The 6th Bosendorfer US-ASU International Piano Competition is a Winner

Arizona State University. Tempe, Arizona. January 6-13, 2013. I was fortunate to be in Arizona at the same time that this bi-annual piano competition was taking place, but I wasn't expecting much. There are more piano competitions around the world these days than anyone can keep track of, and the Bosendorfer ASU competition is a third-level event, below the star spectacles of the Van Cliburn, Tchaikovsky and Chopin competitions, and such second level ones as the Leeds, Queen Elizabeth, Artur Rubinstein, London, among others. Yet, this year's Bosendorfer competition attracted some of the best young pianists I've ever heard, pianists who would be strong competitors at any top competition any place in the world. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if at least some of them showed up in this year's Van Cliburn. 

Naturally, I was curious why so many top pianists would come to this middle level competition in far away Arizona. best noted for its love of guns and dislike of immigrants. I also was puzzled why so few American pianists were competing. So, I asked around, and learned that most likely there were three reasons for the strong field. First, the jury was excellent, the most famous member being the renowned and legendary Martha Argerich, who may have been enticed on to the jury because one of her daughters lives in Arizona. Second, the prize money of $50,000 was substantial. Finally, although the competitors were from around the world, most of them were already in the US, either living here or studying, so the flight to Phoenix was not particularly expensive or daunting. As for why so few of the competitors were Americans, there doesn't seem to be any reason for this, and, as it turned out, two of the three finalists were Americans.

During my long life of attending piano performances, I've heard most of the world's renowned pianists, but Martha Argerich, who populates any list of piano superstars, is not one of them, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it is because she's never concertized very much, and is as famous for her history of canceling appearances, usually at the last minute, as she is for her artistry, so lack of opportunity may be a reason. When it comes to buying CDs, I've selected artists whom I know or have seen, and I always found some equally great recording to purchase other than Argerich's. At any rate, I was excited to add Martha Argerich to my list of "Pianists I Have Heard." 

Martha Argerich (left) with 2nd place winner Korean pianist Jaekyoung Yoo (right)

On January 6, 2013, at Katzin Concert Hall on the ASU campus, in what was called a gala recital, Argerich and Sergei Babayan, played both of Rachmaninoff's suites for two pianos, and a Mozart sonata for four hands. Although Babyan performed several Rachmaninoff works alone, Argerich played only with Babyan, thus depriving the audience of an opportunity to hear the Argerich legend in solo performance. Both suites were competently performed, but it was clear to me that Babayan and Argerich had not played together much, and the performance suffered because of it. I much prefer listening to my CD of the two Rachmaninoff suites, by Vladimir Ashkenazy and Andre Previn, and I can't say that Argerich and Babayan equaled the CD I have and love. Babayan, a recent Tchaikovsky and Arthur Rubinstein first prize winner, played three short Rachmaninoff works, two of them being Volodos transcriptions, without disclosing any characteristics that must have lead to his prestigious competition wins.

Katzin Concert Hall

I returned to the Katzin Concert Hall on January 8, to hear four of the 28 competitors in the preliminary round, each playing a program of about 25 minutes. I heard pianists from Russia, Georgia and Korea, and while it was clear that not all of them would survive this first round, the level of performance was astonishingly high, which encouraged me to attend the semi-finals the next day.

The semi-final round on January 11, was for the eight pianists who weren't eliminated in the preliminary round, and of these, I heard five perform programs of about 45 minutes each. Because I did not hear all of the semi-finalists, it was not possible for me to form any opinion about who would make it into the final round, but the performance of the Korean pianist Jaekyoung Yoo was so outstanding, that I couldn't imagine that she would be eliminated. She wasn't. 

A word about the audience. I spent two hours on Tuesday and five and a half hours on Thursday listening to nine pianists. It was not surprising that most of the audience, like me, was quite old and retired, and inasmuch as I kept seeing the same faces, it is obvious that all of us were piano lovers. I would say that there was a core audience of 40-60 in attendance, with competitors themselves and music students (the Katzin Concert Hall is in the ASU music school) cycling in and out of the hall. There was no admission charge, and that could very well have been a motivation for many retirees to attend, as well as the fact that you could come and go as you wished.

When the three finalists were announced, it was fortuitous that I had heard two of them in the preliminary rounds (one of them twice), and I was not surprised with the judges' selection. I was particularly impressed with American pianist Eric Zuber, whom I had heard at the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in NYC in July In the semifinal round at this Bosendorfer competition, Zuber shined in his performance of Beethoven's opus 111, and especially during his beautiful interpretations of four Rachmaninoff preludes. 

3rd prize winner Lindsay Garritson

The final round of the competition was played at Symphony Hall in Phoenix with the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. I was pleasantly shocked that the house (2,387 seats) was completely sold out. The finalists were Eric Zuber (age 27; US), Jaekyoung Yoo (age 29:Korea), and Lindsay Garritson (age 25; US). Yoo's playing of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 2 was flawless. At the close, all I could think of was: "She's got this piece down pat." Garritson performed Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1, also with proficiency and virtuosity, but even with typical Rachmaninoff riffs, it is such a slight work, that it couldn't do much to advance a competitor. I don't know why Garritson selected this concerto; perhaps she didn't want to perform the overplayed 2^nd and 3^rd concerti.

First Prize winner Eric Zuber

Eric Zuber's performance of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 was my choice for competition winner. He played with maturity and a conception of the meaning he found in the music. He gave the impression that the last thing on his mind was winning a contest, or with showing anyone anything. Rather, he set out to make beautiful music, with spontaneity and without motive. The judges agreed and awarded Zuber the first prize. I think they got it right.