The Sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; Part 1

<v Announcer>This program is made possible by a grant from IBM. <v Andre Watts>This is the sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition broadcast <v Andre Watts>live from Fort Worth, Texas. <v Andre Watts>Hello, I'm Andre Watts, and I'm backstage live at the John <v Andre Watts>Kennedy Theater in Fort Worth. <v Andre Watts>This has been the music capital of the world for the past 2o weeks <v Andre Watts>due to the influx of 39 brilliant young pianists looking for that special <v Andre Watts>boost to their careers. <v Andre Watts>And indeed, within the next 90 minutes, a major performing career will be launched <v Andre Watts>when Van Cliburn announces the grand prize winner of one of the world's biggest and

<v Andre Watts>most prestigious piano competitions. <v Andre Watts>In a few moments on stage behind me will be the preliminary ceremonies that will take us <v Andre Watts>to the news we've all been waiting for. <v Andre Watts>We invite you to stay with us during this biggest night of the competition. <v Andre Watts>For a look back at some of the hectic, joyful, painful and always exciting times <v Andre Watts>that have brought us to this point for the naming of the gold medal recipient <v Andre Watts>and a live performance by that pianist whose concertizing horizons <v Andre Watts>will have been expanded to an incredible degree. <v Andre Watts>There will be 6 ambitious, hopeful and probably quite tense pianists <v Andre Watts>out there. For 1 of them, tonight will be a night that dramatically changes <v Andre Watts>his life. He will walk away from Fort Worth with a 12,000 <v Andre Watts>dollar first prize, a recording contract, a tour <v Andre Watts>of North America, including a Carnegie Hall recital, a <v Andre Watts>tour of Europe, including recitals in London, Hamburg, Amsterdam,

<v Andre Watts>a 3 week tour of China. <v Andre Watts>He will play with 50 of the world's leading orchestras. <v Andre Watts>All in all, about 300 concerts in 2 years. <v Andre Watts>Now, for any pianist, that's an incredible schedule, both in terms of quantity and <v Andre Watts>quality. For a young pianist, it can only be a dream come true. <v Andre Watts>But before the dream will come, there will be a lot of nervousness. <v Andre Watts>And I, for one, am genuinely sympathetic. <v Andre Watts>I got my dream through winning a competition to play a Young People's concert with <v Andre Watts>Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic about 16 years ago. <v Andre Watts>That competition wasn't nearly as arduous as what's going on here. <v Andre Watts>And still, it was laden with nerves and jitters and <v Andre Watts>butterflies. <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>Now we come to a young man who is so remarkable that I am tempted to give <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>him a tremendous buildup, but I'd almost rather not so that you might have the same <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>unexpected shock of pleasure and wonderment that I had when I first heard him play.

<v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>He was just another in a long procession of pianists who are auditioning for us. <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>One afternoon oldie came a sensitive faced 16 year old boy <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>from Philadelphia, looking rather like a young Persian prince, <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>sat down at the piano and tore into the opening bars of a list concerto in such a way <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>that we simply flipped. <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>He was named Andre Watts, and that mixed up name comes <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>from having an American father named Watts and a Hungarian mother who met each <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>other in Nuremberg, Germany, where Andre's father was stationed with the United States <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>Army. I love that kind of story. <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>I like to believe that international marriages produce highly distinguished human <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>beings. At least this one did as you about to hear when Andre <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>plays for you, the Liszt concerto in E Flat Major. <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>Because I admire his playing so much, I am going to be selfish and take the pleasure of <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>conducting for it myself. Let us welcome him with warmth and pride <v Leonard Bernstein (in 1963)>Andre Watts.

