Just came back from competing in the Boston International Piano Competition (for non-professional musicians), organized by Boston Piano Amateurs Association.
I was awarded 2nd prize:
| 1st prize | Vincent Schmithorst |
| 2nd prize (tie) | Ricker Choi,…….Abel Sanchez-Aguilera |
| 3rd prize | no award |
2009 Competition Finalists
back row: Noriko Sugiyama, Chung Lee, Vincent Schmithorst, me
front row: Abel Sanchez-Aguilera, Joan Zarry
.
There were 50 competitors, some from as far as Germany, Paris, and Japan. I went to Boston with four other amateur pianist friends from Toronto.
.
See picture above for the five of us from Toronto: (from left to right) Sue Hammond, me, Kathleen Penny, Joseph Wearing, and Joan Zarry (who won 6th prize – congrats to her!!!)
.
My repertoire
Round 1: Mephisto Waltz No. 1
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Round 2: Scriabin: Sonata #5
.
Round 3:
Beethoven: Bagatelle Op 126. No .3
Chopin: Ballade #4
Ravel: La Valse
.
.
Arriving the B&B
.
I stayed at a Bed and Breakfast about 30 min walk away from the competition venue. Three other competitors stayed in the same B&B, one of whom I had an interesting encounter deep into late night.
Before I flew to Boston, the B&B lady called me in Toronto:
“O Ricker. A slight change. The room I promised you is still under renovation. But I have prepared you a special room. It is a beautiful room where it had originally been a dining room. It has a big table for you to work. I am sure you will love it.”
When I arrived, it was late night. And this is the special room the lady has kindly prepared for me:
A beautiful dining room indeed…with a BIG table taking up most space in the room. But where is the bed? O here it is, on my right on the floor:
There is a kitchen immediately next to the dining room. Wow so easy access to water and drinks. How convenient.
.
2:00 am… in total darkness … I heard the door knob is being turned.
[Ricker]: yes, who is it?
……… more sound ………
The door opens, and in walk a dark shadow. Looks like that of a………..
.
[Ricker]: hi, is this Peter [fake name to protect the identity]?
[Peter]: O I am sorry. So sorry.
[Ricker]: is this Peter? It is Ricker, remember me from Washington competition last year?
[Peter]: O yes. I am so sorry. I just need to pass to the kitchen to the fridge. I didn’t expect someone actually sleeps here.
[Ricker]: Yea me neither.
[Peter]: I was promised access to kitchen’s fridge anytime at night, but I never knew someone will sleep here.
[Ricker]: Well if you need access to kitchen, why not we switch room?
[Peter]: Well no. This place is not a proper room! I suggest you to talk to the B&B lady.
[Ricker]: Well have a good night.
Fortunately the next day I was able to move to a vacant room. But to be fair, the B&B was AMAZING. It is located in a beautiful and quiet area. The B&B lady is so nice, and the breakfast is SO GOOD! I do highly recommend to everyone!
.
Trying the Piano
Before I played 1st round, I had time to try out the piano. Wow a 9-foot Yamaha!!! It makes such HUGE full rich sound. When I tried a loud chord required for Liszt Mephisto Waltz (1st round), it sounds more like LOOUUUDDD. Because my ears are quite sensitive to loud sound, I felt totally overwhelmed. I stayed around listening to other competitors trying the piano, walking around the concert hall, and then realize that the piano sounds perfect from audience’s perspective. When others perform their 1st round, I even went up to the balcony far back in the concert hall where the jury group was sitting, and it sounds SO beautiful! The sound is pure like silk.
This give me confidence that I should not get disoriented by the volume on stage, and not to be afraid to project and play fully and richly.
.
1st Round – Liszt: Mephisto Waltz #1
WOW. Those deafening chords are SO BIG. I constantly second guess myself through the piece if I am producing harsh sound, as I am so unused to such torrents. Imagine standing in front of a whole orchestra … this may be what the conductor hears?! Luckily I went through it without too many accidents.
