New Chopin talent rises from Asia

Chinese pianists take top honors in Warsaw with virtuoso performances, Fang Aiqing reports.

Young pianists of Asian descent delivered outstanding performances at the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, which concluded in Warsaw on Tuesday.

First held in 1927 and organized every five years, the competition features a repertoire solely from Polish composer Frederic Chopin (1810-49) and is regarded as one of the world's most prestigious music events. It's open to pianists aged between 16 and 30 from around the world.

This year's winner, 28-year-old Chinese American pianist Eric Lu, is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he studied with renowned pianists Robert McDonald and Jonathan Biss. Lu also studied with Vietnamese Canadian pianist Dang Thai Son, who won the Chopin competition in 1980.

Previously, Lu won first prize in the Leeds International Piano Competition, held in the UK city in 2018, and placed fourth during the Chopin competition in 2015.

Among the 11 finalists this year, nine were of Asian descent, including three from China.

Chinese Canadian pianist Kevin Chen, 20, claimed the second prize, while Chinese musician Wang Zitong, 26, took third place, along with the Krystian Zimerman Award for the best performance of a sonata.

Chinese artist Lyu Tianyao, 17, shared fourth prize with the Japanese pianist Shiori Kuwahara. Lyu also received the Warsaw Philharmonic Award for the best performance of a concerto for her interpretation of Chopin's Piano Concerto No 1 in E Minor, Op 11.

Malaysian candidate Vincent Ong and Piotr Alexewicz from Poland ranked fifth, and William Yang from the United States took sixth place. Moreover, Chinese pianist Li Tianyou was honored with the Fryderyk Chopin Society Award for the best performance of a polonaise.

Pianist Chen Sa, who took fourth place and the award for the best performance of a polonaise in the 2000 Chopin competition, served on the jury of the competition this year and in 2021.

She shared a video on social media shortly before the prize announcement, noting that the intense listening process over the course of some 20 days tested the judges' physical and mental stamina. "There's no absolute fairness in any competition, and this is one important reason why," she said. "Judges are only human, and when fatigue sets in, fluctuations in perception are inevitable."

In an interview with the Shanghai-based news outlet ThePaper.cn following the competition, Chen Sa shared her views on the prizewinners, saying that Lu, the winner, conveyed a sense of stillness in his interpretation, characterized by a restrained and calm style. "I really admire his musicality and maturity. For the 28-year-old, this might be the last opportunity to participate in a major piano competition and such an achievement will be a significant boost for his future career."

Chen Sa added that Wang, the bronze winner, has gradually built her own world in her performances with a unique sense of timing. She has developed a personal approach to handling soft and delicate tones through her touch, alongside brilliant execution of lively, agile passages.

As for Lyu, who just turned 17 on the day the prize was announced, Chen Sa said she is very talented, and her playing exudes a sense of freshness, delivering a natural, comfortable, smooth and youthful quality that resonates with the audience.

Chen Sa said: "Over the years, the Chopin competitions have left me with wonderful memories, both as a competitor and a judge. Yet, the most cherished moments are not always the ones that make it to the winners' lists. C'est la vie."

This year's event marked Wang's second appearance in the Chopin competition. Her performance of two etudes in the first round of the 2021 event impressed many listeners on Chinese social media.

Wang was born in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 1999. She started learning piano at 3 and attended the primary and secondary schools affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, studying under the conservatory's piano professors Chang Hua and Sheng Yuan.

In 2012, she was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied under pianists Meng-Chieh Liu and Eleanor Sokoloff, while learning harpsichord with Leon Schelhase as a minor subject. She also took philosophy courses at the University of Pennsylvania.

The young pianist is currently pursuing a master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music under the guidance of Dang.

Sheng taught Wang in middle school in Beijing, during which they went through many works by Johann Sebastian Bach. They kept in touch during the competition.

He noted that Wang's repertoire selection demonstrated a thoughtful balance of popular and lesser-known pieces by Chopin, blending long and short compositions, major and minor keys, and a variety of emotional landscapes.

Sheng was particularly impressed by Wang's second-round program, which included a diverse range of forms — a nocturne, ecossaises, a ballade, preludes and a mazurka, to name a few — creating a compelling and recital-like experience.

In an interview with Polish media after the second round, Wang explained her programming concept: she opened with Nocturne in F Major, Op 15, No 1, and closed with Mazurka in F Minor, Op 68, No 4, one of Chopin's later published works.