So I didn't pick Daniil Tsvetkov, Charlie Albright, Yoon Soo Rhee or Eric Zuber. Fine players, but didn't do it for me. Well at least I get my wish of hearing Yoon Soo Rhee at a kinder time of day.
I'm silly, anyway, because I forgot to put Sergei Saratovsky on my list. His Gaspard was quite excellent. Perhaps the rest of his program let him down. Of the other four I chose, I'm most disappointed by the loss of Sean Chen, followed by Alexey Yemtsov.
Ah well. The proof is in the pudding.
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2 comments:
Yes Saratovsky's Gaspard was indeedn excellent. A pity about his stage 1 and 2.
:)
It's a pity you weren't a jury member! You heard the quality of Sean Chen's playing, as it was indeed outstanding...musical, accurate, or as GW is fond of saying "reliable," as well as interesting. And he doesn't create a single harsh sound. How refreshing. I read your commentary about his 3rd stage recital, and was struck by your ability to describe the qualities of his playing. It was insightful and impressive. You obviously have a keen auditory sense. I thought GW's comments afterwards were quite strange. Perhaps he was very tired. Back to your writing: indeed, Sean's playing did sing, and the recital had a logical progression that the ABC commentator seemed to understand. Of course, competitions are entertaining, as well as frustrating. It was unfortunate that Sean (like so many others) was unable to play more of their repertoire. Though many wonderful pianists got through into the next round, there were some real surprises. Until next time...
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