And then there were six ….all the excitement of the Circus – The Busoni Competition

ChristopherAxworthyMusicCommentary

All the fun of the circus.The Busoni Competition

Teatro Comunale Stadttheater Bolzano

And then there were three The Busoni Competition- The Final Part 1 and 2

Again, the piano world is turning its attention to South Tyrol, where one of the oldest and most renowned piano competitions is entering its all-important decisive phase. A year ago, 110 candidates from almost 600 applicants were invited to participate in the Glocal Piano Project in November 2022. Under this motto, the first round of the competition was held in Steinway & Sons showrooms worldwide over the course of 10 days. The recitals recorded in front of live audiences were professionally recorded, and the jury subsequently appointed the main group of 26 finalists based on the videos. Further candidates got to enter the final stages through the audience vote or were nominated from among prize winners from associated WFIMC competitions; three young pianists were allowed to postpone their 2020 final participation to this year. The audience in Bolzano and the world can look forward to a particularly wide field of participants, with now 32 outstanding young talents!

Peter Paul Kainrath – Artistic Director

The final stages in 2023 The structure of the four-part final phase is divided into two solo rounds, a chamber music round, and the grand finale with orchestra, in which only three finalists get to play for the First Prize. This year the chamber music round is divided into a recital and a quintet part, accompanied by the breathtakingly energetic Isidore String Quartet from New York City.

The Finalissima with orchestra will be held on a Sunday morning for the first time, a response to a constantly growing interest in Asia. Streaming: Follow the competition live anywhere The gripping, thrilling course of the competition can also be experienced directly from a distance, thanks to the live-streaming of all phases of the competition on

https://competition.busoni-mahler.eu/

Antonio Chen Guang 1994 born in Hubei in China although brought up in Italy .His father was his early teacher with later studies in Juilliard,Imola,Brescia and Vienna.Masterly performances of Bach Italian Concerto but above all a superb account of Beethoven op 31 n.3 – a real musician with an important pedigree
Zilong Wang 1999 a student of Eleanor Sokoloff in Curtis and now Dang Thai Son in New England – her Rachmaninov Sonata n.2 was breathtaking but it was the ravishing beauty of Mozart K 282 and Bach Busoni Ich ruf zu dir that showed her supreme sensitivity and sense of colour and style
Anthony Ratinov 1997 an Honours graduate in Chemical engineering from Yale where he is now studying piano with Boris Berman!A Prokofiev 8th Sonata of overpowering beauty and authority showed his superb musicianship and technical mastery.
Ryota Yamasaki 1998 studying at Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles with Fabio Bidini.Chopin Studies op 25 played like the great artist he obviously is.There was magic in the air as he listened with loving care to every note that were transformed into streams of golden sounds of great significance with a quite extraordinary sense of balance and colour .
Arsenii Mun 1999 a student of Serghei Babayan at Juilliard lived every note as he painted his canvas with the fluidity and freedom of someone creating sounds in that very instant.A voyage of discovery,as you would expect from the school of Babayan,in this young man’s hands became a vibrant living experience.
Ron Maxim Huang 2001 a student of Prof Gron at UdK Berlin – a true musician who could show us the way so clearly with a masterly account of Brahms deceptively complex Sonata in F minor op 5

I recently wrote about a young pianist where we could listen to his performances thanks to the superb streaming of the Busoni Piano Competition.Gary Graffman had spoken very highly of this young man as he commenced his studies with him at Curtis in Philadelphia but I had not yet been able to hear him play four years on.Comparative performances are not for me but to be able to enjoy all these magnificent performances in my home is a privilege and honour for which I am extremely grateful.It also gives a platform to the superbly talented young musicians who are dedicating their youth to hours of intense study to create a thing of lasting beauty.

