OMG Stephen Wigler is SO opinionated and thinks HE can judge who is good and who is not. what.
Some of his words:
"The pianist I would predict as the winner is the 21-year-old Singapore-born American, Kate Liu, a student of Robert McDonald at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia,' says Wigler. 'Her performances of the F minor Ballade, Polonaise-Fantasy, Fantasy in F Minor and Sonata in B Minor impressed me as among the very best throughout the first three rounds. She's a real pianist in every sense of the term – a genuine talent, not something that is manufactured. I love the sincerity of her playing. There is an overall simplicity to what she does, but if you listen carefully you realise how beautifully everything is nuanced.
‘The 17-year-old Chinese–born American, Eric Lu – also a student of McDonald’s at Curtis – is almost as impressive. Lu obviously adores the playing of Grigory Sokolov. His performance of Chopin’s 24 Preludes in the third round much resembled the great Russian’s. Often very slow – his ‘Raindrop’ Prelude, like Sokolov's, lasted nearly seven minutes – and always very intense, what Lu achieved was not merely a carbon copy, but a performance energised by tremendous conviction.
‘Perhaps the greatest virtuoso among the ten finalists is the youngest, the 16-year-old Canadian-born Yike (Tony) Yang, who studies with Julian Martin at the Juilliard School in New York. Certainly, one could not imagine more brilliant performances of the Polonaise in A-flat (‘Heroic’), the Scherzo in C-sharp Minor or the B-flat minor ‘Funeral March’ Sonata. He's probably the most formidably equipped 16-year-old pianist since Evgeny Kissin, though he may have met his match in the F minor Ballade – a work that he threw off with ridiculous ease but which was emotionally light years beyond him. Yang plays Chopin’s E Minor Concerto in the final round, an age-appropriate work for this Wunderkind, and I would hesitate to vote against his chances for First Prize.
‘A personal favorite was the 26-year-old Croatian, Aljoša Jurinić , a student of Eliso Virsaladze, whose B minor Sonata made my hair stand on end.’
In summary, Wigler adds: ‘All but one of the 10 finalists would maker a worthy first-prize winner. The exception is the only Polish pianist, Szymon Nehring, whose over-loud, somewhat vulgar and not always accurate playing makes his presence in the finals a mystery.’
The finals of the 17th International Chopin Piano Competition run from 18 to 20 October 2015. Each of the finalists will play one of the Chopin piano concertos: No 1 in E minor, Op 11, or No 2 in F minor, Op 21. The artists will be accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of the Warsaw Philharmonic conducted by Maestro Jacek Kaspszyk.
Finalists
Seong-Jin Cho (South Korea)
Aljoša Jurinić (Croatia)
Aimi Kobayashi (Japan)
Kate Liu (United States)
Eric Lu (United States)
Szymon Nehring (Poland)
Georgijs Osokins (Latvia)
Charles Richard-Hamelin (Canada)
Dmitry Shishkin (Russia)
Yike (Tony) Yang (Canada)
"
What a jerk. I mean, I do think that Eric Lu and Kate Liu are very good, but he totally insulted Seong-jin Cho, Kobayashi, Szymon Nehrig (especially), Charles Richard-Hamelin, and Shishkin.
He also stated that he was emotionally light years above Tony by stating that "the Ballade was emotionally light years above him". Wigler has NO IDEA about what he's talking about. Emotions don't necessarily come from age. It sounds like one of those stupid quotes that dumb students get from smart teachers who don't want to let the student ruin a perfectly fine Chopin piece.
End of rant. I HATE WIGLER AND SOME OTHER MUSIC CRITICS