Just a note to say that the wonders of the internet allow us to listen in to proceedings: visit http://www.leeds.ac.uk/music/pianocompetition/

Thank you for this - I'm listening as I type

Ah good hadn't realised you could do that. I'm going this evening, and meeting up with Oldnotes.

Sorry I missed seeing you fsm - I met up with oldnotes at lunchtime but couldn't stay (other commitments). The programme looked brilliant though - hope you had a good evening

The first guy Alexei Petrov last night was brilliant. Excellent 'Miroirs' and one of the best performances of Prokofievs 7th Sonata I have heard (including my recordings by Peter Donohue and Murray McLachlan). But why did he play a simple little piece by Schumann in between (Arabesque Op18)?. Its barely grade 8. He has already won several competitions including the 2006 'Moscow' one.
The other two last night I was less convinced by. The French fellow treated an early Beethoven Sonata (the relatively easy Op10 No2) not as a classical sonata but as a mid romatic piece, taking gross liberties with speed variations and tenutos, though his Schumann Sonata was good, and Debussy OK.
The third performer, a Korean girl, played Scarlatti (Missed a note or two in those rapid repeated notes of K96). K119 was better, and her performance of Debusys Images was OK but not something that grabs you.
The rather long Schumann Humoreske Op20 was capably played but again , didnt quite have a bit of the panache' that grabs you.
We are in the middle of the Round two stage at the moment. There will then be 12 selected for semi finals next week, when they play 70 min recitals (Yesterdays were 50 min) . I hope to make the Tues evening session, though I will only hear two of them.
Two of the contestants still in are aged 14 and 16. How on earth does a 14 yr old play 'The Wanderer Fantasy'- his hands cant be big enough! The 16 yr old plays 'Gaspard de la Nuit' and 'Pictures at an Exhibition !'

Wish I could hear some of those competitors live!

I was just listening to some of the performances from the first stage, and one young pianist that really made an impression on me was Rachel Cheung. At age 17, she seems to be extremely mature. Her Chopin Etude might be the weakest of the three pieces, but she really showed her understanding of large forms in the Haydn and Prokofiev Sonatas. Her phrasing was beautiful, and the powerful moments were powerful without sounding harsh. She had something individual to say about the music, and I was able to follow the whole time. This is a quality that seems missing in some of the other competitors, even those who got into the second stage.

How lovely to be able to listen to this from where I live out in the sticks. Don't we live in a wonderful age! Thanks for the link

I wonder if this is what is causing all the traffic in Leeds city centre whenever I try to go home

I shouldn't have thought so, there werent all that many (say 200 ) listening on Tuesday in the University Great Hall.

All good stuff. Someone I know takes quite a long period of holiday time to go to each sesh!

The competition is now developing nicely, with the semi-finals starting tomorrow. My favourites, based on what I have seen and heard so far, are still in it; Rachel Cheung, Ching-Yun Hu, Kateryna Titova, Sofya Gulyak, Alexey Chernov and Alexander Schimpf. 8 male and 4 females in the semis this time, hope it evens up for the final. Too early to pick a winner but, if I were a betting man, my money would be on Rachel Cheung. We'll see.

Anyone have a link to the programmes people are playing? Would make it a little easier to select which recitals to listen to...

There is a link on the Leeds International Piano Competition Site so you can download the programmes of all 68 competitors.



Sorry, I should have given the detail which is :

www.leedspiano.com

On the Home page there is a menu on the left-hand side. Click on 'Listen to Performances'. On that page you can click on Downloads : Repertoire.

Well I have to say Im surprised at the Jurys choice of 12 semifinalists. The young Frenchman (David Kadouch) I heard last Tuesday is through, despite his (in my opinion) murdering Beethoven Op10 No2. and my Russian from last week didn't make it. I listened to some of the others on line.
I will hear two of the semifinalists this evening. On the Grapevine I hear that Wai-Ching (Rachel) Cheung has become a favourite, though whether this is strictly her playing or her personality, I dont know !
The 14yr old and 16yr old have both gone now, the youngest left is 17 yr old Zhi (Julian) Chao Jia from China.

On the Grapevine I hear that Wai-Ching (Rachel) Cheung has become a favourite, though whether this is strictly her playing or her personality, I dont know !

Both - in my opinion. Her stage presence and playing are beyond her 17 years.

Sadly, I note that the British player has not been chosen to appear in the semi-finals.

Well what a treat last night, the two semi final performers were the afore mentioned, and highly thought of Rachel Cheung, and a then we got Sofya Gulyak from 'Russian Federation' though I think actually Khazakstan.

