Well, it's that time again

First post, and I feel it's just so fitting that I can devote it to one of my great, and longstanding interests: the Sydney International Piano Competition.

I've been a somewhat obsessive listener since 2000, and this year finds me a little more ambivalent. I'm only slightly annoyed if I miss hearing a broadcast - it's not a tear-your-hair-out moment like it has been in the past!

I must confess to not really knowing that much about this year's competitors - yet. I've arrived a bit late in the game, due to more pressing issues. (Yes, it's that thing called life again, always getting in the way)

So far, I like Tomoki Kitamura, who is outstanding on any level, but at the tender age of 17 is simply phenomenal. Mariangela Vacatello has also grabbed me, especially in her Liszt etudes.

The Australian contingent are yet to impress me, with the exception of Ukrainian/Australian Alexey Yemtsov, who has that extra something the others lack. "Spirituality" is one description... Imagination, is how I'd put it. I liked him well enough in the 2000 competition, but felt he lacked maturity, which is fair enough, given he's still only 25 now. He's a very interesting musician and I look forward to hearing more of him. Perhaps he'll be the first winner in the name of his adopted home? That would be a great thing indeed.

You would think that in an international piano competition of this stature, one would need imagination to even crack the audition process. Not so, it would seem. The other Australians have failed to impress me AT ALL. Well-schooled, safe, and BORING. That's not the Aussie way! Get into it, fellas! Maybe a beer would loosen them up a bit. No Australian women in the competition either, which is sad, but interesting. Maybe I'll have to dust off my piano and get the kinks out of my fingers before the next one...

Having just heard Jose Menor's Stage III recital, I have a bit to say. When he began, I warmed to him immediately. Interesting, well-thought-out playing with room left for spontaneity. Just how I like it. His Chopin was especially interesting (F# minor Polonaise).

However, he ruined the lot of it by choosing to play Carl Vine's 1st Sonata.

One would be forgiven for assuming I dislike the piece, after my last comment... quite the contrary. In point of fact, it is one of my favourite pieces of music ever written. Vine is a genius, and this piece is a masterwork.

Mr. Menor simply didn't seem to get it.

As I expected, Gerard Willems disagreed with me on this point. Gerard Willems and I rarely seem to agree. In 2004, the first time I heard the Kiwi pianist John Chen, I was hooked. He captured the very essence of my musical heart, and every note he played reinforced this. He played everything exactly how I wish I could play everything, and with so much more imagination and skill. Yet the esteemed Mr. Willems thought the Russian Rem Urasin was the better player. Yes, he was very fine, but John Chen in his transcendent genius could well be the greatest pianist of this century. I will never forget his Ravel Piano Trio. I was cleaning my room at the time, and when it began, I suddenly couldn't move. I stood stock still until it had finished. Utterly hypnotising. When it ended, I was jumping up and down and cheering. Yes. All by myself, in my bedroom. I did something very similar when I saw him perform Rachmaninoff 3 in the concerto final. This time, I was actually at the venue, and it was a little more appropriate... (but muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-um, everyone was doing it!)

Well, back to Jose Menor, and his curious choice.

One word keeps popping into my mind. Why? Such a fine musician, such imagination, technique, IDEAS, and he chooses something that doesn't really show any of that off. Wrong notes all over the place, the whole thing was rushed, messy, monochrome, and the tempi were so far from Carl Vine's indications that I almost started to hyperventilate! I know this piece intimately - have performed it a lot of times myself, and it's one of the most listened-to pieces in my CD collection.

I was disappointed, because I had liked him so much.

The opening, which is eerie and magical in the right hands, went for nothing. Once the rhythms started to build, it failed to breathe. The ecstatic climaxes were a little impotent.

and the second movement? Why?

Where is the joyous beauty, the excitement, the genius that is Vine's First Sonata? It's such a wonderful piece, I had previously thought it would be incredibly difficult to make it sound bad. Even more difficult to make me not like it. This unfortunate pianist almost succeeded in doing so.

Oh, Mr. Menor. I do so hope the jury disagrees with me, because I would love to hear you again.

I am looking forward to the next few days and will no doubt post some better-constructed opinions.