Sydney International Piano Competition is a Sydney based competition open to musicians from around the world, to find a virtuoso pianist. Every three years, 32 musicians are selected to compete over a three week period in July. It is a process of elimination with each musician giving two recitals, all pieces in the preliminary rounds are the competitors own choice, with the required inclusion of a contemporary Australian work. Twelve are then selected to go through to the semi-finals. The competition finalists will perform two concertos alongside the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. There is a panel of judges who are made up of leading figures from the classical music world. I sampled one of the sessions today from the second round of recitals, and the atmosphere already felt charged as the competition nears the first eliminations.
The initial rounds of the piano competition offer a unique chance to enjoy a solo performance, the performer sits alone on stage with just the grand piano, without the enhancement of an orchestra. Not being an expert reviewer my response is intuitive, but I was totally engaged by the relationship between performer and instrument. In Uladzislau Khandohi, I might have witnessed a finalist in the making. The last performer in the session, his performance of Grandison’s Broken Threads and Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Corelli received an instant response from the audience including a standing ovation as he returned to the stage.
Uladzislau Khandohi is an established performer from Belarus and is currently studying at the Moscow State Conservatory. There is a long process of selection for these competitors that begins often at the age of 5 or 6, and markers of distinction include attending European academies and performing with established orchestras. Each performer has already achieved an amazing feat of mental organisation, typically memorising the score for each piece. The challenge is then to offer something emotive and interpretive that goes beyond being technically perfect. There was a natural sense of drama as the slight figure of Uladzislau leaned into the beautiful bulk of the black Steinway Grand piano. Something about the flexibility of moving between the slow movements and a sudden cascade of notes. In these moments we can ultimately witness the personal connection that a work invites of its performer.
The competition organisers have certainly fulfilled the brief of gathering together a diverse group of musicians and providing an entertaining program. The audience is treated to music from a wide variety of composers and periods from the classical canon including Bach, Mozart, Haydn as well as the romantic period composers such as Schubert, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Ravel, Beethoven, Liszt and the contemporary Australian composers include Carl Vine, Gina Chitty, and Sam Wu. I was fortunate to see the premiere of the piece Broken Threads by Mark Grandison, not once but performed twice during today’s morning session. Being able to see the same piece interpreted in different ways is another of the unique experiences of the piano competition.
Other highlights from today included a sparkling recital of Mozart by Jeonghwan Kim, Korkmaz Can Saglam’s performance of Carl Vine’s work the Anna Landa Preludes and Roman Lopatynskyi playing Schumann’s Symphonic Etudes. Congratulations to the young pianist from Hobart, Sheng-Yuan Lynch, who as part of a showcase of up and coming Australian talent, treated the audience to a rendition of a selection of Transcendental Studies by Franz Liszt. The competition is being live streamed if you are not able to attend in person. The competition continues into the semi-finals with a longer recital and a chamber music round this week.
Elizabeth Surbey (with Patrick Hobbs)
