A very lisztenable Liszt recital!

Dan Koren

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Oct 1, 2022, 7:47:48 AM10/1/22

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTzJwnFzkN4

Fresh from the 2022 Utrecht Liszt competition.
Henk, do you follow this competition?

dk

HT

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Oct 1, 2022, 8:54:08 AM10/1/22

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Op zaterdag 1 oktober 2022 om 13:47:48 UTC+2 schreef dan....@gmail.com:

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTzJwnFzkN4
>
> Fresh from the 2022 Utrecht Liszt competition.
> Henk, do you follow this competition?

From a distance. The quality of the candidates isn't very high. Probably because they aren't allowed to play the repertoire they learned at school. I stopped following it live.

This year's Schubert/Liszt program made me follow the competition more closely online. Except for the Wanderer, in whatever version, even mediocre interpretations are easy to listen to.

Kuroki is far from mediocre. She has a beautiful tone and knows how to play a melody, even on a Fazioli. From the commentators I got the impression that the banger Derek Wang would be the winner, but they were wrong. Even the jury must have been better than in other years.

Henk

Dan Koren

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Oct 1, 2022, 9:05:11 AM10/1/22

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On Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 5:54:08 AM UTC-7, hvt...@xs4all.nl wrote:
> Op zaterdag 1 oktober 2022 om 13:47:48 UTC+2 schreef dan....@gmail.com:
> > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTzJwnFzkN4
> >
> > Fresh from the 2022 Utrecht Liszt competition.
> > Henk, do you follow this competition?
>
> From a distance. The quality of the candidates isn't
> very high. Probably because they aren't allowed to
> play the repertoire they learned at school. I stopped
> following it live.

Watching YT is more convenient.

> This year's Schubert/Liszt program made me follow
> the competition more closely online. Except for the
< Wanderer, in whatever version, even mediocre
> interpretations are easy to listen to.

The orchestrated Wanderer is a really bad idea.

> Kuroki is far from mediocre. She has a beautiful tone
> and knows how to play a melody, even on a Fazioli.

Kuroki is very good. Is there any reason you dislike
Faziolis?

> From the commentators I got the impression that
> the banger Derek Wang would be the winner, but
> they were wrong. Even the jury must have been
> better than in other years.

Apparently.

dk

Dan Koren

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Oct 1, 2022, 9:06:30 AM10/1/22

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Curiously, the prize winners are exactly CKJ.

dk

HT

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Oct 1, 2022, 10:12:09 AM10/1/22

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> Kuroki is very good. Is there any reason you dislike
> Faziolis?

The metallic sound of the piano, in the high notes, makes it difficult to play a melody naturally. Not all Faziolis sound as metallic as the one in Utrecht.

Henk

barny02

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Oct 1, 2022, 11:52:28 AM10/1/22

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Wow, what a talent. She got everything to challenge 'Gucci' Wang, but not with this outfit.

Dan Koren

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Oct 1, 2022, 7:53:08 PM10/1/22

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On Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 8:52:28 AM UTC-7, barn...@yahoo.com wrote:
> On Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 4:12:09 PM UTC+2, hvt...@xs4all.nl wrote:
> > > Kuroki is very good. Is there any reason you dislike
> > > Faziolis?
> > The metallic sound of the piano, in the high notes,
> > makes it difficult to play a melody naturally. Not all
> > Faziolis sound as metallic as the one in Utrecht.
>

> Wow, what a talent. She got everything to
> challenge 'Gucci' Wang, but not with this
> outfit.

La Wang does not wear Fazioli! ;-)

dk

Dan Koren

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Oct 1, 2022, 7:55:30 PM10/1/22

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Faziolis don't usually sound metallic, certainly not
as metallic as most Steinways. One wonders if
this might be an artifact of mike placement and
the transmission chain for remote listeners.

dk

Dan Koren

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Oct 1, 2022, 9:05:32 PM10/1/22

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I find the Liszt Utrecht competition quite interesting.
Unlike other piano competitions that practically force,
if not explicitly mandate, all competitors to perform a
small number of the most commonly performed works
of the competition's eponymous composer, this one
encourages competitors to perform a wide range of
less known works, highlighting musicianship over
technical legerdemain. It is so refreshing to hear
entire Liszt competition programs without any
Treifscendentals on display!

dk

Dan Koren

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Oct 1, 2022, 9:10:04 PM10/1/22

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Very rarely heard reperotire such as this:

https://youtu.be/DaQ2cwUo_LI?t=1470

The later, quieter Liszt works show surprising
(or perhaps not) hints of Scriabin's harmonic
vocabulary.

dk

HT

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Oct 2, 2022, 8:46:27 AM10/2/22

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> It is so refreshing to hear
> entire Liszt competition programs without any
> Treifscendentals on display!

The competition is organized around themes. Verdi transcriptions, for example. We also had the études as a theme, with an obligatory Feux Follets. For one of the intended judges, this was a reason not to come. According to him, this choice favoured candidates with the right physiology.

I agree that Steinways (can) sound even more metallic. The difference is that the continuity between bass and treble is ensured in mostof them - and is lacking in Faziolis, at least in Kuroki's Fazioli, imho.

Henk

Dan Koren

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Oct 2, 2022, 9:00:42 AM10/2/22

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On Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 5:46:27 AM UTC-7, hvt...@xs4all.nl wrote:
> > It is so refreshing to hear
> > entire Liszt competition programs without any
> > Treifscendentals on display!
>
> The competition is organized around themes. Verdi
> transcriptions, for example. We also had the études
> as a theme, with an obligatory Feux Follets. For one
> of the intended judges, this was a reason not to come.
> According to him, this choice favoured candidates with
> the right physiology.

Did the Utrecht competition ever require a Beethoven
symphony transcription?

> I agree that Steinways (can) sound even more metallic.
> The difference is that the continuity between bass and
> treble is ensured in mostof them - and is lacking in Faziolis,
> at least in Kuroki's Fazioli, imho.

I find this quite surprising, and inconsistent with my own
experience. Most Stoneways I heard had three distinct
differently sounding registers. This can be a blessing
or a curse depending on one's ears and use cases. in
the right and left hands it can facilitate creating the
"3 hands" impression -- which works great for Liszt
and Schumann. It can also sabotage works that
require more uniform textures across the range.

From the instruments I heard, Bechsteins and
Bluthners typically had the most unifrom sound
from top to bottom.

dk

HT

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Oct 2, 2022, 11:02:48 AM10/2/22

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> Did the Utrecht competition ever require a Beethoven
> symphony transcription?

Not yet. Wang played this year the 4th movement of the seventh symphony. He did it with so much gusto that even the members of the orchestra couldn't help smiling. BTW, I cannot find it on YT.

Henk

Dan Koren

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Oct 2, 2022, 11:14:43 AM10/2/22

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If it wasn't the real La Wang it doesn't matter! ;-)

dk