<v Andre Watts>That was the beginning of my dream come true. <v Andre Watts>And tonight we can all share the excitement of a dream becoming reality from <v Andre Watts>1 of our contestants. The Cliburn competition is 1 of the great events in the world <v Andre Watts>of music. It was conceived as a way of honoring the famous victory of a young American <v Andre Watts>pianist who took first prize in another contest, the 1958 Tchaikovsky <v Andre Watts>Competition in Moscow. <v Andre Watts>Every 4 years since 1962, the best young pianists from all over <v Andre Watts>the world have come to Fort Worth in hopes of getting that 1 big break that can <v Andre Watts>their careers skyrocketing. <v Andre Watts>At this stage, it's up to the judges. <v Andre Watts>The panel here in Fort Worth consists of 11 internationally famous conductors, <v Andre Watts>composers and pianists.

<v Andre Watts>While they're continuing with their final deliberations here, some of the events <v Andre Watts>that have brought us to this exciting moment are coming your way. <v Photographer>Is everybody here? ?inaudible? <v Offscreen Voice>How are you? <v Photographer>Everybody up there. Can you come down here, please? On that side ?inaudible? <v Photographer>Can you count to 38? <v Photo organizer>Well no-. <v Non Intelligble Dialog>[crosstalk among photo organizers]. <v Photographer>Okay. Are there any other contestants here in the audience? <v Photographer>Can you count to 38? <v Photo organizer>Well, no. <v Photographer>They're not all here. <v Photo organizer 2>We're taking what's here. <v Photographer>Okay. Are there any other contestants in the audience? <v Photographer>Brush your hand across it. <v Photographer>Nobody has a cowboy hat. <v Photographer>Is this Texas? <v Photographer>?inaudible? Right here, Steven, fix your hair. <v Photographer>Thank you very much. <v Offscreen Voice 2>Is that it? May I go find out who the winner or this year's winners are going to be? <v John Giordano>I'm John Giordano, the chairman of the jury of the Van Cliburn International Piano <v John Giordano>Competition.

<v John Giordano>I have worked in and around music and musicians all my life, but I don't think I've <v John Giordano>ever seen an entire city turn out so totally in support of a single musical event. <v John Giordano>This is the way things were in Fort Worth just before the arrival of 39 gifted young <v John Giordano>pianists from around the world. <v John Giordano>Now that they are here, everyone wants to watch them compete for the biggest prize in <v John Giordano>piano competition history. <v Non Intelligble Dialog>[crosstalk conversation between offscreen voice and unnamed waiter]

<v John Giordano>One of the things that makes the Van Cliburn so memorable is the fine Texas hospitality <v John Giordano>that one finds every step of the way. <v John Giordano>But despite this congenial atmosphere, tensions always are mounted. <v John Giordano>At this official opening party contestants meet their competition, many for <v John Giordano>the first time. <v John Giordano>Of the 123 applicants last winter, only 39 cleared <v John Giordano>the first hurdle. They are gathering here now to draw lots for their playing positions <v John Giordano>and nobody wants to draw number 1. <v Position announcer>Number 1. <v Unnamed commentator>That's the easiest position. <v Non Intelligble Dialog>[Banter surrounding the position assignment] <v Position announcer>Hold the pen in your left fingers and sign.

<v Unnamed commentator>He won't sign, now, what do we do? <v John Giordano>Just as a player's personality colors a musical performance, so 1 <v John Giordano>make of piano conveys distinct nuances and shadings over another. <v John Giordano>And choosing among 6 concert grands, the decision as to which one to pick <v John Giordano>is a highly personal matter. <v John Giordano>1 performer will choose an American Steinway another Bosendorfer. <v John Giordano>Whatever the choice, there must be a total confidence in the instrument. <v John Giordano>For a pianist, it is the voice of the heart. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Everyone is eager for the competition to continue-.

