"Honestly, I don't know what to say. We have always dreamed of coming to this prestigious stage. Being able to play Chopin in Warsaw is one of the best things you can imagine and I am honoured to receive this award, to have the trust of the jury, and all the warmth I have received in recent days. After winning the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition, 24-year-old Xinke champion Liu Xiaoyu said so.
On October 21, the three-week Chopin International Piano Competition came to an end, with Bruce Liu, a Chinese pianist from Canada, winning the competition and winning a prize of 40,000 euros.
After the competition, pianist Chen Sa, one of the judges, said that Liu Xiaoyu's deepest impression on her was his vitality when he played, "He knows exactly what he wants to express, and has a strong execution." ”
Canadian Chinese pianist Liu Xiaoyu won the 18th Chopin International Piano Competition People's Vision Infographic
This year's competition was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but it has been postponed to this year due to the epidemic. The number of entries for the competition exceeded 500 worldwide, setting a new high. After the judges screened one by one, in the end, 12 contestants from 10 countries entered the final, which also means that the specifications of this year's competition far exceeded expectations, and may also be the highest level in the history of Xiao Sai in the past hundred years.
"When you know there are so many passionate people around, I think that's the most special thing about [Shawsai]." Among the 12 contestants in the final, Liu Xiaoyu was the last to perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. At the end of the song, Liu Xiaoyu received several minutes of full applause.
After the game, agent Huang Shulin told Malaysia's Sin Chew Daily that during the competition, Liu Xiaoyu chose the Fazioli piano, "Fazioli's piano is very difficult to control, its high pitch is very bright, a little careless will be the whole imbalance, but Liu Xiaoyu is well controlled in every performance, the high pitch is light and clear." ”
At the same time, Huang Shulin shared the origin of Liu Xiaoyu's English name Bruce, "He looks a bit like the martial artist Bruce Lee, so he took this name." ”
As is customary, the Schosey Sting Champion will hold a global tour. Kajimoto Music KAJIMOTO soon announced that it would present Liu Xiaoyu's tour in many parts of Asia. According to the plan, the first stop of Liu Xiaoyu's Asian tour is Seoul, South Korea, and on November 27, he collaborated with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. The China tour schedule will be announced at a later date.
After the announcement of the winner, the contestants congratulated Liu Xiaoyu (center), including China's Rao Hao (right) Wojciech Grzedzinski
The 24-year-old Chinese pianist won the championship
Liu Xiaoyu was born in France in 1997, and later immigrated to Montreal, Canada, and many media confirmed that his parents came from Beijing and studied in France to get married.
Liu Xiaoyu learned to play the piano at the age of 7 and began to become a regular in major piano competitions at the age of 11. He studied at the Montreal Conservatory of Music, the University of Montreal, and now studied under the Canadian-Vietnamese pianist Deng Taishan, the first Asian pianist to win the 10th Shaw Championship in 1980, and he is also a judge of this year's Shaw Competition.
"At the beginning, no one forced me to learn the piano, but I started to learn it myself, and I didn't bother. The initial practice time was short, and then I liked to play the piano more and more, and the practice time became longer and longer. Liu Xiaoyu once described the road of learning the piano in this way.
Liu Xiaoyu has liked to be on stage since he was a child, and for him, playing the piano is like playing a game console, always so excited. As a child, music was an interest to him, and later became his way of seeing the world and a window into the world.
Liu Xiaoyu on Xiao Sai
In 2014, 17-year-old Liu Xiaoyu made his debut in China with the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra conducted by conductor Lu Jia in Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major. In 2018, Liu Xiaoyu revisited his old place and held a recital at the Beijing Concert Hall.
"Since he was a child, Liu Xiaoyu has been accustomed to using his own brain to find answers to everything." When promoting this piano teenager, the Beijing Concert Hall introduced, "He was a newborn calf who was not afraid of tigers, and when he first played Rachmaninoff's "Second Piano Concerto" with the orchestra at the age of 15, he dared to put forward his own opinions to the conductor and won the conductor's favor." ”
At the time, Liu Xiaoyu's repertoire included baroque Bach, romantic and lyrical Chopin, jazzy Capistine, Impressionist Ravel, and Liszt, known for his flamboyant showmanship—not only in a wide range of ages, but also in a very different style.
In the face of this extremely weighty repertoire list, Liu Xiaoyu, who is only 20 years old, shows maturity and stability beyond his age. His skillful technique and full of emotion present his thinking and understanding of the work to the audience. "China Radio International evaluation.
