Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; No. 3; Part 4

<v Speaker>[Philippe Bianconi plays "Night Images" by Ravel]. <v Steve Allen>Lovely.

<v Paul Hume>That was the work called "Night Images" from "Mirrors" by Ravel. <v Paul Hume>The pianist was Philippe Bianconi in a performance recorded earlier this week during <v Paul Hume>the semifinal round of the Cliburn competition. <v Paul Hume>Bianconi was a student of Gaby Casadesus, which gives him a very direct connection <v Paul Hume>to the great tradition of Ravel pianists. <v Steve Allen>Well, we're in the midst of intermission here and the closing program from the 1985 <v Steve Allen>Van Cliburn International Competition. <v Steve Allen>In the second half of this concert, Hans-Christian Wille will return to play the <v Steve Allen>Prokofiev third piano concerto and Philippe Bianconi will <v Steve Allen>play the Brahms first piano concerto. <v Steve Allen>This is Steve Allen, with me is our commentator, Paul Hume. <v Steve Allen>And we now are honored by a special guest who has just joined us here <v Steve Allen>in our studio, the American pianist Ralph Votapek, who was gold medalist <v Steve Allen>in the 1962 Van Cliburn piano competition. <v Steve Allen>Ralph, Paul and I have been talking about the rigors of the competition <v Steve Allen>throughout these broadcasts. You've experienced all of this, of course, first hand.

<v Steve Allen>What is that pressure like? <v Ralph Votapek>What is that pressure like? It's uh well, it's- I don't think it's much different <v Ralph Votapek>than giving a concert except after it's over instead of just uh getting pleasant <v Ralph Votapek>feedback, then you have to wait for the decision. <v Ralph Votapek>And that's the rough part. And of course, even rougher then if you lose. <v Steve Allen>[laughs] Yes. Sometimes when we lose in life and there's far more losing than winning, <v Steve Allen>of course, that goes on for all of us, even the most successful, we <v Steve Allen>feel that we've been unjustly treated. <v Steve Allen>You can measure some things with a time clock. <v Steve Allen>If a man lifts more weight than anybody else, then he's the best weightlifter. <v Steve Allen>But when subjective judgments are involved, have you personally ever thought that you <v Steve Allen>were unjustly judged and did better than the judges thought you did? <v Ralph Votapek>A couple of times it seemed when I would not do my best, sometimes I would win, and when <v Ralph Votapek>I did my best, sometimes I would not win so- <v Paul Hume>That's funny. <v Ralph Votapek>All it proves as a competition is that it's the opinion of a certain set number <v Ralph Votapek>of people at that time. <v Paul Hume>Sure.

<v Steve Allen>Ralph, I remember that competition very well. <v Steve Allen>I was here for it. And you were 1 of 3 entrants from the United States, and there were 2 <v Steve Allen>from the Soviet Union who took second and third prizes. <v Steve Allen>But you walked off with the first prize- first prize, which was a very gratifying <v Steve Allen>feeling, not only for you, I know, of course, but for all of us, because we thought, all <v Steve Allen>right, this is the beginning of a great competition, as it's proven to be. <v Steve Allen>And it was very- it was a very happy and warm feeling to have an American win it. <v Steve Allen>When you are looking back on it now, what difference did that winning do to your career? <v Ralph Votapek>Made all the difference in the world. If I hadn't wanted I would have spent 2 years in <v Ralph Votapek>the army and who knows [Steve laughs] uh what I would have done after that. <v Ralph Votapek>I was drafted a week before the competition. The competition literally got me out of the <v Ralph Votapek>army. <v Steve Allen>Hm. <v Ralph Votapek>Although, it was a secret. I didn't tell anybody until after the decision was made. <v Ralph Votapek>And then I surprised people and they said, well, we'll see about it. <v Steve Allen>Have you been to U- the Soviet Union since that time? <v Ralph Votapek>Yeah, I made a tour in 1976. <v Ralph Votapek>You know, the Russians look upon the Americans with the same feeling of intrigue and

<v Ralph Votapek>something exotic as we look upon the Russians. <v Ralph Votapek>And that's what made the first competition very special, the fact that there were 4 <v Ralph Votapek>Russians competing and that it was the first and unfortunately one of the last time that <v Ralph Votapek>they competed over here. <v Paul Hume>Yes, we have no- no one from the Soviet Union in this competition. <v Paul Hume>And also this is only the second time out of these 7 that there have been no finalists <v Paul Hume>from the United States, we haven't won this time. <v Ralph Votapek>Very strange because we always think the best training is over here. <v Paul Hume>We have the first woman in the finals, however, this week that we've had in the last 4 <v Paul Hume>competitions. So I think that says something for the women's vote again. <v Steve Allen>There are attitudes that various peoples have toward <v Steve Allen>certain artistic creations. <v Steve Allen>I once heard an amusing story about a German specialist in Shakespeare <v Steve Allen>who felt that the Germans were much better at Shakespeare than the English. <v Steve Allen>And one of his lines I won't- I'll leave out one word, but he said, <v Steve Allen>"What do oom oom [censors own words] the English know about Shakespeare for oom's <v Steve Allen>[censors own words] sake?" Is there anything of that sort in the field of serious

