CMC & Concertos

[superman1980]

Hello,
Has anyone on this forum participated or even won the Canadian Music Competition? If so, what year did you do it in? What were the pieces you used?

Which concerto did you play? Finally, do you think that Liszt's First Concerto has a strong choice for the CMC and competitions/festivals in general?

--superman1980--

[j_menz]

You seem to be under the misapprehension that you do better in competitions by picking winning pieces. You don't. You get ahead by giving winning performances. Any piece will do if you can show them why. And no piece will do if you can't.

[pianoman1349]

You seem to be under the misapprehension that you do better in competitions by picking winning pieces. You don't. You get ahead by giving winning performances. Any piece will do if you can show them why. And no piece will do if you can't.

I agree completely with j_menz.  I did CMC in 2012 with Prokofiev third (1st mvt) and came in third and received a national scholarship for my performances (the winner in my division was the grand prize winner).

I have done either done really well or completely bombed with Liszt No. 1 in concerto competitions, mainly because different people have really different views on how this concerto should be played.  They seem to fall into two categories:

1.  A concerto with lots of lyrical and bel canto writing with many chamber-music like qualities.  This is how I personally hear it and played it this way when playing at my concerto debut this year.  The charm of the "triangle-esque" scherzo in the third movement (section) and the child-like innocent "music-box" theme that the soloist opens with in the fourth movement is really only apparent when played in a more elegant fashion.  The cadenza "slargando" passages in the first movement seem to make the most sense to me when played in an operatic way, similar to a vocal cadenza in a Verdi opera per se.

2. A flamboyant concerto featuring a bombastic display of keyboard protechnics.  It is very exciting to listen to the concerto played like this, as it feels like sprint to the finish.  However, this approach tends to draw negative responses from listeners who are not as familiar with Lisztian virtuosic displays (especially vocalists and orchestral players who likely are most familiar with Liszt's operatic/instrumental transcriptions), or simply hate Liszt.

I know of a pianist in Coquitlam who won the 17 and under category in Quebec city in 2008 with this concerto.  On the same note, two people played Liszt #1 in my year and division, and did not place.  I think it really depends on the jury who have and what the "flavour of the moment" is at the finals. 

If you really love the concerto, go ahead and play it ... it will make you CMC experience that much more enjoyable.

[quantum]

I think it really depends on the jury who have and what the "flavour of the moment" is at the finals. 

Agreed. 

Pick a concerto that can best display your strengths.  Form your interpretation and just go with it.  IMO there is too much subjectivity surrounding the jury in competitions of this sort.  The accomplishment lies in the musical and repertoire growth of the competitor, not the competition award.  If you do get an award, it is a nice bonus. 

[thalbergmad]

If it is a Canadian Music Competition, then surely you have to play the Healey Willan PC.

It is almost Rachmaninov level, Canadian and no other bugger will be playing it.

Thal

[awesom_o]

If it is a Canadian Music Competition, then surely you have to play the Healey Willan PC.

Healey Willan was my first cousin's great grandfather!

I agree with j_menz.... don't try to pick a winning concerto. Pick the concerto you feel the strongest about, and play it in a winning manner!