Let the Romanza Be a Romanza

Let the Romanza Be a Romanza

The Warsaw Voice
October 20th, 2005
Jan Popis

   The Concerto in E Minor op. 11, chosen more often by the finalists, is a very mature piece and this probably explains why it was chosen by 10 of the candidates. We will hear the Concerto in F Minor only twice. It is said that the Chopin Competition is won by those who end their performances with the more mature work: the bravura double scales in E Major; who, playing the Romanza-the slow movement, can say everything "from their hearts." But, this is not quite true, to recall 1980 and the Concerto in F Minor played by Dang Tai-Son.Depending on the tempo played, the Allegro maestoso, the first movement of the Concerto in E Minor, can be... a polonaise. That's how Jacek KORTUS played it, to express the nature of this Polish dance. Though this was his first performance with an orchestra, he managed to carry the huge burden of such a debut. He was calm and controlled practically everything. I thought to myself, why aren't such fantastically talented young artists in Poland given the chance to get used to playing with an orchestra? Where are the philharmonics and other orchestras for which a joint concert with young talent would be an embellishment of the season? As for the performance of the 17-year-old pianist from Poznań, the main thing is that he managed to maintain the majesty of the main part of the work, that the final krakowiak pulsated with a good rhythm, not too quick, though it lacked the effect of a finish with shine that is desirable here.

   Naomi KUDO, representing the United States and a year older than our candidate, played the same concerto in a typically "pianistic" way; the first movement at a slightly faster pace, which gave it more energy and pianistic flourish. KUDO plays with talent, and also... cheerfully. Listening to her is a great pleasure. In each successive stage she convinced us more and more that working with a marvelous teacher that we appreciate greatly here in Poland, Lee Kum-Sing from Vancouver, she will achieve a great deal as a Chopinist.

   The Concerto in E Minor played by the next finalist, Ka Lim Colleen LEE from China-Hong Kong, added little more to what we'd already heard. If we were to treat the interpretation of this piece in a more classical convention, then the artist from Hong Kong is fine with her reserved emotionality and more chamber-like virtuoso capacity.

   The second day of the final also began with the Concerto op. 11. Yuma OSAKI from Japan is a pianist who does well at competitions, winning major awards. She feels confident in performances with an orchestra and is able to carry out her plans with consistency. These, however, are not very sublime, when you think of the nuances of style in the Concerto in E Minor. Instead of a presentation of confident and effective competition playing, I would have preferred more in-depth listening to all that the 20-year-old Chopin, carried on a noble feeling of love, wrote in his scores.

   The performance of Korean Dong Hyek LIM was, to my mind, his best production at the competition, compared to previous stages. In the Concerto in F Minor op. 21, he played the mazurka finale spectacularly: with shine, "defining" the brillante style of the piece well. But that was only part of all that Chopin says here. Do these young artists, who play the piano so fantastically, know who Konstancja Gładkowska was?

   The final's second day closed with a performance by Shohei SEKIMOTO of Japan. His interpretation of the Concerto in E Minor went in the direction of pianistic effect and firm placement on the keyboard. The flushes of vigorous virtuosity obviously generate great emotions, but are they what we should expect of this composition by Chopin?