Janos's brief reporting of the Cliburn winners really doesn't
convey what a compellingand pioneering event it was.  The webcast
of the competition sets a new technical and content standard for events
of this sort.  While the Cliburn, and Cleveland, and I suppose other
competitions have been doing live radio broadcasting and audio webcasting
of the events for some time, this year the Cliburn took it up a notch
with high-quality live audio and video webcasting of all the recitals,
chamber and concerto performances, and rehearsals with the Takacs Quartet
& Forth Worth Symphony as well.  I was glued to the computer for two
weeks following all this.  If you missed a performance, it was archived
and available for viewing the next day.

In addition to this the website established a verylively blogging
community of piano aficionados commenting on the action.  Much of the
blogging was trivial blow-by-blow commentary of the "OMG, she muffed
that arpeggio!" variety, but there was some substantive discussion as
well.  There was a particularly lively debate regarding Maestro James
Conlon's handling of the concerto rehearsals.  He would begin by telling
the soloists that he was there to facilitate their interpretations, then
for the rest of the session would lecture them on how he thought the
piece should go!  Also, it was a lot of fun following the shifting
opinions and handicapping of the contestants as the horserace progressed,
particularly the fall of Evgeni Bozhanov, who dazzled in his semifinal
recital and chamber performances, but crashed and burned in his final
recital and concertos with weird interpretative notions, rushed tempos,
and flurries of missed notes.

I suspect this Cliburn will also be a harbinger of piano competitions
to come.  Four of the six finalists were Asian, with the Medalists from
Japan, China and Korea.  Happily, none of these contestants seem to have
been infected with the Lang Lang Syndrome.  Their playing was consistently
fine, free of overwrought interpretation or showbiz taint.

The performances are still available at www.cliburn.tv (though,
interestingly,the rehearsals are not, maybe because of the Conlon
controversy).  Lots of great stuff -- a few standouts: Tsujii's (blind
from birth) Hammerklavier, Zhang's Brahms Handel Variations, Di Wu's
Gaspard de la Nuit, Bozhanov's Schubert & Beethoven.

Art Scott
Livermore, Cal.

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