Cliburn Competition, 2025

[dizzyfingers]

Anyone watching the Van Cliburn Competition?

I watched the semi-finals live last night on YT.
Eye (and ear) popping pianism by:

Aristo Sham from Hong Kong. 
I only heard that last few etudes-tableaux, this was his program:
BACH–RACHMANINOV Suite from Violin Partita in E Major, BWV 1006
SCRIABIN Sonata No. 10, op. 70
RACHMANINOV Études-tableaux, op. 39

I also heard Elia Cecino from Italy play the last two pieces of this set:
TCHAIKOVSKY Nocturne in F Major, op. 10, no. 1
SCHUMANN Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, op. 11
GUBAIDULINA Toccata-troncata
PROKOFIEV Sonata No. 7 in B-flat Major, op. 83

What's interesting about the broadcast is the commentary after the performances by Greg Anderson.
It's a very well-organized competition, including the website.  It kind of puts the Chopin competition to shame, in this regard.

https://cliburn.org/

[essence]

Lots of good stuff. But isn;t his Hammerklavier slow movement a bit pedestrian?

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[essence]

I found his semi final performance here.

https://cliburn.medici.tv/en/replays/semifinal-round-recital-aristo-sham/

Impressed. Particularly liked the Scriabin 10th (been hacking my way through that since 1976).

[essence]

I see Magdelene Ho was eliminated after the prelims. Inconceivable.

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[essence]

There are plenty of youtube performances by her, for example from each stage of the IGPA 2024 competition. Currently blown away by her Schumann fantasy as I write this.

She is too powerful an artist for any competition. Listening to the Schumann Fantasy middle movement. Heard many pianists bashing through it. But this performance made me wonder how Clara would have performed it. I wonder how her leaps will be...no, I don't care, I want beauty not leaps!

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[essence]

I love it so much just listened again to her Franck. Up there with Richter (but different).

[dizzyfingers]

the videos you posted are unavailable ...

edit:  I see that there is a setting that prevents it from being viewed embedded in another site (this one)
it's possible to click through to YT

[essence]

Did you try to google

Magdalene Ho IGPA 2024

or

Magdalene ho  cliburn

I found all stages there.

[transitional]

Did anyone watch the concerti posted yesterday? I thought Aristo Sham's Mendelssohn was a bit rough on the keys and didn't make me feel much, and the Tchaikovsky was solid but not extremely innovative. But Angel Stanislav Wang's Beethoven was full of really great meditative moments and some astonishing tone overall. Much of the comments were complaining about mistakes (which were kind of annoying in the 3rd movement of the Tchaikovsky) but it doesn't matter much if the interpretation is good.

[transitional]

Unpopular opinion, but after today, I'd say that Angel Stanislav Wang is easily my favorite out of all of the Cliburn contestants. Of course, I haven't paid much attention before today, but given Rach 3 isn't even really one of my favorite pieces, I would say that there's not too much bias involved. In fact, Brahms 2 is my favorite piano concerto, but then, I might be too harsh on Aristo Sham because I love it so much. I just think he's too harsh on the keys at times - the 2nd movement was practically all variations of forte and fortissimo, there was really never any sotto voce, it seemed like the orchestra was carrying his technically flawless playing. (Amazing cellist, by the way.) Angel made tons of mistakes and cuts but they weren't extremely problematic, and his playing was notably more dynamic than any of the other contestants. Of course, this is just my opinion, and people with more experience than me will have a more informed idea of what you can expect from each particular concerto.

[lostinidlewonder]

I think international piano comps are waning in their relevance compared to yesteryears.

[essence]

When I listen to music i want to hear something different.  i started to listen to aristo sham's etude tableaux, but it seemed just the same as every other very competent performance, so I got bored. maybe i know it too well. same with his hammerklavier slow movement. plodding. no nuances. where is the pp at bar 33? Bethoven puts in lots of dynamic changes but he observed few.

Compare with solomon. Maybe unfair.But solomon has a true pp, well balnced chords, varitions in temp.he makes a story. listen to solomon at 11/12, slight accel and then dim to bar 14. cresc in bars 31/32.

World of difference. Maybe unfair. But come on aristo,take a risk. play with your heart. Persuade me you have somehing to say.

I thought maybe I was being unfair. So I carried on listening to bar 85 and following. Dreadful. Sounds like he is doing a Hanon study. In one of the most despairing moments in piano literature.

Let me clean my soul and listen to Solomon or arrau again.

Tovey is of course essential reading. he emphasises the una corde markings. Listening to solomon again,he is very faithful to beethoven's dynamic markings. Yes. Arrau also, observes them meticulously, eg bar 49. The marking is very clear, the dim is after the second note of the triplet. bar 90 the cresc followed by dim followed by cresc. Beethoven is very clear. Do what he writes, with conviction, it isnt rocket science.

[dizzyfingers]

When I listen to music i want to hear something different. ...
... Compare with solomon. Maybe unfair.But solomon has a true pp, well balnced chords, varitions in temp.he makes a story.
... Let me clean my soul and listen to Solomon or arrau again.
... Listening to solomon again,he is very faithful to beethoven's dynamic markings.

Maybe you should make a post about Solomon.  You seem to know his performances well.  I've never really heard of him.  How does he compare to his peers of that era?

[essence]

maybe. he made a famous recording of the Grieg and Schumann concerti.

His phrasing of the opening of the grieg theme is unique. Dances.

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I still have the album somewhere.

A few years ago I tried to find a recoding of the hammerklavier I admired. He and Arrau stood out. Even Brendel seemed secondary. To me the slow movement of the hammerklavier is a good test for musianship. I haven't traced much more of solomon, but he was well known in UK/London in his time.

Am I fair about Aristo? Competition candidates are not the same as mature world class musicians.

but...I found Magdalene different, that's why I liked her.

[transitional]

I think international piano comps are waning in their relevance compared to yesteryears.

Of course, as there's so many other places to spread your music around that it's not necessarily imperative that you go to a competition to get recognition. Audience opinion can also spread easily around the internet, and Magdalene Ho, even though she was eliminated in the preliminaries, was definitely my favorite of any of the competitors (which seems to be a common sentiment and something that the jury didn't agree with.)

[lostinidlewonder]

Yeah when you get to these upper levels you might as well pull a name from the hat. Don't be surprised if secret criteria for letting competitors through is on their looks and marketability, because it's not on how they play, the marks are often all over the place for that if you've seen competition marking.

[essence]

Magdalene ho has some interesting views on this. BTW, she does seem to be a very sweet and together woman.

I don;t think Nigel Kennedy would win many competitions, but it didn't hold back his career.

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[dizzyfingers]

@essence
you must be a bit annoyed with Aristo Sham getting the gold - you singled him out from the beginning as someone not worthy of the winner's circle ....

[essence]

He has many strengths and scrubs up well. Educated at good English school (Harrow, Winston Churchill's almer mater).

I'm not annoyed, just gave up listening to cliburn. I did listen to a bit of Park in the bath just now, she is interesting, but too many quirks - does the big no-no of a rit before emphasing a note. No continuity of line.

What did you think of his Hammerklavier slow movement? Was I being harsh? I don't think so.

Let me just check Brendel again, he was the one I grew up with.

yes I was unfair to Brendel. Wonderful. How come only great pianists can make a true pp ? Recording was from 1970.

I fear Sham has hit a ceiling and cannot improve. Whereas other musicians take a risk and rough edges can be smoothed out with maturity.

sorry for keeping on about the Hammerklavier slow movement, but like other similar movements i feel it is a true test. Anybody (except me!) can play the fast stuff.

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