At the end, I kept cornering audience to ask if the sound is too loud, or if they hear anything harsh. Luckily nobody complain about that. For second round, based on the experience of 1st round, I decide to take two risks. First is I am going to push the piano further to make an even bigger sound. But based on 1st round, I know I will get disoriented. So I decide to take a second risk: use ear plugs!!
Ok I know this is weird and crazy. But before I talk about ear plugs, let me explain why I drag my suit case around – as many people asked me this question while I was there in Boston.
.
My Suitcase
If you know what is in my suitcase, probably it may not be as strange as to why I drag it around all the time. In the suitcase are:
· My suit, shirt, tie – in case I mess my suit up, I only change right before my performance
· Food (lots of them) – in case I get hungry
· Medicine – in case I have sore throat, fever, running nose, sneezing from allergy, diarrhea, getting nauseous from nervousness, …….
· Scarf, gloves, jacket: in case the air conditioning is cold
· Umbrella: well … I walk daily for 20-30 mins, in case it rains
· Music score… in case I forget my notes
· Ipod… in case I get nervous and need some music to calm me down.
Ok I will stop here… is it not way easier to drag along a heavy case with wheels than carry a heavy bag, no?
.
Ear Plugs?
Ok back to ear plugs. The ear plugs I use are not for blocking out crying babies on airplane. Instead they are specially made for musicians (such as drummer). Each ear plug has two pieces:
a) the mould that fit my ear and is specially made based on shape of my ear canal; and
b) the sound-reduction piece to block out a fixed number of decibels.
The sound-reduction piece is replaceable depends on how much sound reduction I want. I originally got these because my left ear has sensitivity to loud sound – in parties, sitting to close to stage in an orchestral concert, or hearing the screaming screech while waiting for Toronto’s Street Car in Union Station.
I know with the powerful instrument we have in this competition, when I get to Scriabin’s Sonata #5 and Ravel’s La Valse, I will get overwhelmed and no longer able to distinguish various level of sound. I will also lose sense of touch (i.e. not able to feel of my finger’s pressure on the keys) because my hearing is too overwhelmed. So I decided to use these special ear plugs when I performed Scriabin Sonata #5.
.
2nd Round: Scriabin Sonata #5
The ear plugs works magically. I now hear the sound as how I would have imagined it to sound. The ear plugs smooth out the initial attacks of the keys such that I hear a silky smooth sound from the instrument, similar to how I heard it when I was up in the balcony where the jury sat. When I played the climatic moments, the huge sound was full and rich, but I no longer felt overwhelmed. I can feel my finger pressure on the key clearly.
I felt so good at the end … but … when I bowed, I heard …nothing! No applause!! My heart sank. I MUST HAVE SCREWED UP!!!
I walked out the stage, depressed totally. But then, it seems strange… “mnm… why is it so quiet?” O darn! I still have my ear plugs on!”
.
Flinging Arm
People seem to get hooked on my flinging arms while I play. I had been asked quite a few times. I realize then it gives an impression that I am ‘showing off’, which is so not what I meant. When I play passages that require large sound, or that require a gush of energy flow, I had to totally relax my hand and arm. I just let the energy flow through my body and let it swing by chance. I never really plan these arm-flinging movements. BUT I now realize that it gives a Lang-Lang-ish ‘show-off” impression.
But I do question this: isn’t music is to be heard, not to be seen?
Look at below few clips:
Artur Rubinstein in De Falla’s “Ritual Fire Dance”
See Rubenstein’s arms at opening and especially at 48”- it is so inefficient to play with such high arm hitting the piano keys like that. BUT he did it because that is how he felt the music should be approached physically – as if he is playing African drum perhaps. He could have left his hand close to key at all times, but then it is no longer the music that he feels.
See also Keith Jarrett’s improvisation on Over the Rainbow:
Is it necessary to have those exaggerated bodily gestures and facial expressions? I would say YES … IF that is the only way for him to create such beautiful music. If you are bothered by this, close your eyes and listen. Music is to be heard, not watched! Listen to the delicate harmonic changes - they are so beautiful!!!
Or look at Glenn Gould – is he pretentious?
No! He NEEDS to move his body to feel the flow of music to convey them in sound. He needs his other hand as conductor for himself!