Rachel began with an excellent performance of the Bach C Minor Partita, I think very much influenced by Angela Hewitt (I have Angelas recording). Her articulation and clever balance of staccato and legato were brilliant, and there was a great clarity in her performance. I did spot two small slips in the famous Capriccio, where she twice caught an an adjacent note (forming accaccis) on those leaps of a tenth, but I guess anyone can easily do that. We then had the complete set of Chopin preludes Op28, beautifully played and with great contract of expression between the huge variation in styles of these pieces. She ended with the short Scriabin F#major Sonata Op30. The audience loved her !
Then for something different - Sofya Gulyak ! Sofia started with a dazzling, and brillianty articulate performance of Clementis C major Sonata Op33 No 3 (must try that one myself!) followed by Schumanns Op4 Intermezzi , and then a fantascic performance of Liszt's Transcendental Study , no 12 (Chasse-Neige). She ended with Prokofievs 6th Sonata (Its surprising how many entrants choose Prokofiev Sonatas, more often No 6 7 or 8, the so called War Sonatas). Amazingly she upstaged her predecessor with a much greater ovation and three 'curtain' calls !
Of the 12 semi finalists I only heard these two , and another one in round 2 , Frenchman David Kadouch, whom I wasnt keen on (see earlier posts), but I would be surprised if Rachel and Sofya didn't both make the final 6.

Later edit,

Just checked the finalists on the website. Both the above did make it , and David Kadouch.
Full list , with concerto each will play in the final with the Halle, as follows;-

Rachel Cheung (China) - Rachmaninov 2nd
Alexei Gorlatch (Ukraine) - Beethoven Emperor
Sofya Gulak (Russian Federation) - Brahms 1st
David Kadouch (France) - Beethoven 'Emperor' (hope its better than his Sonata Op10 No2 in round 2)!
Jianing Kong (China) - also the Emperor
Alessandro Taverna (Italy) Chopin No 1

The two Chinese are only 17 yrs old. Chatting to some people last night who had heard Jianing Kong play his semi final in the afternoon, he is also utterly brilliant, but arent they all at this stage ! So watch for these 6 in the future !

she's from Kazan, a city in Russia.

Later still edit,

Order of play for Finals:-

Friday night: Kong, Cheung, Kadouch
Saturday night; Gorlatch, Taverna, Gulyak.

As a teenager I found the Leeds a way to get to know repertoire. I didn't always have the concentration required, but I remember Kreisleriana (many times), Chopin Ballade no 3, Gaspard (I particularly marvelled at Ondine when I saw it on paper in a music shop). When people heard I'd been they would ask if I'd been in the competition - what little they knew.

For old times sake I went up the Thursday of week1 and heard an Ondine which had me (and I thought everyone else) spellbound and Liszt Venezia and Napoli which rang round my head for the next 48 hours.

Yes that right 'Gaspard' was also on the repertoire list of many of the contestants. Fiendishly difficult to really bring off, I cant even think about attempting it !
Scanning through this years broochure, the Liszt sonata is again popular, as are Debussy Preludes and Images. And of course lots of Chopin (inc full sets of preludes and Etudes). Brahms (op 117-119, and Balladen Op10, and the Op49 stuff.). Schumann is particulalry prominent as well this year (Humoreske Op20, Carnival, Davisbundler etc, even a Kinderscenen). Beethovens Op119, 110, 111 + variation sets always appear a few times., and a fair scattering of Scriabin, Shostakovich (Preludes Op34, and one or two of the Op87 Preludes and Fugues, also the first Sonata), Rachmaninov (various but second sonata common).

Well the winner was Sofya Gulyak , and well deserved too, she certainly impressed me in her semi-final last Tuesday.

Runner up was Alexei Gorlatch.

3rd Alessandro Taverna, 4th David Kadouch, 5th Rachel Cheung, 6th Jianing Kong.

I was very impressed with her Clementi!

Just what I said in post #17 !

I heard her play in the second round when she finished with the Bach/Busoni chaconne. She played it again in the Gala concert on Sunday when it seemed even more impressive. The concert was great. The six finalists played approx. 15 minutes each before the speeches and a presentation to each of the finalists. They all chose 'party pieces' to show off their dexterity and musicianship and there was a full house.

Just got round to watching my recording of the BBC4 programme of 7.30 Friday night - Kong's Emperor. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! Shame they don't show any of the preceding rounds performances though....

I've listened to every performance on the web, from the first round to the semis (the finals have not been posted yet). Who would be a judge in a competition like this. Every competitor is amazingly good.

But can someone tell me why Vestard Shimkus did not get beyond the first round? What did he do wrong? I thought his Beethoven Op 110 and Islamei were flawless??

I'm afraid I can't answer your question or, indeed, any question relating to results, and many questions are raised by a prestigious international competition. I read, two days ago, that the winner (Sofya Gulyak) is to commence a course of study at the Royal College of Music this term, and the question suggested to me is what can she now gain from becoming a student there or at any other conservatoire ? All first-prize winners of the Leeds are assured an international concert career so why waste time (when you are) being a student ? And will she have TIME to be a student?

ARRGGGGHhhh I shouldn't have read this thread - I've been watching on BBC4 and didn't want to know the results yet.

Just watching Cheung's Rachmaninov now, wish I could play like that, but she does seem quite tense at the opening and the climax points. Would like to hear in a few years time when she has more experience of playing with an orchestra, I'm not convinced she wasn't holding her breath a few times.

Interesting performance. Did you notice that the Halle stopped playing for a bar! even the best can slip-up occasionally.

Yes I spotted that.