August 2012

A few months ago I was talking to a friend of mine, Robert Finley, about musical events coming up. He asked me if I had entered the UK competition put on by Pianist Magazine and Yamaha. I hadn’t heard of it before so that night I went online to read more about it. The competition sounded great with incredible prizes (like an article in Pianist Magazine, performance with the Manchester Camerata orchestra, a recital in London, etc) so I emailed another friend Jun Fujimoto from Yamaha Canada to see if it was something worthwhile. He convinced me to enter it, so I couriered my application off right away as the deadline was only two days away.

The good news arrived a couple months later that I had qualified for the competition which then began the task of trying to figure out what to play. The rules were to only have 15 minutes of music ready. How do you pick only 15 minutes of music to play? After days of contemplation I eventually decided on two pieces that have been very dear to me throughout the past few years - the Dutilleux sonata and the Liszt Rigoletto. Part of the reason for choosing works from the past was from me not having enough time to learn something new. I had just finished the Chicago competition as well as a few concerts in Paris (see more blog posts coming soon about these experiences).

I played a couple of recitals in preparation, including an impromptu run-through for friends and neighbours the day before I left. Things were feeling quite good…I used the London Olympics as motivation to train. I studied the behaviour of athletes at their peak and realized that training for piano isn’t all that different. Before I knew it I was off to Manchester. The trip was a quick one: leave Sunday, arrive Monday, compete Tuesday and Wednesday, return Thursday. It was an ambitious schedule.

Manchester is a beautiful place, with very friendly people and a relaxed pace. One of the things that I noticed off the start was that there were a lot of old medieval buildings intermingling with new modern architecture. I can imagine some of the traditionalists hating it, but I thought it was cool. The competition was held at Chetham’s School of Music, which is an example of the “old meets new” concept. Part of the building was medieval and another was part of a multi-million dollar renovation. It reminded me of the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, where a similar renovation was done, only this building has to be like 400 years old!

Chetham (or Chets, as they call it) also runs a Summer School for pianists, so it was great to see the school alive and well with music. There were many great pianists at this competition, and the atmosphere was very positive. For a 15-minute program I felt like one hour was all I needed at a time to practice. My energy was feeling pretty good, considering I was supposed to be feeling jet-lagged. I met up with Robert and we played our programs for each other. The practice rooms were plentiful with new studios and many great Yamaha pianos.

The first round took place in one of the non-renovated concert spaces. You could see lines on the floor that looked like ones you’d find in a gymnasium. Nonetheless the hall was outfitted with a Yamaha CFX. There are only 2 of these flagship pianos in all of Europe. This particular piano was used in the last Chopin competition in Warsaw. Strangely, I felt that the piano was a bit dead in sound, but that had a lot to do with the space it was put it. I found I had to work a lot with the middle and high register to create the right sound. But the piano responded and overall I was happy with my performance. The results were given that night and I was relieved to hear my name called. The finals were to be the next day so I headed back to the hotel to chill out. Knowing full well that my jet lag would soon hit, I decided to stay up as late as I could watching TV.

For finals day, I practiced a bit more and then the finalists (Martin Evans, Robert Finley, Peter Morgan, Deirbhile Brennan, Nuno Maulide and myself) took a shuttle to the Royal Northern College of Music for our finals rehearsals. This was a really cool space with tons of studios and a small amphitheatre-style concert hall. In this hall, the CFX sounded the way it should. The CFX was one of the best pianos I have ever played, and it seemed to be so happy in this hall. During rehearsal it became a problem because I couldn’t hold back. I ended up playing all-out with full concert energy. I even played some Tchaikovsky at full blast and ended up feeling well tired by the end of it. I took a photo of Nuno (one of the finalists) before he started practicing. Nuno is a very accomplished scientist and I really appreciated his positive attitude. I should say that all competitors were super nice and I really look forward to keeping in touch with them all.

I stayed back at the hotel and cooled off but couldn’t fall asleep. The adrenaline was starting to kick in. I was to play last in the program. It’s not my favorite position but I do prefer it over playing earlier on. I found myself wandering around the college and practicing in various theatres. I stretched for about 30 minutes as well. By the time I went on stage I was feeling a bit dazed and tired, but ready to play. As I sat down and adjusted the bench, I said to myself “ Phelps. Bolt. Yu”. Yes it sounds completely egotistical but I had been in full Olympic fever beforehand and needed the confidence that these champions had. The experience was not a blur. I felt connected to the music very early on and the piano responded to everything I gave. At times I even decided to take chances by pushing the piano to greater limits, and it always gave back. Honestly, I felt a bit sad near the end of the program, knowing that all this hard work was coming to an end. I finished with my arms up in the air (something I despise doing) but it was a fun way to end an exciting program.

The competitors sat together in the audience off to the side as the jury came out and started their speeches. “We are so privileged to hear such amazing talent…we have so many to thank…” etc. This is always the worst time to be sitting and waiting. My heart was pounding and I was feeling a bit faint. I tried my best to distract myself by not listening. Then they first presented the audience choice award. “…and the award goes to Thomas Yu”.

Wow! What great news! I was so happy to receive this award because it’s the connection with your audience that I find most important. So I was so touched to receive this award. Then came the announcement for the winner. “We decided to give out two first prizes”. There was a moan and gasp from the audience, it was funny. Could they really give out two firsts? Why not!

“The winners are…Robert Finley…”. I was so happy to hear Robert’s name called. He has been a friend and supporter of amateur music competitions for so many years. He is a very musical and mature player with such attention to phrasing. “The second winner is Thomas Yu”. Again, it was so great to hear my name called, and to share the stage with Robert was an honour. The rest of it was a bit of a blur…photos going off from Pianist Magazine, an interview with the BBC, more photos, conversations with the jury, followed by a celebration back at the school. Finally, it was time to pack and head home. What a whirlwind 2.5 days it was. I am really looking forward to returning to the UK, which is my new musical home for the next year. Robert and I will be featured in Piansit Magazine and prizes also include a recital in London at Yamaha Hall. We may be performing as well with the Manchester Camerata orchestra as well as returning to the Chetham’s summer program to give a joint recital.

I am now back home, in my pajamas recovering from the energy spent, but so happy to have had such a great experience meeting so many great new friends. In one of my recent concerts I told the audience that the original reason I entered competitions was to win. Then, I entered competitions because I wanted to become famous. Now, I enter competitions to see if I can still even do it. These competitions bring the world together which makes me interested in opportunities like this back home. Perhaps someday my goal will come to fruition. I’ll post some more Manchester photos once I get some copies. Many thanks to Erica Worth, Murray Mclachlan and the Yamaha UK crew for putting together a fabulous event.