However, I know not everyone agrees with me, and if my arm-flinging is giving the wrong impression that I am egoistic and ’show off’, I will definitely work on decreasing it!
Actually one jury member said that I should rethink why I play music: is it to show off, or to learn about life? Alright, I guess I REALLY should fix my arm-flinging then, or else even the jury will think I want to show off.
.
3rd Round
Beethoven Bagatelle Op 126 No 3
Playing or listening to this Beethoven Bagatelle is a spiritual experience. It has a serene calmness which transcends this world. I had my ear plugs on, and when I sat on bench on stage, I remembered Lawrence Pitchko telling me to “sit and hear the silence. Don’t play until the audience themselves also hear the silence.”
I sat there, hearing my breathing, getting slower….. deeper…. And I felt such an inner calm that I never felt before. The ear plugs screen out all the sound from the concert hall, and I can hear only my breathing and the gentle sound from the piano. It was a transcendental experience indeed – my first time ever playing totally in tune with the music, without ego. I felt my quiet body simply listening to the music, reaching ’satori’ (”Enlightened”).
Chopin Ballade #4
The Chopin Ballade #4 was a piece that worries me the most. I worked on it four year ago, and only started again in mid-Feb this year. Originally I was going to 3rdround with Liszt’s Vallee D’Obermann, which to me is musically easier to grasp. I always find Chopin’s music extremely hard to play. But then Vallee D’Obermann is another Liszt’s work (which I did his Mephisto Waltz in 1st round already). Having gotten encouragement from my fellow Toronto amateur pianists, I decided to challenge myself and do Chopin Ballade #4.
I have to thank my Toronto amateur pianist friends (Joe, Sue, Kathleen, Joan, Elena, and many others…), some who also competed in this competition. They’ve heard me play the Ballade numerous times and gave me great criticisms. Also special thanks to Thomas who has offered great coaching sessions to me on this piece! When I practised this work in the morning of 3rd round, a fellow competitor, Wayne Lung, came to listen me. He refreshed my mind on what to focus on:
Be careful of producing a forced tone in Chopin. When the score writes a crescendo, I don’t necessarily have to do it through volume if it creates a harsh tone. I can alternatively do it by agogics (i.e. by timing)
Bring out the hidden counter melodies
Bring out the waves in the left hand rapid passages
Start the coda by projecting right hand, and DON”T play the initial bass F too loud. Start the coda a bit under-played in volume and think crescendo till the end.
Aim for clarity in coda, and NOT speed
I had often been complained of playing Chopin like Liszt… and I think the pressure of the competition, my Toronto friend’s criticisms, and Wayne’s last minute help has let me realize the lyricism in Chopin finally.
(nevertheless, fellow competitor Neil came and gave me some honest criticism in the washroom during the break - that I rush through some nocturne-like passage after the “fugue”. What a rush to hear that in the midst of…..)
Also I let myself in too much excitement in Chopin Ballade #4, that when the coda arrives, I was quite exhausted. When the coda finished, I was sweating like crazy. I had planned to walk off-stage after Chopin Ballade #4 to give audience (and myself) a short break before the final piece, and I took time to wipe my hands clean.
During the Ballade #4, someone’s cell phone rang LOUDLY. But I didn’t even hear it - perhaps I was too immersed in the music (?), or just that the ear plug blocked out the sound! I only knew this when someone told me afterwards.
.
Ravel La Valse
Dead tired and still have to play the monstrous La Valse – 12.5 min long, knowing I have to make a HUGE orchestral sound that is the maximum which I can get from such a powerful instrument.
La Valse by Ravel originally was an orchestral work. Later it was transcribed for solo piano and duo piano. Ravel juxtaposes the elegance of Viennese waltz against the horrors of World War I. The composer George Benjamin, in his analysis of La Valse, summarized the ethos of the work as follows:
“Whether or not it was intended as a metaphor for the predicament of European civilization in the aftermath of the Great War, its one-movement design plots the birth, decay and destruction of a musical genre: the waltz.” (from Wikipedia)
My interpretation of La Valse is based on Bernstein’s orchestral version. I first heard of this version from my piano teacher Boris Zarankin, who said I must listen to it if I were to play La Valse well. Bernstein really brings out the elegance of Viennese Valse in the first 8 minutes, and then the horrors of humanity at the last 5 min of the piece. Most orchestras play the piece quite fast, and they lack the rhythmic flexibility that Bernstein has.
