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free Beethoven at 9:30 a.m.
Feb. 17th, 2008 08:47 pmThis year I heard about the annual young pianists' Beethoven competition at a local college. Six finalists would play an entire sonata each. Two and a half hours of uninterrupted Beethoven. There are few composers for whom I'd be interested in hearing that large a wodge of their piano music at once, and the other two are Schumann and Prokofiev.
And it was free! So I came on down to the near-deserted campus on Sunday morning and did some necessary reading quietly in the back, while the judges shuffled scores around a few rows in front of me. We heard Opp. 2/3, 10/3, 28, 31/2, 53 (my favorite work of the batch), and 90, in that order. Nothing in the three digits - that's Papa Bear stuff - nor Op. 49 neither - that's Baby Bear.
The pianists were all high school students, mostly juniors, five girls all of Asian origin and one boy who was not. Very fine near-professional playing, but I have to say, the styles of pianism were sufficiently similar that I distinguish the players more by what they were wearing. The boy was in black trousers, puffed-out dress shirt, and tie. Three of the girls wore disparate black dresses; the other two were in floor-length off-the-shoulder numbers, one in electric blue, the other in a white so dazzling she looked as if she were either about to get married or to have First Communion; it was hard to tell which.
And it was free! So I came on down to the near-deserted campus on Sunday morning and did some necessary reading quietly in the back, while the judges shuffled scores around a few rows in front of me. We heard Opp. 2/3, 10/3, 28, 31/2, 53 (my favorite work of the batch), and 90, in that order. Nothing in the three digits - that's Papa Bear stuff - nor Op. 49 neither - that's Baby Bear.
The pianists were all high school students, mostly juniors, five girls all of Asian origin and one boy who was not. Very fine near-professional playing, but I have to say, the styles of pianism were sufficiently similar that I distinguish the players more by what they were wearing. The boy was in black trousers, puffed-out dress shirt, and tie. Three of the girls wore disparate black dresses; the other two were in floor-length off-the-shoulder numbers, one in electric blue, the other in a white so dazzling she looked as if she were either about to get married or to have First Communion; it was hard to tell which.
