Queen Elisabeth Finals - fifth evening with another victim of fatigue and a hard to beat athlete

May 26, 2012 at 3:24 PM

Artiom was so tired today! I tried really hard to erase from my mind the mundane beginning of his Brahms sonata as he was playing through the first movement. Every time he played his bariolages in the first movement he sounded just like a student playing Sevcik. The eighth notes did not have direction; they were played clearly but there was no meaning associated with them. The printed material was perfectly rendered during the second movement without any tempo change. That was quite unusual and unsatisfying. The third movement had some magical moments and would be the reason for me to buy tickets to listen to Artiom live (the only other finalist I would buy tickets to listen to is Tatsuki Narita). The last movement was dragging a little. Brahms might have been a large man but his music is never obese!
The Kenji was a forced jumble and the Tchaikovsky, while full of very musical moments, was also full of little blemishes (especially in the first movement) which seemed to annoy even Artiom himself. He also seemed annoyed with the coughing audience during the Brahms.
Artiom's playing was uncomfortable during the second movement (which he chose to play muted). The orchestra tried its best not to cover him but he still had to apply quite a bit of extra bow pressure with negative effect on his sound quality. His third movement was a bit too fast to be musical. It sounded like a race, not like an exciting dance. Such a pity!
Nancy Zhou delivered the second great Kenji in the finals. I could understand the rhythm, the structure of the music and I could even make out some of its formal features. Her sound had no problem soaring over the orchestra and the ensemble felt comfortable playing with her.
Nancy's Prokofiev shined the most in the second and last movements. Her huge sound and relentless energy were quite suited for these two movements and Mr. Vitaud, the pianist, was a fantastic partner! The first and third movement showed that Nancy still has some growing up to do. She lacked the subtlety and sound color palette needed for these two musical jewels.
What a pity that maestro Varga was not more in control of the winds in the coda of the first movement of Sibelius! Nancy caught up with the rushing clarinets and flutes like a well seasoned soloist though. As in Prokofiev, in Sibelius she shined most on very energetic passages but her playing fell short on anything that required soulful musicianship.
Nancy is a great competitor. She is solid, mentally strong and hard to beat. Is she an artist yet? Does she have in her that something that will attract audiences outside of the competition world? I think it is too early to know this. How does one judge her playing? How to decide to start her on a career ahead of other competitors without knowing whether she will grow to be a true artist or not? Right now, I see her as a great technician with huge potential, but not as an artist.

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Queen Elisabeth Finals - fifth evening with another victim of fatigue and a hard to beat athlete

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