<v Steve Allen>music? In other words, do the Russian players feel that they have some sort of <v Steve Allen>proprietary interest in the Russian composers or anything of that sort? <v Ralph Votapek>Well, I think every country feels they have their ethnic music. <v Ralph Votapek>You know, you have to be a Pole to play Mazurkas of Chopin, they say. <v Steve Allen>Ah. <v Ralph Votapek>But I- I don't think so. I think it's uh-. <v Steve Allen>International. <v Ralph Votapek>Internat- except for Gershwin, of course, [Steve laughs] I think the Americans play the <v Ralph Votapek>Gershwin much better than anyone else. <v Steve Allen>Is that literally the case? I mean, what happens if it-. <v Ralph Votapek>I think so. <v Steve Allen>Japanese just doesn't swing enough? <v Ralph Votapek>I don't want to hear a Russian play the "Rhapsody in Blue.". <v Steve Allen>I see. <v Ralph Votapek>But the Russians, of course, feel they have a toehold on technical training, of course, <v Ralph Votapek>excellent jazz. <v Paul Hume>Ralph, do you spend time these days as a judge at competitions? <v Ralph Votapek>Occasionally. Not too often. You know, that's a good way to gain weight. <v Ralph Votapek>[laughs] And get out of practice. <v Steve Allen>Get to do a lot of eating and socializing. <v Steve Allen>If a boxer prizefighter lays off as far as training is <v Steve Allen>concerned for just 3 and 4 months, it can take quite a long time to get back in shape. <v Steve Allen>Um how long could you go without playing, without hurting yourself by doing that?

<v Ralph Votapek>Well, I've never tried it for longer than a week, but that's about as long as I care to <v Ralph Votapek>go. I'd miss it. <v Steve Allen>Yeah. <v Ralph Votapek>I miss the piano. <v Steve Allen>Well, during this intermission, we are, in case you've just joined us, speaking with <v Steve Allen>pianist Ralph Votapek, who was gold medalist the very first Van Cliburn <v Steve Allen>competition in 1962. <v Steve Allen>And in a few moments now, Hans-Christian Wille from West Germany will be onstage to play <v Steve Allen>the Prokofiev third concerto. <v Steve Allen>And after that, we'll hear the Brahms first concerto played by Philippe Bianconi. <v Steve Allen>Ralph, what kind of challenges do these pieces represent for the pianists? <v Ralph Votapek>Oh, tremendous challenges. <v Ralph Votapek>The Brahms D minor is uh is a piece that's been called glorified chamber music <v Ralph Votapek>and yet you have some killer passages, especially in the finale, uh which make <v Ralph Votapek>it uh the match of the Brahms second. <v Ralph Votapek>One is very depend on the orchestra. The collaboration is- has to be very good in the <v Ralph Votapek>Brahms first. Prokofiev third is a very athletic piece <v Ralph Votapek>that goes nonstop. And yet you have the orchestra behind you giving you- there are no

<v Ralph Votapek>cadenzas in it. Now, of course, there are no cadenzas in the Brahms first. <v Steve Allen>Ralph's uh- we should give you a chance now, I'm advised, to return to <v Steve Allen>your seat in the hall so that you're not denied [laughs] entry when you try to get <v Steve Allen>back in. But it was an honor to see you. And thank you so much for visiting us. <v Ralph Votapek>And my pleasure. <v Paul Hume>Ralph, it's good to see you again. I remember very well, 1962, and you're looking great <v Paul Hume>in 1985. <v Ralph Votapek>You have a long memory. <v Paul Hume>Thank you. <v Steve Allen>Thank you so much, Roe. <v Steve Allen>In just a moment. <v Steve Allen>Coming onstage will be Hans-Christian Wille. The orchestra is <v Steve Allen>not quite yet formally tuning up, but to getting their chops ready. <v Steve Allen>And we will hear the piano concerto number 3 and C major, Opus 26 <v Steve Allen>by Prokofiev. Again, <v Steve Allen>Stanisław Skrowaczewski conducts the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. <v Paul Hume>This is the concerto which I've said before was played by Prokofiev himself in this <v Paul Hume>country at its world premiere.

<v Paul Hume>He was having a very good time in Chicago in those days because he was playing this <v Paul Hume>concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. <v Paul Hume>And Mary Garden, who was the ?directa? as she insisted on being called [Steve laughs] of <v Paul Hume>the Chicago Civic Opera, said, "We will produce the 'Love for Three Oranges,'" which is <v Paul Hume>his now very famous opera. <v Paul Hume>It didn't- neither work won him many friends in those days. <v Steve Allen>Hm. <v Paul Hume>The concerto was considered harsh and dissonant and discordant and strident and <v Paul Hume>percussive. And nowadays, when we listen to it in those beautiful melting phrases and the <v Paul Hume>violins go up higher and higher over the piano as the piano kind of noodles along <v Paul Hume>here and there, just back- backing the orchestra, we wonder. <v Paul Hume>But of course, we've come a long ways since then in all of our appreciation of what was <v Paul Hume>then called new music, what was then new music. <v Steve Allen>And the date was? Approximately. <v Paul Hume>The date was 1920. <v Steve Allen>Uh huh. <v Paul Hume>And it took many, many more years for the opera to be established on the opera stage, <v Paul Hume>for all it's being a very brilliant and witty, biting comedy, than for this concerto, <v Paul Hume>which has become one of the great staples among the tremendous showpieces of post-World <v Paul Hume>War 1 literature.

