There are those final days when everything turns out differently than expected. First you're stuck in traffic in Brussels: a serious accident and then a fire. Parking spot? Yes, found one near that magnificent cathedral, a prime example of Brabantine Gothic. Still made it to the hall on time… What will it be today, because a real winner with the demeanor of a winner, honestly? We haven't heard one until now. Not yet but…
Stella Chen (USA, 13.07.1992)
Stella Chen opened the evening, like all candidates, with the mandatory work composed for this competition, Fidl, by the Finn Kimmo Harola. I can't tell you much more than that this already experienced violinist lacked affinity with the work. She played the notes on an instrument, sometimes not quite correctly, but okay, we understand that, especially the first measures of this work are somewhat difficult for everyone. You would need much more time to study it than just a handful of days.
Unfortunately, as far as I'm concerned, she also didn't quite grasp the dramatic narrative of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto. Sometimes she was on the right track, but soon she played too hard, with jerky bow entries in the many fast virtuosic passages which she also rushed through. I'm afraid she missed her chance. So be it and you know it, it's a snapshot during a competition, and the participants are only human. Nerves and all that.
Photo: The Violin Channel
Timothy Chooi (Canada 17.12.1993)
I don't know if the composer was in the hall today, but it can't be otherwise than that he was sitting on the edge of his seat listening, wherever that may be. Actually, Timothy Chooi is the very first candidate who gets more out of Fidl. He truly 'fiddles', places his own accents, plays with the piece, is personal and inspired and yet shows serious score fidelity. Despite minor imperfections, I'm already putting a 1 (with a question mark) next to his name.
That question mark can probably be removed now – and I'm thus already making a prognosis even though I promised not to – because, ah, the way he interpreted that same Tchaikovsky concerto, you can only do that if you step into the composer's shoes. Yes, goosebumps and deep emotion. A thousand words are not enough to express all that far-reaching Beauty, that great Feeling, that Slavic Melancholy.
The dialogue with the orchestra and the conductor was there and how! Timothy Chooi drew the conductor along, the orchestra became a top ensemble. How it can change with a snap of a finger! Yes, what this porcelain boy does is play Violin, masterfully! It's more than that, he and his violin are the extension of the music, of the score, of that which makes music into the extra dimension that heals a person. More words may follow after the announcement of the prizes…
Photo: © Den Sweeney
