“Chopin-like performance” by the chairman of the Chopin Competition Judging Committee ~The pianist plays the role of the composer they are playing and becomes like that person.
音楽コンクールの最高峰である「ショパン国際ピアノコンクール」。今回は、2021年に延期された第18回ショパン国際ピアノコンクールを楽しむために、ショパンとコンクールについて理解を深めていきます。まずは、第17回、第18回ショパン国際ピアノコンクールの審査委員長であるポポヴァ＝ズィドロン女史にインタビューしました。まず、"ショパンらしい演奏とは何か？"をお聞きしました。そして、"次のコンクールでは、どのようなピアニストを求めていますか？"と質問しました。(English) The Chopin International Piano Competition is the pinnacle of music competitions. This time, we will deepen your understanding of Chopin and the competition so that you can enjoy the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition, postponed to 2021. First, we interviewed Mrs Popova-Zidron, the President of the Jury of the 17th and 18th Chopin International Piano Competitions. First, we asked, "What is a Chopin-like performance?" Then we asked, "What kind of pianist are you looking for in your next competition?"
Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń - "Chopin-like performance" by the Chopin Competition Judging Committee chairman ~ The pianist plays the role of the composer they are playing and becomes like that person.
A)
1)
Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń was the President of the Jury of the 2021 Chopin International Piano Competition, continuing from 2015. She is a pianist who trained Rafał Blechacz, who became the first Polish winner in 30 years at the 2005 Chopin Competition.
Incidentally, Andrzej Jasiński, who trained the previous Polish winner (in 1975), Krystian Zimerman, was chairman of the jury until 2010.
2)
Zydroń was born in Bulgaria. After studying in Gdansk and Poznan, Poland, she graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
What is Chopin-like music? We listened carefully during the interview.
3)
What must you do to find your music and develop your personality?
- At a press conference on the postponement of the competition, she said: "It may be difficult to get lessons in this situation, but sometimes musicians need solitude to make their music".
4)
These days, young people are inundated with a lot of information on the Internet, in addition to the words of their teachers. And how do you resist the temptation to "imitate" a good performance and find your music?
Popowa-Zydroń: It is impossible to separate your music from all influences. Music education is based on familiarity with the musical language. So the first teacher, as an influencer, will explain the meaning of music to the students.
5)
Young performers generally accept easier access to performances by great musicians. So there will be a great temptation to get things done quickly. Instead of exploring the composer's life and work more fully, they will use existing interpretations. We tend to think of shortcuts to success.
6)
This desperate desire for short-term acclaim makes many young performers average, predictable and standard. Their performances are impersonal, neither memorable nor emotional. I call this "second-hand interpretation".
Artists who are truly sensitive and interested in music avoid listening to other people's recordings and look for inspiration in the composers' writings and the emotional and mental reactions that emanate from them.
B)
7)
-I think the balance between following the score, academic knowledge, individuality, and emotion is essential in performing any composer. What should we pay attention to to achieve this balance?
Popowa-Zydroń: There is no contradiction between academic knowledge and personality. Having enough information is essential for a professional pianist.
8)
On the one hand, personality is something that everyone has. Attractive, sensitive, imaginative, bland and boring, and so on.
Some personality is innate. Life experiences allow everyone to develop their individuality. But you can set it further by absorbing the experiences of other great artists, reading books, visiting museums and watching good films.
9)
Many young people are preoccupied with playing "perfectly". We forget that this is only a physical element of art. I don't have time for the mental part. That's why they try to imitate other recordings.
10)
The important thing is to know Chopin and to become Chopin.
-Mr Blechacz, who won in 2005, made me feel that "this must be a real Chopin performance". But I find it difficult to explain in words what it is.
On the other hand, at every competition, I hear comments like "He may be a good pianist, but he's not like Chopin", especially from Polish pianists and critics. But, in fact, what is a Chopin-like performance that understands Chopin's intentions?
11)
Popowa-Zydroń: "What is a performance like Chopin?" also asks, "What kind of person was Chopin?"
Chopin's appearance, his behaviour, his health, and what kind of art did he accept or reject? You can also get much information, for example, about your feelings in Poland and France. Letters and memories of friends and acquaintances are evidence of this legacy.
12)
Chopin was delicate, elegant, reserved and aloof. However, he was open, sincere and cheerful in his circle of friends. His inner life was full of ups and downs, and he missed his homeland.
Even with his adoring fans, he often felt alone. He also disliked boasting, excessive exaggeration, or simple demonstrations. But he was warm to his loved ones.
13)
He is a complicated person. He is not ordinary or easy to understand. Yet he valued simplicity as the highest form of artistic expression.
14)
The best way to play Chopin is to be Chopin for a short time. Rafal [Blechacz] had many of these qualities in his character. So he and I worked on putting them into music.
C)
15)
-The Mazurka is one of the essential pieces for the competition. What is the difficulty in understanding mazurkas, which are strongly associated with Polish sensibilities? What do you need for people from different cultures to understand your work?
Popowa-Zydroń: The mazurka is a real touchstone for the performer. It has elegance, friendliness and Polish national temperament. But, at the same time, it has a sense of ambiguity, modesty, a sense of escape, a longing that touches the heart, and sometimes a solid resistance to fate.
The test is whether the performer has fully incorporated these. In other words, it shows whether the pianist is 'Chopin' to the right degree.
