| Report on the 2008 BPSE Junior Beethoven Intercollegiate Competition by Malcolm Miller |
| There was a sizeable audience to support the young participants at the 2008 Beethoven Junior Intercollegiate Piano Competition, presented by the BPSE at the Bluthner Piano Centre, 1 Davies Street, London W1, on 16 March. The distinguished jury comprised Professor Sulamit Aronowksy, Stephen Savage and Angela Brownridge. Malcolm Miller, Editor of Arietta, welcomed the audience and thanked Roger Willson of Bluthner Piano Centre, for their generosity in hosting this event, and also the recent BPSE Senior Competition (held in December). He underlined the BPSE's gratitude to patrons of the competition, Mrs. Eugenie Maxwell, FIOD (Vice President BPSE), W.C.L. Brown CBE and Nachiko Brown, Baroness Nicholson of Winterbourne MEP and Leslie East, Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians.
Alberto Portugheis, BPSE Vice-Chairman UK introduced the five candidates in turn, drawn from junior departments of music colleges and specialist music schools, all of whom showed great promise. Each of the participants played the compulsory Bagatelle, Op 33/4 as well as a sonata of their choice: in the event the programme was framed by two 'Appassionata' sonatas, with a selection of middle period works, op. 31/2, Op. 27/1 and the less often performed Op. 78. To begin on a strong note was Schay Wickham (Junior RAM), who gave a very dramatic and involving rendition of Op. 57. The finale was especially exciting and technically fluent, while the forthright opening movement displayed rhythmic flexibility. The Bagatelle was graceful and light if a little reticent in touch. The performance of Op.78 by Sarah Lyo (Junior RCM) was just a little nonchalant, her interesting choice of sonata slightly marred by some over pedalling and lack of dynamic nuance. The final performer of the first session was Holly Coma (Croydon Music Centre) whose rather attractive tonal control, especially in the Bagatelle was matched by her arresting Op. 31/2. There was plenty of tension and bite in the first movement, and the finale caught the mood of restless impetus.
It is always refreshing is to hear young performers approach warhorses for their first time, discovering the music afresh, making it meaningful. This inevitably gives exciting edge over some more seasoned performances, as was especially the case in the final session, which opened with Lin Yang's account of Op 27/1. Her brisk tempo allowed the flowing scale motifs shapely emphasis against the bell-like opening chords, while the fast interlude was crystalline, the second subject etched with poise, over the widely spaced harmonies. The second movement, more cautious in tempo, displayed vivacity in the leaping chordal passages, and the transition to the slow movement was beautifully effective. The final fugue was delicate and delightfully buoyant. The final performance of the day was particularly polished and professional, exemplary in expressive range, technical discipline and colour: Julian Clef, (Chetham's School of Music) in an involving and dramatic Op 57. The first movement's explosive energy gave way to some beautifully voiced variations where the two-part writing was richly shaded. The clarity of the finale was especially evocative in the reappearance of each rondo theme. Julian Clef clearly has potential for a concert career, and is on the cusp of further studies at the RNCM. We hope to hear him at a BPSE Senior Competition in the near future.
Stephen Savage, Jury spokesman, paid tribute to the BPSE for providing a platform for young performers, noting that the practice of live performance was especially valuable in an era in which audiences often judge interpretations from recordings. The competition also offered a beneficial stimulus to institutions to foster their own internal Beethoven competitions. The Jury was looking for many qualities, including attention to pianistic colour, different ways of approaching the instrument's sonority, and sensitive pedalling. First prize was awarded to Julian Clef, second prize to Lin Yang and third prize to Schay Wickham. All three received cash prizes and a copy of the BPSE journal 'Arietta'. The prize winners' recitals will be announced on the BPSE website soon (www.bpse.org).
Malcolm Miller
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| 15th BPSE Intercollegiate Beethoven Piano Competition 2007 |
| One of the reasons Gina Bachauer performed so much, according to Murray McLachlan, was that she never knew how her performances would turn out. Reflecting on the spontaneity of music in the preamble to the awards announcement at the recent 15th annual Beethoven Intercollegiate Piano Competition, McLachlan reflected that competitions are unpredictable -- were the same competitors to play again the results might well be different. For that reason it was necessary for participants in competitions never to lose sight of the main goal, despite the necessary disappointments that accompany such events, namely the joy of music itself, and the privilege of performing some of the greatest works of musical art. Certainly the joy and inspiration of Beethoven's music formed the thrilling core of this annual competition, presented on 2 December 2007 at the Blüthner Piano Centre, 1 Davies St, London W1, UK, by the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe, which has become one of the significant events of the competition calendar of Colleges and Conservatoires across the UK.
