Betind the scenes notes. 9th day

The third day of Stage II auditions began with performances by three pianists from China which were all on top technical level and were executed with much force at times and in impressively fast tempos. Later on Saturday we heard pianists from Italy, France, Japan, Malaysia, Poland and one pianist under neutral flag.    

The multi-national audience that includes the music critics and Chopin fans from countries like China, Japan, South Korea, the U.S.A. and many Poles, listened with much attention and gave huge applause after the performances.

A member of the audience, Paulina Machnik, who secured some tickets a year ago, was very happy to be attending the auditions and described the performances as top-level concerts, each with a unique character.

Philipp Lynov’s voice was still shaking from stage fright as he was telling reporters that he had invested all his emotions into the recital. ‘Overall, the (Competition) experience is quite overwhelming,’ he admitted. Among the pieces he played was Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise brillante in E flat major, Opus 22. ‘It’s not a very popular piece by Chopin, but it’s one of the best examples of his young brilliant style and I thought it would be a nice combination with other pieces which represent different periods of his music,’ Lynov said. In his free time at home, he goes to the gym and does some weightlifting to deal with stress but also likes reading or watching the movies.

The performances would not be possible without the support of the stage technicians. They bring the day’s pianos to the stage, arrange them in a way easy to exchange them between the performances, and take the other ones to the storage under the stage, using a trap mechanism.     

‘It’s Chopin Competition and we are spending whole days, sometimes also whole nights here, making the pianos look good and stand where they should stand, and also making sure that each pianist has his or hers preferred stool,’ said Michał Drewnik. (For example, Xiaoxuan Li of China used a stool that had a back support.)

‘We clean the pianos, the keyboards, to make them look good to the audience here and on TV,’ he added.

Drewnik sees the job as service and a contribution to the music performances and one that can only be learned through experience.

What it requires is ‘a bit of strength and precision, when you are moving them, because the pianos are very heavy – about the weight of a small car, and very costly – about the price of a very expensive car,’ he told with a laugh.

For the time of the Competition a stage technician needs a ‘backpack of food and loads of patience’ in meeting the artists’ needs. It can happen, especially when the technicians are very busy, that a pianist comes and asks for a stool that’s actually tucked away somewhere in the farthest corner on the storage room. And he needs it now, because the performance is due to begin in just a few minutes.   

Myself, I witnessed a very delightful scene at the Philharmonic some years ago. The stage was ready for the pianist to appear, but instead, a stage technician approached the piano and did some quick, last-minute fixing. Amused, the audience started applauding. In response, the man took a deep bow, like a true artist, and then left the stage to the pianist. 

Monika Ścisłowska-Sakowicz