By Howard Ho
Daily Bruin Reporter
Every four years, a group of individuals dedicated to their art
come together in competition from around the world. No, it’s
not the Olympics, but rather music competitions that have sprung up
in the last 50 years. Now, however, when people think of these
events, cities such as Moscow, Brussels, Berlin and Warsaw will be
placed alongside Pasadena, a Los Angeles suburb that is known for
its Rose Parade, if nothing else.
The First Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition was held
in Pasadena over a span of two weeks, ending Saturday. Featuring
pianists from 15 countries, the competition is by far the most
significant in Los Angeles and is one of the most important in the
United States. Aside from the occasional scandal, the competitions
manage to produce some of the greatest careers in music.
“In terms of the level of commitment and time, the
competitors are really Olympic athletes, no question. You cannot
prepare that level of person every year. No way, it takes too much
work,” said Douglas Yoder, executive vice president of Master
Classes International, the organization that put the competition
together.
Indicative of the prestige of an event such as this, the awards
ceremony gala was attended by Sharon Davis (the first lady of
California), Bill Bogaard (Pasadena’s mayor), Mark Swed (a
leading critic of the Los Angeles Times), governmental dignitaries
from Russia and Japan, and even a few celebrities such as Mira
Sorvino and Michael York. Blinding lights blazed from the balcony
as the event was being recorded for future DVD release under the
new independent label Pipeline Music. Alexandre Rachmaninoff,
composer/pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff’s grandson, though not
present, vocally supported the competition from the beginning and
even donated the $30,000 grand prize.
In addition, the jury panel, who decides the winners, reads like
a who’s who of piano performers and educators. Many have
played for American presidents, performed in Carnegie Hall, and won
past competitions. Pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy’s one-week
stint on the competition jury panel, though short, provided
prestige for the new event. In fact, Ashkenazy, a prolific
recording artist as well, often faced lines of people waiting to
get his signature on CDs and programs.
“I didn’t even play,” Ashkenazy joked.
The winners, who actually did play on Kawai’s Shigeru
grand piano, were gold medalist Evgueni Mikhailov of Russia and
silver medalist Mizuka Kano of Japan. They performed Rachmaninoff
pieces along with the imported Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony
Orchestra. It was a night dedicated to Rachmaninoff’s music,
which became somewhat revived after its use in the film
“Shine.” Rachmaninoff himself was a Russian
émigré to Los Angeles (he died in Beverly Hills in 1943),
making the competition’s presence in Pasadena
appropriate.
Like the Olympics, scandals often threaten the validity of such
competitions. “The figure skating scandal, in comparison to
what can happen at piano competitions, I give that a three or a
four. There’s all kinds of horsetrading going on.
There’s a history of this at piano competitions that makes
this skating thing look really small,” Yoder said.
The famous example is the 1980 Chopin competition, where Martha
Argerich stormed off the jury panel when pianist Ivo Pogorelich
failed to advance. A scandal seemed to be in the making on Friday
when the winners were announced. Kano made many audible mistakes,
yet beat out audience favorite Ning An of the United States.
“There are a lot of competition judges who judge on the
basis of mistakes made by the pianists. That’s very easy to
do. It’s also not a high level of judging. If you have very
good musicians who are themselves performers, they know that, when
you’re making real music in a way that reaches out and grabs
people, it’s very difficult to combine that with performances
that are perfect,” Yoder explains.
As Italian competitor Alessio Cioni said, “Pianists are
not machines.”
Cioni himself was stripped of his finalist standing when his
performance was deemed unprofessional and unprepared. While being a
favorite in the solo recital performances, he floundered in the
concerto performances, which he says were his first time ever
playing with an orchestra.
“There’s not much rehearsal time so you have to be
really prepared for any event. If the conductor decides to slow up
a little bit you have to be ready. Cioni just didn’t know the
piece he played,” said Earl Wild, a juror who has played for
six consecutive American presidents and has taught at Juilliard and
Eastman among other music schools.
Because of Rachmaninoff’s Russian heritage and the fact
that Russia has perhaps the greatest piano tradition in the world
today, the competition serves not simply as a classical “Star
Search,” but also as an ambassadorial event for the new
relationship between Russia and the United States.
“I am happy to say that we have a very positive experience
producing this competition. This means that we can speak right now
of much more involvement of the Russian side in its future,”
said a representative from Russia’s Ministry of Culture via
translator.
Indeed, while classical music ticket sales are dwindling, music
competitions are becoming more necessary to create concert careers
for new pianists, who, as part of their awards, receive recital
invitations to places such as Carnegie Hall and Moscow’s
Tchaikovsky Conservatory. While some competitions have produced
musicians such as Van Cliburn and Ashkenazy, some winners are
merely forgotten. The world will have to wait and see if Mikhailov
and Kano will flower.