The competitors were talented young pianists drawn from eight of the nine UK conservatoires, each nominated by their institution after having won their internal Beethoven competition; only the London College of Music and Media was not represented on this occasion. Each participant performed the compulsory Beethoven Bagatelle Op 119 No 3 and a sonata of their choice, to the jury comprising Murray McLachlan (Chairman, EPTA UK), Dejan Sinadinovic (President, EPTA Serbia) and the pianist Steven Savage, and regaled a sizeable audience in the salubrious surrounds of the Bluthner piano showroom, adorned with an array of sparkling pianos.
The competition was introduced by Alberto Portugheis, BPSE UK Vice-Chairman, who expressed the BPSE's gratitude to Roger Willson, Managing Director of Bluthner Pianos, for hosting and sponsoring the competition. During the course of an inspiring afternoon, we heard an intriguing programme of repeat performances spanning the whole of Beethoven's 'three periods': From Beethoven's early maturity were two accounts of Op 2 No 3, while of the late sonatas we heard two Op 109s and no less than three Op 110s. There was also a 'Waldstein' sonata, representative of Beethoven's 'middle' period, yet after tasting so many of the first two of the last three sonatas, we were left almost thirsting for Op 111 to round off the cycle! Overall the standard of this year's competition was higher than usual: all the pianists displayed admirable technical and musical qualities and an ability to judge the tonal projection of the instrument, and all clearly have the seeds of future pianistic promise.
The first competitor was Robert Thompson (Royal Northern College of Music), who gave a delicate, almost Mozartian reading of the Sonata in C Op 2 No 3, with clarity and lightness very much to the fore, and some very commendable crystalline textures that perhaps needed just a bit more firmness and depth of tone. Such was the quality in the impressive Op 109 played by Di Xiao (Birmingham Conservatoire), whose tonal shading created an ever engaging narrative in Op 109, full of contrasts and nuances. Her exciting second movement was followed with a beautiful variation finale, characterful and full of energy; with her charmingly witty Bagatelle, it was an altogether satisfying performance, and it was surprising perhaps that this promising young artist was not awarded one of the three main prizes. Ivan Kiwuwa (Guildhall School of Music and Drama), who has performed for BPSE concerts in the past, gave a relaxed and even toned account of Op 110. If it was perhaps rather studied, and lacking in a necessary incisive inspiration, his Bagatelle, by contrast, had both charm and delicacy.
After a chance to refresh and assimilate the sounds and ideas during a break, the second session began with elegance and energy, as displayed by the Georgian born Alexander Kanchavely (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama). His graceful finesse in the Bagatelle was somehow matched by the fluid and supple articulation he brought to Op 2 No 3, in which the first movement bristled and flowed with exuberance, each theme shaped with agile control. With subtle voicing in the central section of the slow movement, and lucid counterpoint in the Scherzo, the sonata concluded with brilliant finale, a forthright approach that communicated a maturity and appealing joie de vivre. Lily Webster (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) played a less successful 'Waldstein' Sonata that, though correct technically, lacked the sense of architecture and expressive intensity so necessary for such a large scale conception. It was that large design that distinguished the accomplished rendition of Op 110 by Jovanni De Pedro (Trinity College of Music), where translucency of texture in the first movement was balanced by vigorous drama in the second and a carefully controlled intensification in the fugue and recitative movement. De Pedro, originally from Los Angeles and who studied for a time in Vienna, showed many qualities including posture and relaxation in performance. It was a high note on which to end the second session.
