Behind the scenes notes. 6th day

Wednesday was a day of rest for the participants and the Jury, before stage 2 of the Competition. The Warsaw Philharmonic building was quiet and almost empty with the scent of fresh floor polish in the air. But social media was abuzz with debates and sentiments of joy, surprise or regret were expressed over the list of the 40 candidates that the Jury has admitted to the next round.

Among them are 14 pianists from China, 1 from Chinese Taipei, 5 from Japan, 4 from Poland, 3 from South Korea and the U.S.A. each, 2 from Canada and 2 from Italy, and one each from Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, France and Malaysia, plus one individual neutral pianist.

Polish bloggers were regretting that much-appreciated Mateusz Dubiel and Andrzej Wierciński have dropped out. Many were surprised that Diana Cooper, representing France and Great Britain, was not admitted to stage 2. For consolation, they were posting to say that any competition is a kind of a lottery and that the evaluation of artistic performance is a subjective matter. On the other hand, everyone said they were happy they will be hearing more of performances by Shiori Kuwahara of Japan, Eric Lu of the U.S. and brothers Hyo and Hyuk Lee of South Korea. There were many voices stressing the very high level of the Competition.

Auditions have begun today and will continue through Sunday. The program of the second round includes Chopin’s preludes and a polonaise, a genre based on Poland’s historic stately dance.

Monika Ścisłowska-Sakowicz