<v John Giordano>With the selection of pianos completed, the distinguished international jury, <v John Giordano>waits for the first contestants. <v John Giordano>Over the next six days of relentless scrutiny for the original 39 contestants <v John Giordano>will be reduced to 12 semifinalists. <v John Giordano>The race is on. <v Contest announcer>Thank you very much. Would you please start the Schumann Etude Symphonique <v Contest announcer>and I will stop you after a few minutes. <v Contest announcer>Thank you. He is playing on the American Steinway and the jury <v Contest announcer>has asked him to play the second movement of the Mozart Sonata in A minor, <v Contest announcer>K310. <v Contest announcer>Contestant number 17 is Andre Michel Schub of the United States. <v Contest announcer>I lost my list. Is he playing on the American Steinway? <v Contest announcer>Yes. He's chosen the American Steinway. <v Contest announcer>And the jury has selected the first movement of the Mozart Sonata in F. <v Contest announcer>?inaudible?332.

<v Contest announcer>The jury would now like to hear from Debussy's Images Book <v Contest announcer>One, Reflets dan L'eau.The first, the first piece. <v Contest announcer>Good morning, this morning our first contestant is Kathy Selby from Australia, <v Contest announcer>and she's playing on the American Steinway and the jury <v Contest announcer>has chosen the last movement of the Mozart <v Contest announcer>Sonata in C Minor. K457 as her first work. <v Kathy Selby>It would change my life so incredibly that I guess <v Kathy Selby>I really haven't ventured beyond that point. <v Kathy Selby>I'm just here for the fun, you know? Of course, you'd like to think that you'll win. <v Kathy Selby>But that's just sort of 3,000 feet up, you know? <v Kathy Selby>Oh, this is Harold Schonberg. Here I am. Oh that's really nice.

<v Kathy Selby>Well, it says that I'm 18 and I'm Australian and I'm a student at Bryn Mawr <v Kathy Selby>and I take a full academic schedule, but I also manage to practice a minimum <v Kathy Selby>of 6 hours day. <v Kathy Selby>And I'm a natural. <v Kathy Selby>I don't know what kind he means. <v Kathy Selby>An open air party allows some a chance to escape the piano for an hour and mixed with <v Kathy Selby>fellow contestants. <v John Giordano>Although many attend, others stay home and continue with still more practicing. <v John Giordano>Andre Michel Schub, at 28, is one of the oldest competitors. <v John Giordano>For the Cliburn, the top age is 30. <v John Giordano>Schub has already established a promising career. <v John Giordano>To be eliminated in the early stages would be a serious setback. <v John Giordano>Kathy Selby at 18 is the youngest in the contest and has much less to lose.

<v John Giordano>She can always come back. <v John Giordano>Others can't. <v John Giordano>To break the solitary hours of practice and preparation, she has struck up a fast <v John Giordano>friendship with the daughter of her host family. <v Kathy Selby>Oh, I've forgotten it. Oh yeah. Okay, I got it. No these ones, sorry. <v John Giordano>Already, in this preliminary phase of the competition, there are those who stand out.

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>Eventually, go ahead and see if we can bring these deliberations to a close as quickly <v John Giordano (non-narration)>as possible. The main thing I wanted to make sure you were given a, a <v John Giordano (non-narration)>list. Initially, and I hope that <v John Giordano (non-narration)>had- now where is that list? <v John Giordano (non-narration)>But anyway, it had your name, your scores for the second phase <v John Giordano (non-narration)>and the jury average for the second phase in order. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>I hope everyone has looked at that and compared it against your notebook. <v Jury Member>There are however, several considerations make me want to vote for one against

<v Jury Member>another. I found painstakingly honest performances <v Jury Member>through all of them, but uneven and occasionally <v Jury Member>rough. 1 weaker, 1 stronger, and so on. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>All right. I mean, we are voting for 3 out of these 6, but I would <v John Giordano (non-narration)>like to ask you to do is list them from 1 to 6 <v John Giordano (non-narration)>by their name. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>39 and 37. We will pass out a ballot. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>In fact, can we pass that out now please. <v John Giordano>With the opening phase is completed, the jury retires to tally up the scores.

