May 7, 2009

For those of you interested, I will be trying my best to update my experience in Vienna. I am leaving tomorrow and quite excited about it. Life for an amateur pianist is different than your typical musician. I am just one example of 24 other competitors, but my life these days has been hectic. I just returned from a week in Saskatoon, accompanying concerti for students in the music festival. I was so proud to play with these kids, some as young as 16 (playing the Chopin E minor). It was a lot of fun, but also quite demanding accompaniments to learn. I have also been working fairly full time when in Toronto. The work schedule has been packed with patients because of the other life event happening...I am preparing to move to Calgary in 3 weeks. This is my first public announcement of the news and I am really looking forward to going back to Western Canada. More details on that after the competition!

All things considered, I have still been practicing diligently for the Bosendorfer. It will be the first year for the competition so I am not sure what to expect. All I know is that we will have pristine Bosendorfer pianos to practice on daily. My repertoire is a mix of old and new but it will be full of demanding pieces. I am confident I have reached my preparation goals and hope to get the chance to play through all rounds.

I will try to update you as the rounds progress. The preliminary round will be on Monday May 11, semifinals Wednesday May 13 and finals Friday May 15. I am reminded of my first blog entry on this site (http://www.thomasyu.ca/page/blog-post/17th_international_competition_for_outstanding_piano_amateurs/) which was the last time I have competed. Three years is a long time to be away from the scene so there will be some definite butterflies (I’m nervous just thinking about it). Back in Paris I was a nobody who just showed up without anyone knowing who I was. Now I feel a lot more personal pressure to do well. I’ll be looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and meeting new pianists from around the world. I know it will be a positive experience. So stay tuned and I maybe I’ll be able to give you good news.

May 10, 2009

I arrived in Vienna to wonderfully hot weather, and overflowing culture. My schedule was tight, as I had to go straight to Bosendorfer Hall for my official rehearsal. The Bosendorfer facility is something pretty spectacular. All practice studios had new Bosendorfer pianos to play. I have played a few in my lifetime, all of which have not impressed me. The ones in Vienna have been my first experience to well-regulated Bosendorfers. One of the staff told me to head up to the top floor, where I was treated to a room filled with about 20 grand pianos totalling over one million dollars!  I was like a kid in a candy store. There were a few of the 10.5 foot concert grands with the full 8 octaves, . Maybe I’ll use some of those notes in the Liszt sonata…

I ended up sleeping for almost 15 hours last night. I’m not sure if it was jet lag, or just my body taking advantage of recharging. Tonight was the opening reception. I met the other competitors, who are all top-level amateur pianists. Some are multiple international competition winners, some of whom have studied in big schools (like Julliard) and others who have performed in Carnegie. I am convinced that the level will be very high, but again I have been diligently preparing for this opportunity and can’t wait to step up my game. Well, here’s hoping to a good sleep and a great day tomorrow. I plan to walk around the Schonbruun Palace gardens for inspiration and connection. If you read this by 10:20 AM (ET), feel free to send me positive vibes. I will feel them!

May 11, 2009

Today was the preliminary round of the competition. I went a little early to hear some people play to get a feel of the acoustics. The hall is unique in that the ceiling is comprised of many archways, and although they look beautiful, they tend to shoot the sound in all different directions. I’m not so sure how the sound projected where the jury sat. I went and chilled with friend and fellow competitor, Louis Dalaveris (an ophthalmologist from New York) in the Belvedere gardens. We traded off technical and musical ideas, which (if you are a musician) is one of the greatest things to talk about. My performance was at 4:20pm, and I felt quite good about it. My Bach went really well, as did my Marc Durand prelude. The Dutilleux was a test of my endurance. I seemed to tire a bit as the piece evolved, but I gave it all I had. I figured the jury will either love or hate the risks I was taking, but it seemed to go well. The results went on later in the evening, very quick and deliberate. The jury left in a rush and that was that! The good news is I did qualify for the semifinals. Louis made it too, as did Dr. Daniel Kandelman, my new friend from Montreal (he is a dentist and faculty member at Universite de Montreal!). There was one surprise where one candidate did not qualify. Everyone seemed puzzled by it, but it is a competition. It was a reminder to me that stranger things can happen in competitions. You have to play for yourself and your audience. If you are happy with how it goes, that should be the priority. We cannot predict how the jury will react. A good lesson going into round 2! I perform at 10am, ET sharp. Any well-wishers are greatly appreciated!