During the course of the afternoon the audience was gradually augmented: fortunate in having in our presence Carola Grindea, founder of EPTA, ISSTIP and the BPSE, for the final session we were joined by special guests William Brown CBE and his wife Nachiko Brown, BPSE patrons, as well as Leslie East, Director of the ABRSM Publishing and City Music Society, and newly appointed Master of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, who each year give their special Beethoven Medal to the winner of the competition. Fortunately the final session brought the event to an exciting climax with two outstanding performances. The first was Jayson Gillham (Royal Academy of Music) who gave a confident and assured interpretation of the Sonata Op 109. His tone glowed from the very start, a pristine precision and transparency producing a strong sense of tension and linear continuity in this most compressed of sonata designs. Yet it was in the colours of the variation finale that Gillham excelled, each new texture bringing new shades of sonority leading to the glistening radiance of the trilling final variations, before the meditative retrieval of the original theme to conclude. Gillham, originally from Brisbane, Australia, has great potential and shone on this particular occasion, to the delight of Jury and audience alike. The final pianist Omri Epstein (Royal College of Music) completed the programme with a deeply felt and spiritually intense Op 110; despite some lax phrasing and sometimes blurred bass strands, his intention and direction were always clear and especially compelling was the contrast from true pathos in the Adagio recitative to the revitalisation of life force in the climactic inverted fugue that concludes the piece with an optimistic vision.
The Jury decision followed a short interlude during which audience and competitors could enjoy a relaxed ambience and refreshments. Malcolm Troup, BPSE UK Chairman, introduced the Jury and underlined the special occasion of the 15th Anniversary of the Society, recalling the notable achievements of some past prize winners, including those who, like Ashley Wass, have risen to international attention.
Murray McLachlan, spokesman for the Jury, underlined that their choice had been unanimous, and announced the winners in reverse order: in third place was Alexander Kanchavely (RSAM), in second place Jovanni De Pedro (Trinity College of Music) and this year's winner was Jayson Gillham (RAM). It was a choice that evidently was shared by most of the assembled company, for Gillham was also recipient of the Audience Prize, voted by all who had attended the entire competition. No doubt there were varying opinions amongst those attending about the relative merits of the participants, especially the impressive performances by Di Xiao and Omri Epstein, but recalling Murray McLachlan's comments earlier on, competitions need to be considered in perspective, as litmus tests rather than absolute markers, and one hopes to hear more about the progress of all the promising pianists in future. The ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Beethoven Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, by their Master, Leslie East. All participants received the latest issue of the BPSE journal Arietta, while all three prize winners received cash awards, as well as prize winner recitals in the 2008 BPSE season, details of which will be announced on the BPSE website in the near future.
This article also appears on www.mvdaily.com
Copyright 5 December 2007 Malcolm Miller, London UK |
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| 2007 Beethoven Junior Intercollegiate Piano Competition |
| Review of the 2007 Beethoven Junior Intercollegiate Piano Competition by Julian Jacobson held on 25 March 2007 at The Bluthner Piano Centre, 1 Davies Street, London W1
'Where are we with Beethoven today?'
Up until, I would say, 1960, most musicians as well as the general public held him almost automatically to be the greatest composer, the Shakespeare of music (there's a nice story told of a schoolboy who, on answering the exam question 'Who is the greatest classical composer' with the name Mozart, was marked wrong, the answer of course being Beethoven). Then, in the more liberal, hedonistic and less idealistic 1960s he began to lose his pre-eminence to Mozart, who was held to be both more perfect and more realistic, and a better judge of human character, especially in 'Figaro' and 'Cosi fan Tutte'. Beethoven's moral earnestness was distrusted and many musicians, from Benjamin Britten down, could be found who did not particularly like him; an influential figure such as Sir William Glock could claim Mozart as the truly Shakespearean composer.
These thoughts occurred to me as I listened to the competition held on March 25th by the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe, sponsored by the Bluthner Piano Centre and held at their fine showrooms in London's West End. Nine young pianists from the junior schools of our major conservatoires and some of the specialist schools competed against each other, performing a sonata of their own choice together with the compulsory work, the A major Bagatelle from the opus 33 set. If Beethoven has lost his centrality and become just another composer to practise, how would they cope with these - after all - great masterpieces?
On the evidence of the performances in the competition, I would say the evidence is mixed. At least one performer, David Secchi, was engaged at the highest intellectual and emotional level in his 'Waldstein' Sonata, a performance of admirable strength and integrity that signalled a true Beethoven player. Yet his Bagatelle had been oddly unfocussed, as if he were not yet able to encompass the gentler and more whimsical Beethoven (the one who is closer to Mozart) as well as the epic dramatist. Other players were on surer ground in the Bagatelle, finding grace and musicality in it, than in their sonatas which lacked structural strength. Yet others, at least on the evidence of what we heard on the day, are not yet ready for the technical demands of a large sonata. Timing is everything, as we have all found out to our cost at one moment or another!