After the performance, Liu Xiaoyu said in an interview with China Radio International that imagination and sensitivity are very important abilities for art practitioners, "Many composers have not been to many places, but his works are done by imagination." Imagination is important, even more important than experience. Just like many composers die in their 30s, but his work may not be understood by people in their 80s. ”
On that day, Liu Xiaoyu also specially returned to the Chinese composer Zhu Jian'er's "The Day of Turning Over", feeling very kind, "I also have a lot of contact with chinese in Canada. The cooperation with the Chinese orchestra has also given him an observation of the classical music environment in China, "from the orchestra to the audience are relatively young and dynamic." I don't know much about Chinese audiences, but I also feel that more and more people are interested in classical music. ”
In the eyes of outsiders, Liu Xiaoyu is an atypical young pianist.
He does not hide in the ivory tower. In addition to his piano skills, he is also proficient in Go, racing and swimming, and his interests are very diverse. He also loves to play games with game consoles, play chess, poker, rub mahjong with adults, he also likes to play table tennis, billiards, bowling, like to give people magic. In addition to studying English and French at school, he also learns Chinese at home.
On July 20, during the preliminary round, Liu Xiaoyu visited Warsaw Park and took a group photo with the statue of Polish pianist Ignasi Padrevsky. After that, he did not update his ins status and concentrated on preparing for the race.
The 17-year-old Chinese teenager attracted attention
Xiao Sai is held every five years, and since its establishment in 1927, a group of Chinese and foreign pianists have entered the public eye through Xiao Sai. In the hearts of Chinese piano learners, Xiao Sai also has a supreme position.
In 1955, at the 5th Xiao Competition, the 21-year-old Fu Cong won the third prize and won the "Mazuka" Performance Excellence Award, becoming the first new Chinese musician to win an award in an international piano competition. Since then, Fu Cong has been known as the "Chopin of China".
In 2000, at the 14th Shaw Tournament, the 18-year-old Li Yundi became famous and became the youngest Shaw champion ever.
Rao Hao on Xiao Sai
This year's Xiao Competition, 17-year-old Chinese teenager Rao Hao also attracted widespread attention, he is the youngest of the players, and the only Chinese player to fight in the final.
"It's my first time on such a big stage. For me, it was a kind of growth, a summary of the piano competition in my youth, a farewell. Rao Hao admitted that he did not feel very nervous, but was very excited and comfortable, "Such a good stage, such a good piano, all aspects are particularly good, I play very freely, very happy." ”
Originally from Hunan, Rao Hao is currently studying at the Affiliated High School of Guangzhou Xinghai Conservatory of Music. "Yangcheng Evening News" reported that compared with other players, Rao Hao may be the most "grassroots" one - his parents set up a fruit stall near Jishou Railway Station, at the age of 8, Rao Hao began to study under Li Suirong, associate professor of Xinghai Conservatory of Music, and took a 16-hour train ride from Jishou to Guangzhou every week to take classes, and finally, he exchanged a bunch of train tickets for the "Piano Olympic Games" tickets.
"Rao Hao is a bit of a cow, he can firmly grasp the initiative, let the band follow him, and let the music firmly absorb the audience." Li Changyi, who plays piano from elementary school and graduated from the composition department of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, has been following the competition through live webcasting.
In her opinion, Rao Hao shows a calmness rarely seen at this age, "His most prominent performance is the painting of Chopin's poetry, lines, and timbre, and there are oriental things, which are very attractive to the judges." In some works, he will slow down the speed, the lines are widened, the details are enlarged, and the extreme is not hot, and the degree is just right. ”
"In terms of focus on musical details, ability to withstand the pressure of the game and stability of play, it is not easy for a 17-year-old teenager to have a seat in the final of the Shaw Tournament. Especially if the other players are relatively more mature and older, and have a fairly high degree of recognition. In the "Music Weekly", judge Chen Sa commented. After the game, she encouraged the little player on Weibo, "Our Chinese Rao Hao is a good look, the road is long, and the repair is far away." ”
Chen Sa and the judges took a group photo
Chen Sa is the youngest judge of this year's Xiao Competition and the only Invited Chinese judge. In 2000, the fledgling Chen Sa won the 4th place in the 14th Shaw Competition and the Best Performance Award for Polish Dance Music, and the road of world music began under his feet. Now, as a judge, she is back where her dream began.
Encourage young people to compete? Before the game, the surging news reporter asked Chen Sa this.
"It's important to keep an open mind." Chen Sa said, "Of course, you will get a lot of tempering and life experience, including interpreting the work under ultra-high pressure, how to maintain a stable state as much as possible, and the best play." But for the outcome, be open-minded, don't think of it as the end of the world, and don't think of it as winning the lottery. ”
(Interns Chen Zhaoyu and Gong Shiya also contributed to this article)
The Paper's reporter Liao Yang
Source: The Paper