I’ll be hoping to regain my energy for the next round, which lasts 30 minutes. My pieces are ready and I can’t wait to go at it again. Here is a photo taken a couple nights ago when I was hanging out with Dr. Barry Hood, a dentist from Toronto who was in Vienna to hear the Ring Cycle at the Vienna State Opera! What a lucky guy. Good to see you, Dr. Hood

May 12, 2009

I had a free day to spend preparing for tomorrow’s semifinal round. We had another opportunity to try the Bosendorfer on stage, and it seems like the technician has fixed a few kinks in the action and tone. I shouldn’t have to work so hard with the piano tomorrow. You can see the Bosendorfer I practiced on today. I’m sure this design is to draw a bit of attention one way or another. For me, I like the styling but I doubt I would ever buy one that looks like this. I do however prefer the wood finish.

This evening we went to Beethoven’s house, and in this next photo you can see where Beethoven wrote his Eroica Symphony. Here I am with my two Canadian friends, Claire and Ariel. I felt Beethoven’s presence and energy, which will surely help me when I play the last movement of the Appassionata.

I spent some more time with the other competitors, like Ronald Potts, who was a emergency room physician and now coordinates organ transplants in the US. Also there is Atsutaka Manabe, a hilarious and charming man who lives in Germany...he is the head of the laboratory that makes LCD’s! He told me he is inside my iPhone, ha. During the evening we went to a “heuriger” which is a very Viennese activity. It is a wine drinking establishment usually in the outskirts of the city for Austrian locals where the wine is locally-made. If this blog entry makes little sense, it’s the wine typing. I had a blast meeting the other competitors, and once again talking about music-related stuff. Dr. Kandelman, my fellow Canadian, is good guy to have around and hopefully we’ll get a chance to perform together some day.

But as for “days”, I am looking forward mostly to tomorrow’s big day. I play at 4pm (which is 10am ET). Let’s go Canada. Or you know what? The Canadian government declined my application for a travel grant to this competition, stating that my event was “amateur”. So it takes away some national pride for me to represent our country. Why don’t I just represent all of us and those who have supported me along the way? Canadian or not!

May 13, 2009

Today I woke up and made an important decision with regards to my preparation. I chose not to practice at all today, and instead decided to go for a walk in the Schonbrunn Palace gardens. The air was a little more crisp today, and the sun was not out. In hindsight, I am not sure that it was the best idea to skip practice. The hall was a little more full, but definitely not to capacity (which is not a lot to begin with). Jury members sat individually in their own section of the hall, while the audience sat well behind them. It must be hard for the jury to sit for hours each day listening, let alone having the audience watch their every move and expression.

So I arrived only with 20 minutes before my performance. I didn’t have my usual routine of stretching and focusing, but it wasn’t a big deal to me. My focus today was to create beautiful colors and show them why I deserved to be in the final. The first piece was the Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise. I had some difficulty achieving the lighter texture, as the piano wanted to create more sound. It didn’t help that I was completely nervous and somewhat tense as well. The polonaise went well, and I achieved my goal of keeping it as a dance rather than a race. When I finished there was the usual silence between pieces...seems a bit strange after giving so much for 15 minutes! The next piece was Hommage a Rameau by Debussy. I was much more relaxed playing this piece and it worked really well. OK, I thought, let’s try to push with some fire in the Beethoven (Appasionata, mov’t 3). The piece again went fairly well, though I slipped a bit in the coda chords. All in all, it was a surviving program. I was fortunate to have a call-back for another bow, which was nice.

