am looking at her semifinal and final round of pieces I am very much regretting we will not get to hear her interpretation of them.
Final thought- I had made a mental note to myself through all the performances I was able to watch online of the preliminary round of how often the camera angles changed and how long the camera would stay fixed on a favorable angle that displayed both the full view of the hands and enough of the side view of face & body to see the performers complete movement. For me, the camera work for Sakamoto was the very best of the entire prelims. It seemed whoever made the production decisions was intent on having the camera stay for longer periods of time on the keyboard than for any other performance I saw. And seeing her whole body movement and hands all at once made me feel like I was right there.
May 27th, 2009 at 7:03 am
I heard all the contestants save Ran Dank; his webcast was garbled, and I never got to the replay. At least four made the prelims who I thought had little to say. If communication and revealing inner life is so critical, which has been repeatedly emphasized by jury members, it is puzzling how such pianists could be chosen. I was delighted with the choices of Bozhanov, and Di Wu, and quite happy with Andrea Lam and Haochen Zhang. They made my list of twelve, with others I won’t enumerate. But a few weren’t even close. Worst of all were the omissions of Lukas Vondracek, Amy J. Yang, and Ms. Sakamoto. Vondracek is a very refined artist, who showed us how much music can be made between ppp and mf. When louder passages do come, they can be, by juxtaposition, shattering. Yang played the Davidsbündlertänze of a lifetime. And I WAS in tears throughout Sakamoto’s Mendelssohn and Rachmaninov. Oh, yes: she can make music flow as few can, but she has a very articulate technique, unlike any I’ve heard in some time. She can make “music between the notes,” a virtue expounded by Spenser Myer in one of his lessons. I deeply regret that I won’t be able to hear her play in the upcoming rounds, and I can’t imagine what the jury was thinking.
May 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am
I was also disappointed with the omission of Sakamoto as well as Soyeon Lee and Stephen Beus. At least Wu and Kunz made it into the semis; I hope they medal!!
May 27th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Thank you for this post! I’m so glad to read all this praise of Ms. Sakamato’s performance. A friend and I both thought her recital was beautiful, but then several critics dismissed it and she didn’t get to go on. I was starting to wonder whether something was wrong with us (or the rest of the world:P)
In addition to her wonderful playing, I really liked the progression of the program. I’ve recently fallen in love with the Variations Sérieuses through Stephen Hough’s new recording.
Mona S.
Classically Speaking
http://www.wvpubcast.org/blogs.aspx?blogid=312
May 27th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
I was terribly disappointed that Sakamoto did not make it to the semis. I daresay her performance was my favorite. In addition to the previous comments, I should add that she handled polyphony so well!
June 1st, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Viewing the archive I am very surprised that Ms Sakamoto was eliminated. Her Rachmaninov was extraordinary. Very fluent and clean with a lovely tone all the way through. It was beautiful.
Thank you Ms Sakamoto.
David