<v John Giordano>Meanwhile, contestants gather for the announcement and try to relax. <v John Giordano>This will be the first real cutoff. <v Lady offering drinks>Have you all had something to drink? <v Young woman>No. <v Lady offering drinks>Would you like something? <v Young woman>Sure. <v Waiter>What can I get you? <v Waiter>Margaritas are good. <v Young woman>Just some orange juice, please. <v Waiter>Orange juice? <v Guy helping with drink suggestions>I'll turn away you can order some whiskey. <v Young woman>Actually, you know what I'd like? <v Guy helping with drink suggestions>Order what you'd like. <v Young woman>You know, I only had 1 of these. A straw- a strawberry daquiri. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>So this is a very mixed emotional <v John Giordano (non-narration)>time for me, because, as you know, when we perform, <v John Giordano (non-narration)>what we're doing is opening our souls and our emotions for the whole world to see. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>And I think through this last week, I feel very close to all of you, <v John Giordano (non-narration)>even though I don't really know any of you personally.

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>But anyway, to those in advance, congratulations. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>To those who were not selected, remember that this is a subjective <v John Giordano (non-narration)>decision by 11 fallible people. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Would you please when I read your name, would you please come up to the platform here <v John Giordano (non-narration)>so that the press can meet you and take pictures and we can congratulate you and all that <v John Giordano (non-narration)>sort of thing? Number 7, Jeffrey Kahane from the United States. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Number 17, Andre Michel Schub of the United States. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Number 26, Santiago Rodriguez from the United States.

<v Santiago Rodriguez>Well, everybody looked beat. You know, I mean, just beat. <v Santiago Rodriguez>If they were they were told that they were not in the second round. <v Santiago Rodriguez>Kathy was out there, like I told you, and she was crying. <v Santiago Rodriguez>She was wiping her tears and she kept looking up at the stage. <v Santiago Rodriguez>But it was not 1 of those beat cries. <v Santiago Rodriguez>It was 1 of those of, you know, confident, kind of like, I'm hurt <v Santiago Rodriguez>now and I don't mind showing you I'm hurt, but my turn is going to come. <v Andre Watts>We're live again backstage on the biggest night of all. <v Andre Watts>The final voting for the winner of the 6th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. <v Andre Watts>The voting is still not completed. <v Andre Watts>And we're bringing you up to date with the previous 2 weeks of activity. <v Andre Watts>You've just seen the end of the preliminaries.

<v Andre Watts>Out of 125 who applied last winter, 39 were selected <v Andre Watts>for those preliminaries, including for the first time ever, 2 candidates from the <v Andre Watts>People's Republic of China. <v Andre Watts>12 have made it into the semifinals. <v Andre Watts>Now for the preliminaries, the contestants were offered a wide repertoire designed to <v Andre Watts>display their technical ability and talent and a range of musical styles from many <v Andre Watts>periods. For the semifinals coming up, they were asked to perform with the Tokyo String <v Andre Watts>Quartet, a choice of the piano quintets of Brahms, Borgia, Schumann, <v Andre Watts>Franck together with a 1 hour recital of works of their choice. <v Andre Watts>The 1 required piece was a specially commissioned composition by Leonard Bernstein. <v Andre Watts>Here's the way some of that round of competition went. <v Andre Watts>Now remember, we'll be following the field of 12 out of the original 39. <v Andre Watts>The pressure which started out high grows even more <v Andre Watts>intense. <v Panayis Lyras>I think that's a very important thing to be a normal human being and to be with

<v Panayis Lyras>people. So it's a sacrifice that we're all making. <v Panayis Lyras>You know, sometimes I think about it and I say, well, I <v Panayis Lyras>will never be in my 20s again. And this may be a time of my life that's so <v Panayis Lyras>wonderful. Could be so wonderful. <v Panayis Lyras>And here I am, 27 and it's all gone by, and I haven't really had that much <v Panayis Lyras>fun. And you can have regrets about it. <v Panayis Lyras>But also, you know, you're doing something that's very <v Panayis Lyras>wonderful and it gives pleasure to people and makes people <v Panayis Lyras>happy. <v Christopher O'Riley>I'm here because I want to win. But at the same time, I still have those misgivings