The day began with Sophie Dee (Junior Guildhall), whose opening Bagatelle was fluent and musical. She already has the feeling for the drama and the revolutionary fervour of the 'Pathetique' Sonata, though the performance has some way to go yet in clarity of detail and rhythmic strength.
Hannah Gill, from the Junior Welsh College, pleased with her Bagatelle, which was intelligently paced and phrased (though, in common with almost all the performers, she could have characterised the important left hand part more). Her Sonata, the lovely, lyrical op.14 no.1 in E, also had many qualities: good articulation, a well-paced first movement development, and well-integrated touches, if also a lack of true legato and some moments of pianistic awkwardness.
Fumi Sakuma, from the Croydon Music Centre, was the youngest player but by no means the least mature. Her Bagatelle, of touching simplicity, gave no hint of the strength and very real passion she was able to find in the 'Appassionata'. Here is a young player who already understands the paramount importance of rhythm in Beethoven playing, and when she can command a bigger tonal range her playing will be very impressive indeed.
Mandaktuja Dorj, from the Junior Royal Academy, is a young pianist very caught up in the physical delight of playing. I found her movements rather distracting, and I was not sure how much they were really helping her, but there was no mistaking her commitment and musicality (if occasional untidiness) in the Bagatelle. She elected to play the 32 Variations in C minor rather than a sonata. In a way it's even harder to make a convincing structural entity of Beethoven's variation sets than of his sonatas, where, as it were, he has done so much of the work for us. Mandaktuja didn't quite have the mastery to pull them together, but she is certainly a dramatic and personal performer.
Dominic Konieczny, from Junior London College, may yet become such a performer; he has good hands and his Bagatelle was unpretentious and quite musical. But an incomplete 'Les Adieux' Sonata showed him not yet ready for the fray. The same has to be said of Kirsty Traynor, from Junior Royal Scottish Academy, who offered only the first movement of the Pathetique (nevertheless in good tempo and with sound rhythmic grasp).
From the Junior Royal Northern College, Lin Yang offered a fluent Bagatelle a little lacking in personal commitment, followed by an account of the E flat Sonata op.31 no.3 that was well-nigh perfect in terms of the actual notes (with an enviably cool cross-hands coda to the finale - a passage where I've sometimes wished I were somewhere else!). If her playing lacks Beethovenian humour and vigour as yet (indeed it was somewhat Mozartean), it's certainly full of promise and already realised technical accomplishment.
It so happened that the two most sophisticated and assured performances came at the end. Walid El Yafi, from Chetham' School, gave by some margin the most interesting and personal account of the Bagatelle, treating the opening as a second violin solo in a string quartet and indeed making me hear it in a way I had never previously considered, yet an entirely valid way (no pun intended). His 'Appassionata' had plenty going for it too, with good sound and technical grasp. Was it 'appassionato'? I found some of it a little facile, as if he were afraid to enter into Beethoven's almost terrifying drama and urgency. Perhaps that's asking too much of a young player. Yet in the more Apollonian canvas of the 'Waldstein', the final pianist, David Secchi, from Wells Cathedral School, did not hold back from extreme statements, for instance in a daringly slow but wonderfully sustained account of the slow introduction to the finale - one of Beethoven's most visionary passages, and he played it, as well as the magical opening of the rondo finale itself, with a real sense of vision and of its mysterious poetry. When he can trust himself to really fill out all of Beethoven's space, and keep an even tighter hold on rhythm, he will enter the realm of great Beethoven playing. This for me was the day's finest performance.
In a recent article in Gramophone magazines, musicians such as Haitink, Osmo Vanska and David Zinman reasserted Beethoven's supremacy and relevance in a troubled world. On balance our young players seem to have got the message after all, despite the powerful claims of other composers (not only Mozart!) who enjoyed less prestige 50 years ago. The distinguished and experienced panel of judges, comprising Noretta Conci-Leech, Alberto Portugheis and Ratimir Martinovic, had no hesitation in awarding joint first prize to Walid El Yafi and David Secchi, dividing the second prize between Mandaktuja Dorj and Lin Yang while Fumi Sakuma was awarded third prize.
JULIAN JACOBSON (c) 2007
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