Elias Ackerley a masterly performance of Chopin’s Fourth Ballade played with aristocratic simplicity and Liszt’s Visions that ignited the piano as this rarely played masterpiece swept across the keyboard .But it was in Grunfeld’s scintillating Strauss Paraphrase that showed off his inheritance of old world style and mastery from his mentor Gary Graffman

Elias Ackerley’s masterly performances at the Busoni Semi Final one of the 33 selected to take part in the final from auditions held at Steinway Halls around the world.Supported by the Dr Weir Trust via the Keyboard Trust for studies at Curtis institute in Philadelphia for the past four years after his early studies with Murray McLachlan at Chethams.The competition circuit gives us a chance to listen to these young masters.Comparative performance though is impossible as every performance should be enjoyed and enrich the listener without numbers being added ………….this just proves my point ………..a pressure cooker can lead to early results but real cooking takes time and passion to mature and be savoured…………….Elias is a young master ….Shunta Morimoto,also is a recognised master from the age of fourteen in Fort Worth when his performances on internet went viral.Shunta recently was not considered eligible to procede to the final in Australia much to everyone’s amazement ……..Music should not be put in a position of Circus entertainment ….or goal scoring.Just listen and you will see what I mean.
Would Michelangelo have got more points than Da Vinci? …………..unfortunately there appears to be no alternative due to the standard of early training that has never produced such mastery as today.Hats off to these competitions then and Busoni in particular for allowing us to listen to these young masters via their superb streaming channels.Nothing is written in stone in music so one can decide for oneself- please do: this is Shunta Morimoto in Australia recently :https://youtube.com/watch?v=uMTy7bD-b0o&feature=shared. (At 2.20 )

https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2023/06/02/the-gift-of-music-the-keyboard-trust-at-30/

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ItV_Ub18lBI&feature=shared
Noretta Conci Leech and John lurch founders of the Keyboard Trust and strong supporters of the Busoni since 1949
https://christopheraxworthymusiccommentary.com/2022/10/13/jae-hong-park-at-steinway-hall/
John Leech with Chloe Mun at the National Liberal Club London

The Keyboard Charitable trust have been associated with the Busoni Competition since 1949 when Noretta Conci listened to the very first competition just a stone’s throw from her home in Trento.An assistant to Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli she and her husband John Leech have created the Keyboard Charitable Trust that gives a platform to young musicians in the difficult period of finishing advanced studies and starting a concert career.

Noretta with Sir Anthony Pappano

The KT offer a Career Development Prize to the Busoni Winner which includes a London debut concert and this season has seen five winners playing in Florence in a series :Music at British in collaboration with the Keyboard Trust .Ivan Krpan,Chloe Mun,Emanuil Ivanov will be followed by Jae Hong Park on the 9th November and this years winner (?????) on the 5th December.

Chloe Jiyeong Mun in Florence-A musical feast of whispered secrets of ravishing beauty

Ivan Krpan Busoni 2017 in Florence Mastery and simplicity at the service of music

Emanuil Ivanov premio Busoni 2019 Al British in the Harold Acton Library A room with a view of ravishing beauty and seduction

Busoni International Piano Competition 2021

Viva Busoni ..The Final parts 1/2/3 with Interlude

Guido Agosti more friend than my teacher with our wives Lydia Stix Agosti and Ileana Ghione Axworthy.Our wives would spend the day on the beach whilst Guido and I would stay in the studio playing all the Beethoven Quartets ,Beethoven Symphonies ,and much else four hands preparing a recital for an after supper delight for our beloved ones.
Agosti who was a prodigy mentored by Busoni.The world would flock to Agosti’s studio in Siena every summer to hear sounds in his studio that have never been forgotten.Musicians would make this pilgrimage to listen to a musician with an integrity and unflinching faithfulness to the composers wishes.He represented with such honour Italy in the world and his unshakeable integrity and honesty would not accept from Gilels even that the jury would pass straight to the second round of the first Tchaikowsky Competition in Moscow.Jack Krichaf a student in Siena brought a piece by Mompou to play in his class.Agosti took the music off the stand and placed it in the rubbish bin saying “Now play me some music”.Baubles that are now treated as gems but for Agosti ‘Music’ was the bible and printed in stone!
With Magda Tagliaferro a farewell visit to Agosti during his masterclasses whilst she was on a visit as a guest of Prof Meloncello to find a cure for arthritis that had inflicted this great pianist in old age (90 years old here)
Ferruccio Busoni

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