In the course of three evenings at the beginning of this week I had the
unusual opportunity to hear the Shostakovich 1st Violin Concerto played
no fewer than four times.  Of the nine young violinists competing in the
final round of this year's Concours Musical International de Montreal,
four chose to play the Shostakovich, and all four won prizes, but under
circumstances that left many here scratching their heads.

On the final evening (Wednesday), a teenage Korean named Jinjoo Cho began
with an exquisite rendering of the first movement of the Shostakovich.
In my view, Cho's Nocturne was significantly better than the three heard
during the previous two evenings: her sound was marvellous, especially
when playing pianissimo.  Early into the following Scherzo something
went very wrong.  Cho glanced over at the conductor several times, and
even appeared to look at the score on his music stand.  He stopped the
orchestra after about two minutes.  Cho looked devastated, her facial
expression & body language reflecting a mixture of rage at herself and
humiliation.  She asked for a restart, and launched into the Scherzo
again.  This time a miracle happened, or something close to it.  Although
she seemed close to flying out of control at a couple of points, Cho
somehow managed to channel all of that negative emotional energy into
an edgy and intense performance of the 2nd movement, followed by renderings
of the Passacaglia, Cadenza and Finale at the level her first movement
had led me to expect.  The audience went wild, and gave her a standing
ovation. It was a thrilling and emotionally-draining experience for all
of us in the concert hall, but it was inconceivable that Cho would be
in the running for a prize after such a serious memory lapse.  Furthermore,
a handful of the other finalists had given excellent -- and nearly
error-free -- prestations, including the serene, Apollonian reading of
the Beethoven concerto given by thirty-year Corinne Chapelle, who came
on stage after Cho.

Despite what everyone expected, the jury awarded the first prize to
Jinjoo Cho.  No doubt many listeners were delighted with this Hollywood-ish
ending to the Concours, but our local music critics could not suppress
their dismay that the top prize went to a musician who had to restart a
movement.  (One of them went so far as to brand the final concert "la
soiree de perdants"!).

Two questions, if I may: Can any of you recall a similar incident,
where a musician won in competition despite a major flub or restart20
Also, since the readings of the Shostakovich A-minor that I heard this
week were so different (and two of them at least struck me as legitimate
interpretations, not just consequences of the candidates' limitations),
I would like to know what other recordings members of the list would
suggest, to complement the Oistrakh of a half-century ago?

With my best wishes,

Kevin Tuite
Departement d'anthropologie
Universite de Montreal