Piano Competition
Recently, I have had the privilege of attending an international piano competition in my home town. There were 37 world class pianists from all over the world. One of the requirements for all contestants was to perform any "classical era" sonata. Most chose Beethoven (the rest were all Haydn). Having listened to 8 different players I chose my two favorites, but to my chagrin neither was advanced to the next round of the competition. My question is, what are the judges listening for that separates one contestant from the other? I am only an amateur listener, but I know what I like even if I cannot effectively articulate it. Is there obvious prejudice for one composition over another?
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Adjudicators are cold and seemingly hard hearted people who favour mastery over aristry . But give me expression and passion over technique and precision everytime!"Finis coronat opus " -
Speaking of piano competitions, am I right in thinking the Leeds is on again this year?
I know it comes around every 3 years, and I seem to remember the last one was in 2000.
I love to hear a Beethoven concerto in the final, but it hasn't happened recently (unless I've missed it). I remember one year in the 70s there were 4 Beethoven concertos in the final, all televised on BBC2. Great!
Before the advent of video recorders, unfortunately.
Melvyn.
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Most competitors at a high level are technically competent, so professional adjudicators are looking for more than that -someone who can communicate to an audience, has a great sense of rhythm and a high degree of musicianship. The actual piece performed should not sway the panel as it is the performance not the work that is being judged!Originally posted by GregS:
Recently, I have had the privilege of attending an international piano competition in my home town. There were 37 world class pianists from all over the world. One of the requirements for all contestants was to perform any "classical era" sonata. Most chose Beethoven (the rest were all Haydn). Having listened to 8 different players I chose my two favorites, but to my chagrin neither was advanced to the next round of the competition. My question is, what are the judges listening for that separates one contestant from the other? I am only an amateur listener, but I know what I like even if I cannot effectively articulate it. Is there obvious prejudice for one composition over another?
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'Man know thyself''Man know thyself'Comment
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I have been involved in music competitions in various capacities. I am often bewildered by the results judges come up with.
The vast majority of judges are listening for artistry, not mechanical perfection. Judges are pretty much always active professional musicians and they would all rather promote sensitive musicians as opposed to automatons.
I believe judges are sometimes influence by the piece a contestant selects, but nobody would have a prejudice against Beethoven!
Music contests are very subjective. Judges are usually very talented and intelligent people, but who really knows what goes on inside their heads.Comment
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As a piano student I've been adjudicated many times...now, I've never had anyone "cold and seemingly hard hearted" but sometimes I don't get their choices...Just this year I was in a class against just one other girl, it was a French composers class, i.e.-Impressionistic. Both of us were playing a piece of Jacques Ibert called The Little White Donkey, although the title is in French...anyways, the girl went first and she went at it quite fast...I felt a little ashamed at the speed I'd always played it at but I played it just as normal, and I thought I easily had the edge. It seemed that the girl's speed made her loose control of the notes sometimes, and besides, the piece was Little White Donkey, not Little White Horse. During the adjudication the adjudicator pretty much told each of us the same things to improve upon, so I figured I had the edge...then this other girl won!! I was a little flabergasted, so who knows. It probably just depends on the person whether they would like technique of artistry more. And anyways, when you're in a position to be marked (as I've found out with a Brahms piece I'm doing) you can be punished greatly for doing what you would like to do with the piece. It is open to personal interpretation but the adjudicator can easily hate what you're doing and thus, you get a low mark. At my level, I unfortunately have to still limit what I do so it meets a little bit of everyone's standards. That's the life of a pianist, I guess.Comment
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Yes I see it is. The final is on 19th and 20th September. They have a web site:Originally posted by melvyn:
Speaking of piano competitions, am I right in thinking the Leeds is on again this year?
http://www.leedspiano.com
"The audience and viewers will be able to participate in a public vote on the finals"
Melvyn.
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