September 2009

Sorry for the delay in keeping up with my blog. I have been so busy (see the upcoming post in a few days). There was so much craziness happening from the end of August to September, with the concert in Rio de Janeiro (as part of Pianestival), and then home for 5 days before leaving for Warsaw (for the International Chopin Competition for Amateurs). I’ll briefly recap the events, as it as been a while since it all happened.

The trip to Rio was my first time in South America. I went with a few of my closest friends, but unfortunately one of them was not able to get a travel visa in time. Apparently it’s very strict now so if you do go, make sure to plan well in advance! The concerts were held in the Forte de Copacabana, which was located right between the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. It was almost surreal when we first walked around the area...beaches, mountains and beautiful people. What a great combination for passioniate music!

I admit I spent lots of time on the beach, more than practicing. I figured that by immersing myself in the ocean waves I would be connecting with nature so in a sense it would almost be like practicing! You would have done the same...and I would like to think that my performances were better because of it. I performed a solo recital, and my encore was a Kapustin transcription of “Aquarelo do Brasil” which went off really well. I’ll try to see if I can post this recording soon. It was a pleasure playing some samba for the packed Brazilian audience.

The pianists for the festival were from all over the world and from all walks of life. It really made for a great time, as everyone shared their love of music together in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Not to mention that we got to stay at the 5-star Hotel de Copacabana! There was delicious fruit every morning, most of which I had no idea what it was. We also spent some time seeing the sights, such as the Sugarloaf Mountain, and the Cristo de Redentor. Here’s a picture with my friends, along with fellow Warsaw-friends Matthias Fischer (Germany) and Jun Fujimoto (Canada). We also spent some time walking around the rain forest, and headed to Maracana Stadium for a soccer match. I am proud to say that I have been in a 200,000 seat stadium and the future site of the World Cup and Summer Olympics!

I unfortunately caught a cold coming back to Canada, which seemed to knock me out of commission for much longer than usual. After much thought, I decided to continue onwards to Warsaw for the piano competition. I wanted to get back to Warsaw, to get another shot at reliving my original dream in 2005. Back then, it was my lifelong goal to compete in the big Chopin Competition. When I realized that goal, I soon discovered the incredible world of amateur piano events that has now shaped my life. It was only fitting to get a chance to return to Warsaw in a more positive environment such as this competition. The competition was held at the Chopin University, and the jury consisted of Polish teachers that also judge the professional competition.

As I was organizing my photos, I came across a photo of me rehearsing on stage in 2005. I also had one very similar taken during this competition. I look very methodical in both photos...trying my hardest to get the right bench height! I had no idea I was so concerned with such matters on stage.
2005

2009

I was too under the weather to really get a chance to fully enjoy my time in Warsaw. In fact, while I was there I was wishing I stayed at home to recuperate. But I fought through and played to the capacity that I could put out. It was more like a battle with energy and focus, rather than like previous competitions, where I was really focused on the music. Fortunately for me, the competition was so well-organized they even had a physician on staff hired to take care of us. Needless to say, she was my best friend on that trip. She received my bouquet at the grand awards night! The level was very high in all participants which was not a surprise, as the popularity of these competitions is growing. Hopefully I will have had something to do with that...I would be so happy if that were true, maybe I’ll just believe it regardless. Of course, my goal in Waraw changed to that of survival and making it through the week in one piece. I wasn’t able to play my best, but I did survive and that was for me the greatest accomplishment over any competition I have ever done.

I did end up getting third place too! During the final night the three prize winners (Victoria Bragin and Slava Levin) were invited to perform in the winner’s concert. It was only then when I found the energy to play, and I was so happy to have that chance to perform. It was a fitting end to what was a very interesting lesson in energy management on my part. Will I ever test my body like that again? Ummm...probably, haha!