Weeks before the competition, I was SO lucky to be coached in a masterclass on this piece by a conductor-pianist, John Covelli, who not only conducts La Valse but also performs regularly the solo piano version. John conducted me throughout the piece while I played, and in midst of the piece I had to stop and write down the tiniest details on his rhythmic flow. It was amazing experience!
As the piece reaches the climax, I chose to approach this climatic moment as if the world has come to an end – Armageddon! Apocalyptic!! – the concert hall is on fire, pillars falling down, people are crushed to death… horrors. I have seen on youtube many pianist approach this climatic moment differently – some play the 3 lower notes on the piano as written by Ravel. Some play with a palm and give a bouncy and elegant boom. Another played with a fist and rushes forth.
I chose to interpret the ending section of this piece as a drop of the atomic bomb, and the entire human race is annihilated. As you hear the drop of the bomb, there is a split second of silence then a LOUD BOOM. I really took time at the climatic moment and not to rush forth.
I also imagine I myself entirely engulfed in fire:
This also reminds me of a Taiwanese movie “Secret” in which a teenager is playing passionately on the piano while the building he is in is being demolished. He continues to play while walls are knocked down around him by bulldozers. (yea I know this is ridiculous haha! But this imagery has all the pathos for the ending of La Valse)
Also remember the scene from the movie “Pianist” where Choipin Ballade #1 was hauntingly played?
Ok back to La Valse. At the climatic moment, I played with maximum amount of power, using two fists, even jumped up slightly on the piano to put all my body weight onto my hand, and BOOOOM. Listen to this climatic moment from an earlier recording I made. I want to make it VIOLENT and SCARRRRRYYY! Like a nightmare that you can’t wake up from.
At the end, the applause and bravos was so big even with my ear plugs still on… I knew I connected with the audience totally.
A few audience rushes out while I was leaving back stage. They congratulated me and gave me a big hug. It was so moving! This is first time ever in my life that I felt so connected to the audience, that my musical messages are delivered and received!
I was happy, and I have achieved my goal coming to the competition. I felt a serenity and calmness. Nothing else matters anymore.
.
A Beautiful Lady!
During the break of the final round, a VERY beautiful lady came to me: “Can I have your autography?” O gosh, my heart was beating so fast. I am so nervous around pretty girls.
[Ricker] “O, my autography? Um…. Ok… well I never done this before!”
[Lady] “O you just sign here in the program for me please. And write something addressing to me too. Why not you write [blah blah blah….]
I really couldn’t hear what she wants me to write, as I was too nervous. I never has a signature for signing.. and I have no clue what to write. Worse is that I have the most un-readable hand writing. I ended up writing something like this:
[Thanks for listening to me Ricker Choi]
It was so embarrassing. I kept apologizing… ‘o sorry I just have very bad hand writing’ . but she was so nice… she said “O your writing is beautiful. Thank you so much.”
.
During the Celebration Banquet
After the winners were announced, we went to a beautiful celebration banquet. I ran into the beautiful lady who asked for my autograph earlier. I apologized again, and said I like to do it properly. But she left the program in her car. Next she dragged me out of the dining room into the next room, saying “Can you help me with something?”..
She led me into the room next door. The waiter there gave me a weird glance. He went out… the lady closed the door behind me. Just me and her alone.
—Silence—
I could only hear beatings of my heart, faster…faster……
She sat on a bench,
……I stood facing her,
………… her soft silky hands….
gently…
caress…
.
.
.
……the keys on an upright piano, playing Rachmaninoff’s C#- Preludes’ middle section beautifully.
She asked “How can I project the melody more?”…
.
later Abel the tied-2nd prize winner joined us as well, and we chatted for quite a long while.
Well here is the end of the story. Thanks for reading so many words!! Feel free to write on my “Let’s Talk”!