<v Steve Allen>Mr. Wille expected momentarily. <v Steve Allen>Again, we have a moment to comment on the superb job that our conductor <v Steve Allen>has done, a Herculean task accommodating all <v Steve Allen>these gifted artists, some of whom are under more stress perhaps than others. <v Paul Hume>There have been several points at which it was Mr. Skrowaczewski alone who <v Paul Hume>was able to keep the orchestra with the soloist, when one of our soloist was in real <v Paul Hume>trouble, uh couldn't hold the tempo, couldn't manage, uh was rushing himself. <v Paul Hume>And I was watching Skrowaczewski and he never took his eyes off that piano. <v Paul Hume>He knew the score, and he didn't have to look at that at all. <v Paul Hume>And he kept the orchestra going. <v Paul Hume>There were downbeat beats that didn't come together, but there could have been open <v Paul Hume>disaster had it not been for that man. <v Paul Hume>And the way he was working sympathetically with the pianist, which of course, is one of <v Paul Hume>the most generous things a conductor can do. <v Paul Hume>He doesn't often have to act quite that way.

<v Speaker>[applause] <v Paul Hume>This is our concert-master getting the applause, which is a very lovely tradition. <v Paul Hume>And he's about to give the piano A to the orchestra, which will tune as they always do <v Paul Hume>just before the pianist comes in. <v Paul Hume>First, all the wind instruments, then all the strings. <v Paul Hume>And then we will see our soloist and conductor to hear the Prokofiev number 3, there <v Paul Hume>are 5 Prokofiev concertos, by the way, the one he wrote after this, concerto number <v Paul Hume>4, is one of those concertos, which is written for the pianist to use only his left <v Paul Hume>hand. <v Steve Allen>Really? <v Paul Hume>There are a number of those written usually for men who lost- pianists who lost <v Paul Hume>their right hand or right arm in World War 1. <v Steve Allen>Fascinating. <v Paul Hume>Yes. And so the fourth concerto Prokofiev, which isn't played very often, is a brilliant, <v Paul Hume>beautiful work, is one of the concertos for the left hand alone, the most famous of those <v Paul Hume>being the one by Maurice Ravel. <v Steve Allen>I see. <v Steve Allen>The expectant hush we've come to expect. <v Steve Allen>And the artists are now coming out.

<v Speaker>[applause] <v Steve Allen>Seats himself. <v Paul Hume>Cranks up the piano stool. <v Speaker>[Hans-Christian Wille and orchestra perform piano concerto number 3 by Prokofiev] <v Steve Allen>And that was an obviously much-appreciated performance.

<v Steve Allen>That's part of the final round of the seventh Van Cliburn International Piano <v Steve Allen>Competition, coming to live from the theater center of the Tarrant County <v Steve Allen>Convention Center in Fort Worth, Texas. When I say much appreciated, of course, I'm <v Steve Allen>talking about the reactions of the audience. <v Paul Hume>There are the shouts and whistles and the cheers and the cries of "Bravo!" <v Paul Hume>And that, of course, is a barnburner among concertos and a great crowd-pleaser. <v Paul Hume>It was the third piano concerto Prokofiev. <v Paul Hume>And you heard Hans-Christian Wille. <v Paul Hume>Mr. Skrowaczewski conducting the Fort Worth Symphony, all of whom are now standing. <v Paul Hume>Conductor and pianist holding their hands and acknowledging the audience's very <v Paul Hume>enthusiastic response. <v Paul Hume>And Mr. Wille is a big contender when we talk about the top prizes in this competition. <v Paul Hume>And remember that there's not only the silver, but also the gold. <v Paul Hume>I mean, the gold, but also the silver. <v Steve Allen>Yes. <v Paul Hume>I'd settle for the silver. <v Steve Allen>[laughs] The stage will shortly be reset. <v Steve Allen>And once again, there'll be a brief pause as the technicians in this instance do not <v Steve Allen>adjust the piano that is there or retune it, but to replace

<v Steve Allen>it with another one. And as soon as the next instrument is ready, we will turn to our <v Steve Allen>final performance of this concert that will feature Philippe <v Steve Allen>Bianconi, who will return to play the Brahms first piano concerto. <v Steve Allen>And it's a cliche when the moment for judging approaches <v Steve Allen>almost any kind of competitive situation. <v Steve Allen>But I can't resist- resist saying it nevertheless. <v Steve Allen>I don't envy the judges. <v Steve Allen>The- the task to have in front of them. <v Steve Allen>And while we have this brief break, we'll pause for station identification. <v Steve Allen>This live broadcast from the 7th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is made <v Steve Allen>possible by grants from the Mobil Oil Corporation and Tandy Corporation, RadioShack. <v Steve Allen>This is the American Public Radio Network.