Behind the scenes notes. 7th day

The second round of the Competition began on Thursday with the performance of 17-year-old Jacky Zhang from Great Britain. At this stage, the regulations give the performers some freedom in choosing their repertoire. Six preludes and one polonaise are obligatory, but the remaining time of the recital (which should last from 40 to 50 minutes in total) can be filled with any other piece or pieces (one can decide, among other things, to perform the entire prelude cycle).

Jacky chose the two polonaises Opus 26 and all of the Op 28 preludes. In his opinion they are difficult: ‘You can play polonaises and preludes for a long time, work on them a lot, and still you may not be able to play them perfectly,’ he said.When tackled about what he would like to tell Fryderyk Chopin if he had the opportunity, he stated he would ask him about his composing process, to be able to understand his music even better.

While playing, Jacky Zhang is humming quietly sometimes. He admitted that he is trying to stop that, but he is not yet entirely successful. Apart from classical music, he likes pop and composes songs.

Four other pianists performed in the morning session, including the Pole Piotr Alexewicz, and Jonas Aumiller from Germany.

Alexewicz, who also performed all of the preludes, said later one can never predict how these pieces will sound, because the music is alive and changes depending on the circumstances and the given moment in time.

Aumiller stressed he was happy to be participating in the Competition – even though he does not like this kind of rivalry – because competitions give musicians exposure on a wider musical arena and make their names known. He thinks every piece in his program is ‘difficult, everything requires a lot of work, a lot of effort, concentration. We just have to be able to present the music as it is to the audience. Just very honestly, very directly.’  

He admitted he was exhausted after the performance. His time in Warsaw is spent on ‘sleeping, eating and practicing.’ His interests outside of music include reading and chess.

Kevin Chen, of Canada, whose Stage 1 performance drew praise from many commentators and listeners alike said he was focused on music and not following opinions or reviews. ‘I am happy I have the opportunity of being here and I’m trying not to have too high expectations,’ he said after his afternoon performance. In his opinion, the hardest thing about playing Chopin is to express the emotions that the composer has written into this music.

Monika Ścisłowska-Sakowicz