16)
From the mazurka, finding out the truth or the mask is straightforward. However, to get closer to the truth, you need to know the history of Poland. In Chopin's time, the country was wiped off the map, leaving only culture as a refuge for Polishness.
17)
Chopin's mazurkas are the quintessence of Polishness. It is a living energy, a singing melody. Especially in the later works, the narrative phrases are often interrupted to create expressions that imitate dramatic recitatives. This is the perfect way to express a certain feeling: "Chopin, the Poles''.
D)
18)
We must receive Chopin's music, which speaks directly to our hearts.
--What should we pay attention to as listeners to find Chopin-like music? Sometimes I'm attracted to fast and stunning performances and performances that are somehow comfortable or moving. But what should you look for to find the real thing?
19)
Popowa-Zydroń: I think different types of people listen to music: those who have had a musical education, those who haven't, those who are real music lovers, and those who happen to listen to music.
I think Chopin's popularity is because his music expresses universal human emotions. It includes longing, joy, kindness, love, impossibility, disagreement, reflection and meditation.
These perfect harmonies, melodies and dramatic narratives adorn Chopin's music. Therefore, extraordinary virtuosity is not essential in his music.
Chopin's music speaks directly to the heart, so everyone receives what they can. Therefore, no special preparation is necessary.
21)
-Could you recommend any Chopin recordings, or if there are any that you like?
Popowa-Zydroń: I cannot choose a particular Chopin recording. There are also classical performances by Artur Rubinstein, Dinu Lipatti and Alfred Cortot.
Alternatively, there are many interpretations by young and exciting artists. Of course, some are winners of Chopin competitions, but they are not limited to that.
22)
We are looking for a pianist who respects Chopin.
-What kind of pianist are you looking for for the next Chopin Competition?
Popowa-Zydroń: It is difficult to say what kind of pianist I seek.
23)
But first of all, a pianist does not put himself in front of Chopin. A pianist does not change the music for himself without serving the composer.
Beautiful sound, transparent textures and narrative sincerity are essential to Chopin's performance. But there's something I look for most in interpretation. It's commitment, integrity, freshness, genuine emotion and charisma.
E)
24)
-What does Chopin mean to you?
Popowa-Zydroń: Chopin has been in my life since I was a child. I came to Poland to study piano, and his works became essential to my repertoire. After that, his works captured my heart more and more, and they still do.
25)
I participated in the 1975 Chopin Competition, preparing students for the competition, helping to programme the competition and serving on the jury. And with his nomination as President of the Jury in 2015 and 2021, Chopin has become a central figure in my life.
It is a great honour and responsibility. I only wish to live up to this honour as best I can, which requires special preparation.
Add info)
Japanese pianists
1)
Sorita is an excellent pianist who won the 2nd prize at the 18th Chopin Competition.
Largo (18th Chopin Competition) "God saves Poland."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFyJAhkaj-o
18th Chopin Competition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bMF5wS7Mr4
https://ebravo.jp/special/featured/chopin18/streaming
2)
Nobuyuki Tsujii is a blind pianist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGX3temma5Q
A Pianist's Composition Rounds Off Debut Recital
3)
YOSHIKI can play the piano and drum and is a famous composer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewMxc_Yoea4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ArAnXLbFck
YOSHIKI holds a performance at Carnegie Hall, becoming the first Asian to conquer the US 2 Hall of Fame
https://www.billboard-japan.com/d_news/detail/46342/2
Katarina Popova-Zidron - "Chopin-like performance" by the chairman of the Chopin Competition Judging Committee ~ Become a composer yourself
https://ontomo-mag.com/article/interview/chopin-piano-competition01/
Add info -2)
Evgeny Kissin performs Bach, Mozart, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUb3D2do5bY
Wiener Musikverein (Vienna, Austria)
Evgeny Kissin has spent most of his life in the public eye, living one of classical music's most inspiring success stories as a preternaturally gifted child prodigy who has more than lived up to his promise. With a technique as breathtaking as ever and an artistic sensibility that has only grown more refined over the years, Kissin continues to sell out venues worldwide to music lovers who know that every Kissin performance is a capital Event. Here at the storied Musikverein in Vienna, the virtuoso performs an era-spanning program beginning with Bach's ingenious Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, continuing with Mozart's sparkling Sonata in D and one of Chopin's stormiest Polonaises, and finishing with a selection of masterpieces by Rachmaninov, the great Russian Romantic whose music Kissin feels in his soul.
Program
00:35 Johann Sebastian Bach, Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 903
Fantasia
Fuga
12:52 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Sonata No. 9 in D Major, K. 311
1. Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Allegro assai
33:40 Frederic Chopin, Polonaise in F sharp Minor, Op. 44
48:25 Sergei Rachmaninov, 12 Romances, Op. 21
5. Lilacs (Allegretto)
51:05 Sergei Rachmaninov, Preludes, Op. 32
No. 8 in A Minor, Vivo
52:47 Sergei Rachmaninov, Preludes, Op. 23
No. 10 in G-flat major: Largo
56:25 Sergei Rachmaninov, Études-tableaux, Op. 39
No. 1 in C minor: Allegro agitato
No. 2 in A minor: Lento assai
No. 4 in B Minor: Allegro assai
No. 5 in E Flat minor: Appassionato
No. 9 in D Major: Allegro moderato
1:23:00 Sergei Rachmaninov, Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3
No. 3: Melody in E major
No. 5: Serenade in B-flat minor
No. 2: Prelude in C-sharp minor