By Olha ZOSYM
This musical forum, one of the most important in Ukraine, first took
place in 1995 thanks to the initiative of teachers at Kyiv's Reinhold Gliere
State Musical School, where the Maestro studied at the turn of the century.
In the course of its existence, the contest has undergone a series of
changes: each year sees an increasing number of participating countries,
the contestants become older (20-year-olds were the oldest in the first
contest, but this time the limit was 29). Accordingly, they face more stringent
demands: only 87 out of 227 who wished to compete were allowed to do so.
As often happens, not all of them managed to travel here, and 79 musicians
started the competition in three age categories.
There were almost no "untitled" competitors in the Horowitz memorial
contest: each was either a prize or a diploma winner in several international
forums. But, as we know, there are contests and contests. And the professional
background of some contestants, especially from the far abroad, left much
to be desired. But they all noted the high prestige of the Ukrainian forum.
First on the stages of competition. The rivals were offered three rounds.
The first included the Bach mini-cycle (a prelude and fugue), a classical
sonata (Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven), and a virtuoso etude. Naturally,
all pianists without exception play this standard set, referred to as the
performing minimum for a professional musician. This means practically
every more or less well-trained student at a secondary or post-secondary
music school or conservatory could learn the pieces to be performed in
the first round without any special time-consuming efforts. However, it
was the first round that proved to be most difficult for many performers.
Why? Perhaps because this kind of music (like any other, but especially
classical) requires of a pianist not only good technique but also something
else, specifically, tremendous intellectual strain. This is the stumbling
block. Everyone can run his/her fingers swiftly (otherwise, one would never
pass the selection stage), but many participants were found wanting in
mental and intellectual stamina. No one knows whether they are not taught
this or whether it can be taught at all. And while in romantic music you
can save yourself with emotions, you practically cannot do so in classical
music. This why so many technically-well-trained young people dropped out
of the contest.
In the second, less regimented, round, the competitors could show their
individuality more broadly. Many contestants exposed their creative potential
precisely at this stage. They did it so well that the jury found themselves
in a quandary. The results had to be determined by means of points, with
points subtracted for technical errors in performance.
In the third round, all competitors played with the orchestra. And almost
all of them deserved the title of winner. An especially hard struggle went
on in the middle group: nine competitors vied for three prizes. But the
jury arrived at a decision worthy of Solomon: they ordered the third prize
to be shared by four (!) contestants, a rare case in world practice.
No less acute was the competition in the senior group. But there, too,
no one was deprived of an award: the second prize was shared by three competitors
who richly deserved it.
There were performers and music to listen to at the contest. Even on
the first day of the second round, the audience was literally astonished
by an anything but childish performance of the Beethoven sonata by the
youngest competitor, Anastasiya Franchuk from Kazakhstan, who became one
of the discoveries at the Horowitz contest. However, the young contestant
managed to hold onto her success only partially: she won third.
A few words about stability: Very few managed to go through all the
three rounds flawlessly. Only musicians with wide concert performance experience
were able to rise to the occasion. Among them were Oleksandr Havryliuk
and Oleksiy Yemtsov in the middle group, and Seiko Zukamoto in the senior
one. Many truly brilliant performers played less smoothly and remained
in our memory as leaders who led in certain rounds but, alas, remained
without a prize. Among such losers was Muscovite Aleksandr Orlotsky who
made the hearts of the audience throb with his brilliant performance of
the second round's program. As far as his talent and skills are concerned,
he might as well have contested the first prize in the senior group, but
(let it be a bitter lesson to all) it is still better to learn and practice
the score of competition pieces well in advance so as not to regret later
chances lost.
And, finally, about the winners. Iryna Arbatska of Odesa finished first
among junior contestants. She went through all the rounds quite smoothly
but she especially captivated one and all with her artistic technique and
childish ingenuousness at the closing stage. However, Iryna also deserves
reproach in that her playing produced a more external, rather than internal,
effect. But, children, as the youngest competitors, can be forgiven many
things, even some errors in piano playing, for they are only learning to
play, and encouraged for what God gave them - artistic flair and style.
The first prize winner in the middle group, Oleksandr Havryliuk, needs
no introduction, for he has the experience of winning previous Horowitz
contests. He was trained by brilliant Kharkiv-based teacher Viktor Makarov
who now works with three pupils in Australia. As the jury member Dina Ioffe
from Israel noted, Oleksandr had turned from a talented child into a mature
musician over the past two years.
A highest prize was awarded in the senior group for the first time in
the contest's history (last time nobody was awarded it). The winner was
Kyiv pianist Oleksiy Hryniuk. His play, like all things brilliant and extraordinary,
attracts listeners, though I personally do not place myself among the admirers
of his talent. But he is only 21 and thus has ample time for artistic growth.
The contest conditions envision concert tours by the competitors of
cities in Ukraine, Europe, and America. Now it is not only Kyivans but
also the inhabitants of many other cities of the world who will hear the
winners play. They will also perform in Kyiv again in June at the Kyiv
Summer Musical Evenings, and in the fall at the Kyiv Music Fest. The contest
itself says goodbye to the capital of Ukraine for an indefinite time. From
now on, as the forum director Yuri Zilberman said, it is planned to hold
the contest at longer time intervals due to financial constraints. But,
in any case, the music stays with us.