All I could think was “Man, I can play better than that. If they let me through, I won’t let them down”. The results came fairly quickly after the last competitor. The jury said it was a tough decision but proceeded to announce the list:

John Gardecki (USA)
Louis Dalaveris (USA)
Jonathan Hanks (USA)
Thomas Maurice (Canada)
Ronald Potts (USA)
Thomas Yu (Canada)
Rebecca Davis (USA)

I didn’t react much to the results, I was actually more happy that Louis made it! Thomas Maurice is an excellent pianist, also from Canada. He has performed numerous times at Carnegie Hall and will be also playing the Liszt sonata (as will I) on Friday. I admire and respect Rebecca, and she really nailed her semifinal round. As a former Julliard teacher, she will also be a driving force to do well. In fact, all the finalists will surely put their best feet forward, including myself. It’s unfortunate that none of the Europeans or Asians made it, now that I look at that list. I am satisfied that I qualified, but my priority will be for the finals. In my opinion I have not yet showed anyone my best playing, so I hope to save it for the right time. I do worry about my health, as this week has been draining and stressful. But this is who I am and I couldn’t have it any other way.

Tomorrow I will practice and rest. The other day I ran into Peter Longworth at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, and we spoke of my competition. I told him “Well if I don’t qualify I’ll have a nice holiday, so it will be a win-win for me”. To which he responded “Would you rather have a holiday?”. I said no, haha.

Thank you to all who have been keeping up with this crazy adventure. Stay tuned for more news coming soon! I play on Friday, but I’m not sure when yet. Thank you for the prayers!

May 15, 2009

Yesterday was a day of rest. It was raining most of the day so my friend Annemarie took me to see some Viennese attractions. We went to the Spanish riding school to see the horses train. Next was the National Archives...it was gorgeous inside. I felt a lot of energy there, as many of the great composer’s original manuscripts are housed there. Annemarie told me she had the opportunity to touch the original score of Mozart ‘s Requiem. Can you believe that?

Today I slept in, having a very nice sleep. It was hard to control my nerves in the morning, so I watched a movie on my computer ("Step Brothers” - hilarious). In order not to make the same mistake as in the semifinals, I arrived with two hours before my performance. I spent time practicing my pieces and stretched for like one hour. For some reason I was feeling very relaxed and ready for action. 3:00pm...time for my 45-minute program. I was ready for some action. I began with Ravel’s Pavane, which I thought went extremely well. Next was Jeux d’eau, which did not go entirely perfect. However it was still a great performance. I decided to leave the stage afterward because I wanted to prepare myself for the Liszt sonata. From the lighter texture of Ravel I needed to drop down to the depths of Liszt.

What happened next was a moment I will never forget. It was as if Liszt himself was guiding me throughout the piece. The energy was high, the emotion was overwhelming. As a pianist, you dream for those moments where you connect with the piano and the music. This was one of those moments. If I think about it, it ranks up there with one of my best efforts, along with:

- Canadian Music Competition finals in Quebec city
- Saskatchewan Music Festival Grand Awards Competition
- Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3 in Paris
- Finals of the Canadian Chopin Competition
- Finals of the Bosendorfer Competition

So I was very pleased with my performance. It was a moment where I didn’t care what the results were, so it was very special. Next came a long waiting period. I spent some time going back to the practice studios, to play some of the Bosendorfers. I came across a concert grand which was absolutely incredible. It was better than the one in the hall! It was nice to play some pieces without being crazy and nervous.

The hall was packed for the presentation of the results. When the chairman of the jury (Krassimira Jordan) said “Here are the results. Are you nervous? I’m nervous!”...the tension began.

Third place was a tie between Thomas Maurice and Ronald Potts....here I am with Dr. Potts