With the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition just concluding, we have witnessed a record number of applicants, new repertoire requirements, and an expected scrutiny of jury decisions from the public. This year’s competition was hosted in Poland and I had the joy of watching it! Well, watching it on my computer, unfortunately not at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw – but it was still amazing!
Thoughts on this year’s competition:
As I tuned into the livestream of the event over the past few weeks, I was really struck with the realization of how so many branches of diverse talents have unfurled from the single tree of one person’s beautiful legacy. I was so moved by all of the competitors, by their performances and their devotion to music and excellence. And as I laughed at the usual dramatic comments of “so and so was robbed”, and rolled my eyes at the incredibly pretentious comments of “music connoisseurs” dissecting barely made mistakes, I became as equally moved as when I listened to the performances. Though controversy is usually expected when judging and scoring is based on something so subjective, I am always touched by how many people so passionately care about the music. All this being said, I can’t say how important I think it is for these kinds of things to exist, for genius to be uniquely interpreted and transformed by each musician’s touch. You would think it would be boring, to hear the same song over and over again (even though I don’t think anyone would be displeased with listening to CHOPIN on repeat), but each performer manages to tell a very distinct story within the parameters of each piece. Let me tell you about some of the finalists who’s stories really stuck out to me.
Kevin Chen, Canada
Kevin has been a promising talent from a very early age – a child prodigy. He began piano at age 5, after his parents saw his fascination with a keyboard kids toy. When he was under 10 years old he: debuted with an orchestra, was named in CBC’s Top 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians under 30 and in Maclean Magazine’s 100 Remarkable Canadians. Since then, his music career has been thriving, and is very well decorated with numerous prestigious accolades. From this competition, he gains one more: 2nd place! His playing in the competition stuck out to me for having so much clarity and humility while simultaneously being so expressive. My favorite was his Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61 performance. Fun fact – Kevin is from Calgary (yay Calgary!), and is actually a MRU music program alum.
Miyu Shindo, Japan
Miyu is revered for her musical sensitivity and precision, gaining international acclaim for her work. She won first in the International Chopin Competition in Asia, and was a laureate in the Beijing Chopin Competition, Kissingen Piano Olympics, Gina Bachauer Junior Competition, and the PTNA Competition in Tokyo. She has been featured with some of the world’s greatest orchestras, including the New Japan Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, and has also performed at renowned halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Warsaw Philharmonic Concert Hall, and the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. What stood out to me about Miyu in this competition was her amazing ability to convey emotions; her performances definitely moved me the most emotionally. Her Nocturne in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2 gave me goosebumps – so, so, so beautiful.
Sources:
Source 1 [XVIII Chopin Competition]
Source 2 [Chopin Competition]
Source 3 [About — Kevin Chen]
Featured Image: Photo by Geert Pieters on Unsplash