Official Audition Room Piano Competition

[steveie986]

Let's recognize some of the fabulous recordings posted in the audition room. This is a great way of commending the wonderful talents who frequent this forum. I sure as heck don't listen to everything in the AR and I know I'm missing out on some great stuff. So it'd be great to hear other people's recommendations so I don't have to wade through as much, well, trash.

Let's take nominations first, and then when everyone's had a chance to listen to them, I'll make a separate vote thread. This is not a brag thread, but a chance to recognize people's work and enjoy their art.

There will be five categories:

- Baroque
- Classical (includes Schubert and Beethoven, for the sake of the competition)
- Romantic (pre-1900)
- Twentieth century/contemporary
- Original compositions

Nominations please, ladies and gentlemen.

[nicco]

I nominate jayanat for his rach 2 

(The first recording he posted was the better one though)

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I nominate:

crazy_for_ivan_moravec : Prokofiev, Suggestion diabolique
electrafingers                  : Ravel, Ondine and Scarbo from Gaspard
koji                                  : Liszt, Scherzo and March

[kelly_kelly]

No idea whose recording it was, but a really good Mozart K. 511 was posted a LOOONG time ago.

I also nominate ahmedito for the Bach Partita (I think he recorded 4 movements).

[pianogeek_cz]

I nominate bflatminor24 for the Appassionata...

[quantum]

So are improvisations included within the compsitions category, or do we need a seperate one?

[moi69]

I'd like to hear jayanat and his Rach 2 but i can't? anybody could send it?

[instromp]

Umm i would like to nominate Arielpiano for his Mozart K282
And dickreuter for his Chopin op.10 no.4

[Derek]

What is the point of competition in music? I've never understood it. All it seems to do is produce bitter losers and arrogant winners. And I'm not so sure audiences are better off because they hear performances by people with long lists of awards from competitions---some of my favorite recordings are by students, little known performers, etc. who have never been in a competition, or very few of them.

[jlh]

What is the point of competition in music? I've never understood it. All it seems to do is produce bitter losers and arrogant winners. And I'm not so sure audiences are better off because they hear performances by people with long lists of awards from competitions---some of my favorite recordings are by students, little known performers, etc. who have never been in a competition, or very few of them.

Well, from the audience's point of view -- especially those who don't know much music -- having a laundry list of things you've won gives "validation" to your performance.  Not that it will be any better or worse necessarily, but audiences love hearing winners.

[Derek]

I don't know that I'd care for having an audience of people who don't know much about music. It'll all wash over them, and if what I am playing is virtuosic they'll be all impressed especially during the orgasmic final major key cadences or what not.  yaaaaaay the piece is over that was impressive clap clap clap

you know what I find much more gratifying? When a good friend genuinely enjoys your work and tells you so.  The glory of having an audience applaud me doesn't motivate me at all I'm afraid.

For professional pianists, of course, competition is quite nearly a necessity. Many "gigs" that concert pianists get, I'd imagine, are not privately funded, and as such there must be a way to objectively sort out the tens of thousands of technically proficient robots. The ones with the most perfect objectively measurable traits will win all the competitions-----whether or not these players are ALSO very musical is much more subjective.

This is why, I think, even some mediocre players' music moves me far more than say Vladimir Ashkenazy.

It seems to me if more people enjoyed classical music---the best ones would be sorted out BY the audiences, because they would follow their favorite artists to shows and those guys would get the most famous/make the most money.  But in a society such as ours,  our classical music institutions simply tell an ignorant public what is good and what is not (and it is definitely debatable whether these institutions even have the slightest clue what music making is all about) 

[lostinidlewonder]

With competition that play different pieces, it is always tough to judge in my opinion. It is so many times easier to compare the quality of peoples playing through one same piece of music. I am even more bamboozled how judges work out who can win in a variety competition with singers, guitarists, pianists, dancers etc. In the end it comes down to opinion doesn't it? Even that is human, flawled and inconsistient.

Winning competition in my mind DOES NOT mean that you would win an audience with your solo recital. In fact a student of mine attended a concert given by the winner of the previous Sydney International Piano comeptition a few months ago and remarked that she enjoyed my concert much more than his! I have had people come up to me and say, we have enoyed your concert much more than ..... and they say a famous pianist! To me I am absolutely happy people say this to me but if it is the truth? It might be true for them, but is it a fact for everyone? I don't think so, I also don't think it matters. As a musician you simply shouldn't compare yourself with other musiicans, but you can leave that to your audience if that is what they like to do!

[letters]

i loved that rachmaninov prelude in G minor that someone posted i think it was the same person who posted the first movement of rach 2. yeah htey shud win

[jehangircama]

nomination- a lovely recording of unsospiro some time back by jlh