Behind the scenes notes. 12th day

Auditions opened on Tuesday with the performance by Yang (Jack) Gao from China. In a post-performance interview, Gao stated that in the mandatory mazurkas of this round, the ‘hard task’ was to find the balance between dance rhythm and a song. To Opus 33 and the also mandatory sonata (he chose the B minor, Op. 58), he added the Impromptu in G-flat major, Op. 51, and the Berceuse, Op. 57. Asked about his hopes for the Competition, Gao modestly replied: ‘it’s already a bonus for me to make it to the 3rd round so I’m very blessed.’

Outstanding by height, Gao is almost two meters (6’7’’) tall, he can reach 15 notes with the fingers of one hand (e.g. from the note C to the next note G.) ‘Sometimes it helps, sometimes it brings a lot of trouble,’ he said. He carries with him a light brown teddy bear mascot that he bought in Warsaw and that he calls Freddie, diminutive of Frederic.

Among the seven contestants playing Tuesday there were also Eric Guo of Canada and David Khirkuli of Georgia.

Guo, referring to his recital, explained that he chose the Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35, because it is a ‘challenging work, with so much drama and emotion. There’s so much life and death in it.’ In his playing, he said, he is driven by the emotions from the heart and is trying to bring everybody into the music and enjoy that time.

Khrikuli, on his part, explained that in his program, he was trying to mix the ‘dark side and the light side of Chopin together.’ ‘I’m never fully satisfied with myself, but I did my best today. And I hope it was enjoyable enough for the audience,’ he added.

He started piano lessons at the age of seven. He was bound to, because he lives above a music school and has been listening to music since childhood. ‘When I was a kid, I used to stop by and keep listening. That was a sign that I had to try it. I started classes just to learn about classical music, but then I got into it and here I am,’ Khrikuli explained.

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The pianos that are being played in stage 3 are Steinway, Kawai and Fazioli.

The Steinway was bought by the National Philharmonic specially for the Competition, while the Fazioli and the Kawai were provided by the makers. The Fazioli piano was customized specially for the Competition at the factory in Sacile, near Venice, and was brought from Italy, according to Luca Fazioli; he is brand and project manager, and the son of Paolo Fazioli, the engineer and pianist who in the 1970s built his first grand piano according to his own needs. The Fazioli brand grew out of that idea.   

Each piano maker also provides technical service of the piano that is available round the clock. It may take hours to work on the piano mechanism to customize the instrument to the concert hall, to the pianist and to the kind of music to be played. Most of this work the technicians do at night. During the day, however, they are also around, in case some tuning is needed in between performances. They also listen to the performances to make sure that the sound and the articulation are as required.

As the final stage is nearing, more music journalists are arriving from around the world to the Philharmonic. With demand growing for one-time passes, the international crowd standing daily in the line has started a list of names, so that the order is maintained and nobody drops out during the long hours of waiting. They are all saying the personal experience is worth the wait.

Monika Ścisłowska-Sakowicz