I think it’s true when people say that classical musicians are only the medium between composers and their music. Ultimately a pianist doesn’t own the music he plays, even if he composed it himself. I could say that I like Horowitz playing Rachmaninoff rather than Rachmaninoff playing Rachmaninoff. Strangely, this seems to echo with religious doctrines, which teach you not to attach yourself to worldly things because they are temporary, but look instead to God, or enlightenment, or whatever. Similarly, don’t believe whatever the pianist plays you–they only provide interpretations. The truth lies in the music and the music alone.
I say this because Aljoša Jurinić’s semi final performance at the Leeds really got me thinking. By now you should’ve realised that I am being over-the title and the comparison with religion. Yes, I am over-dramatic. But so is classical music, sometimes.
The Leeds is a very brutal competition, and it only gets worse as you progress through the rounds. For the semi finals, you’re required to submit two different programmes, A and B. Both have to be around 1.5 hours each, consisting of chamber music and a select list of works after 1980 that are practically impossible to memorise. So you have to be prepared to play three hours’ worth of music, have the stamina to play half of that non-stop, and to make sure you know all of them from memory (except for the chamber music). This is where they separate the fit from the fittest.
I was elated (again, being overly dramatic) to be able to catch at least one live performance, because living in Hong Kong means Western culture only comes alive when you’re asleep. Watching the competition live is so much more exciting because you know it’s happening at the same time halfway across the world; you’re sharing a moment with them and the distance of half a globe can’t stop you (I am so dramatic I love it).
For his semi final round, Aljoša Jurinić from Croatia presented the Schubert variations by Lachenmann, the complete op. 25 Etüdes of Chopin and Dvorak’s piano quintet. Now that is a hell of a challenge!
Playing all twelve etudes of Chopin’s op. 25 set in one go is no easy feat; in fact, I think it’s one of the most suicidal things you can do in a piano competition. Yet, having been a finalist of the recent Chopin competition, I guess Aljoša was confident in his ability.
All was well until the eleventh etude, the notorious “Winter Wind”. When I say well I mean brilliant. Aljoša’s playing was creative and colourful and all the synonyms you can ascribe to a performance. I wonder if it was the matter of time constraint or personal preference, but Aljoša refused to stop between each etudes, not even taking a tiny breathing break. And so, by the time he had finished the horrendous octave etude no. 10, he looked pretty spent.
It is so easy to slip and be swept away by the blizzard of semiquavers in the Winter Wind. Aljoša, losing his concentration for a split second, fell into the abyss. For five seconds he had a memory lapse, during which he tried to regain his footing but ultimately had to begin again a few bars back. That moment was disastrous enough to make the audience realize the pianist himself was confused by the confusion of notes, and one could imagine the whirlwind in his mind as he attempted to regain control of his fingers. It was a moment in which we all held our breath, because we didn’t want this brilliant young man to fall from grace.
Sadly, even though he recovered and finished the set to tremendous applause, even the host of Medici.tv noted that Aljoša could not return to his previous state before the accident. To make it worse, his Dvorak piano quintet was not great; not only did it not live up to the standards of his Chopin performance, it was also dotted with mistakes (disappointing considering how technically easy the quintet is compared to the etudes) and when he finally finished his complete performance the Croatian could barely muster a smile.
The applause he was given was not without a touch of sympathy.
Following a pianist as he progresses through the rounds, you start rooting for them, and it’s tragic when one slip can easily eradicate all hard work put in before the competition. Especially when it concerns someone as good as Aljoša. I just want to say again: his performance of Chopin’s op. 25 etudes were magical.
Luckily for us the judges, being way more experienced musicians, are able to see past this slip and search for the potential behind Aljoša’s playing, and they have decided to let him into the final round. I really hope he can play the C Minor Mozart Concerto with the same amount of flair and beauty as he did the Chopin etudes.
Still, this made me realize (being over-dramatic again now) that we as human beings can never be superior to music, even if we are the ones who brought it into being.
I strongly encourage you to watch Aljoša’s semi-final performance, available through medici.tv here: https://leedspiano2018.medici.tv/replay/semi-final-with-aljo%C5%A1a-jurini%C4%87-/
Literally Left-handed 
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