BANANACUE
REPUBLIC
Vol II, No. 17
July, 2005
by Leoncio Olobia
Music and Competition
In Van Cliburn Piano Competitions, they are well-documented from the conception stage all the way to the finale where 6 finalists from all over the world perform a series of colossal masterpieces in the piano literature. Called Piano Concerti, these masterpieces are performed with a full orchestra under a well-renowned conductor.
In this documentary film, the saga begins with over 2500 pianists from all over the world vying for the top 35 slots who, if chosen, are narrowed down to ten after a series of rigorous recitals comprising serious, extremely difficult repertoire not played by ordinary pianists. In other words, you have to be an extraordinary pianist to be in the top ten.
Naturally as a pianist, my reaction is to dwell into the intricacies of the competition such as rehearsals with conductors and their own personal time where each measure for instance can be practiced for over 2 hours just to get the exact interpretation. The movie further accentuates different levels of showmanship and attitudes of musicians with the music and life in general. In one interview with a competitor, she emphasizes the need for emotional depth when interpreting Chopin pieces. Chopin was a romantic composer whose music glorified the personal in us. While others devoted the art of mastery, he went beyond technique by dwelling into the depths of individual emotions. Therefore his music is rich in tonality that cannot just be articulated by any pianist. You can have technique but musicality is another issue when it comes to performance. I played his Ballade in G Minor in my youth, a poetic display of musical textures that is featured in the movie ‘The Pianist’ in the scene where the German guard listens to Vladimir play the piano, but my performance lacked some passionate elements being such a young age when I played it. Listening to this girl expound on the music crystallized my thoughts and emotions. It made me want to play the music again this time paying attention to different levels of passion. And so I went back to my file of music. There I saw the old, dusty page complete with my teacher’s remarks and everything. Only then I realized I had been told so many times to evoke singing tones, play with great emotion and she was demonstrating some techniques to accentuate them all. Now that I am more mature, it might be a different performance if I attempt to perform this piece again.
The individual interviews are juxtaposed with scenes about the jury explaining the rules of the game. Because they are the judge, they cannot simply delegate someone who is there as a circus act. One judge explains that the winner must be able to send a message that the jury cannot just ignore. In a world of piano music, it seems an impossible task to be different from everyone else, the reason being that classical music even with it’s difficult nature tends to be almost uniform with other interpretations because all the instructions are written down. The challenge therefore rests on the judges’ ears. How are they going to individualize the music becomes a daunting task.
Apart from all these talks about music, the movie explains the life of these young pianists outside the piano. Well, life outside the piano could be a secondary venture for them after devoting 10 to 12 hours of pressing the keys. There is one family in Australia that trains and eventually adopts talented musicians and bring them all to his house. In the interview, he proudly states he has 8 pianists in their midst so he calls his house a ‘Mad Piano House’.
Van Cliburn is one of the world’s renowned pianists, a gold medalist in the Tschaikovsky International Competition where winners normally come from Russia, the center of great piano schools in the world.
Having said all these, how, as artists, can we help ourselves realize our goals as performers? Do we need competitions to make us true individuals? I strongly believe that piano competitions are a rare form of entertainment because it can make or break you. It could be a career-uplifting factor or simply destroy everything because the preparation is very rigorous. It’s like being detached from them simple things in life as you try to achieve mastery with the music. You can get lost in the real world if you let yourself float in the magical ride. This attitude could be a result of my own inhibitions because I am constantly surrounded by difficult challenges in life outside music.
To me, subjecting myself to pure music is like a cult that tends to dwell on inside elements. It is oftentimes hard to relate to the outside world and for that, reward may not be grandiose. My challenge would be to look deeper into the meaning of each sound and forget about the outside world for it is me, my own self who defines my music. No amount of competition can explain if I am doing right or wrong.
Posted 07/22/05. Send your comment to
bananacue_republic@yahoo.com
"...how, as artists, can we help
ourselves realize our goals as performers? Do we need competitions to make
us true individuals? I strongly believe that piano competitions are a rare
form of entertainment because it can make or break you."