<v Christopher O'Riley>about it. And that there's the insecurity of knowing whether one is able to stand <v Christopher O'Riley>straight. But everyone wants to win. <v Zhu Da Ming>[Speaking Mandarin]. <v Translator>He said during this period when he can listen and, you know, <v Translator>attend this performance. You realize every individual pianist

<v Translator>has their own specialties. <v Translator>Their special areas. <v Translator>And he can learn from them. To him, this is very, very valuable. <v Backstage attendant 1>Apparently, all of the jurors are not there yet. <v Backstage attendant 2>We're still having troubles. <v Backstage attendant 2>Long lunch hour. <v Andre Michel Schub>In a way, it's good when you get nervous with <v Andre Michel Schub>any competitions it's helpful for the competitionist. There's somewhat more pressure <v Andre Michel Schub>because there are other people rather than just <v Andre Michel Schub>?inaudible? <v Backstage attendant 1>The jury isn't out there yet? <v Andre Michel Schub>I guess that's, <v Andre Michel Schub>you know, is hard to deal with. <v Andre Michel Schub>But on the other hand, that's I guess- competitions <v Andre Michel Schub>are here and major careers depend on it. <v Backstage attendant 1>Would you like a drink of water or anything? <v Backstage attendant 2>They would say to you, when the lights go down, we're ready. <v Andre Michel Schub>Unless you go out and strive for something.

<v Andre Michel Schub>It's not going to be handed to you. Nothing. <v Andre Michel Schub>Nothing in life is just given to anybody. <v Speaker>I feel as if almost the music is taking over, that I'm <v Speaker>just part of creating it. <v Speaker>And those are, those are ideal moments. <v Speaker>The piano gets harder and harder with age.You see more things in the music. <v Speaker>And this is a challenge and it's a growth experience. <v Speaker>It also increases the difficulty as you get older. <v Speaker>What usually happens if it's a piece that I love, for instance,

<v Speaker>at the end of the Fuge and Brahams Handel, Brahams Handel variations, it builds up and <v Speaker>sometimes I almost feel as if it's an orchestra and I'm not even really there. <v Backstage attendant 1>Wonderful. Can I get a drink of water? <v Backstage attendant 1>Orange juice? <v Andre Michel Schub>Water. <v Backstage attendant 1>Just water. <v Andre Michel Schub>I wish I could have been a baseball player or tennis player. <v Backstage attendant 1>A lot of work, oh, I know. <v Andre Michel Schub>Thank you very much. <v Andre Michel Schub>And my dream used to be Mickey Mantle, so that never happened. <v Andre Michel Schub>But those are the kinds of sacrifices that I regret.

<v Backstage attendant 1>Good luck. See you back again. <v Andre Michel Schub>It's a toss up. You can't-. <v Backstage attendant 1>Go home. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Okay we are ready now for our next contestant. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Mr. Jeffrey Kahane, number 7. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Mr. Kahane's from the United States. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>And his program for his recital portion of the semifinals is as printed in the program. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>This is Mr. Jeffrey Kahane. <v Jeff Kahane>My name is Jeff Kahane. <v Jeff Kahane>I'm from Southern California. I live in Venice, by the beach. <v Jeff Kahane>I'm married and expecting our first child

<v Jeff Kahane>in 2 months. <v Jeff Kahane>I've been doing music all my life. I started when I was probably <v Jeff Kahane>5 years old, maybe a little earlier. <v Jeff Kahane>I as a child, I love classical music. <v Jeff Kahane>When I got to be about 10, something somewhere around there, I sort of started to <v Jeff Kahane>reject it a little and I got very popular music and I played in rock and roll bands, <v Jeff Kahane>played jazz a lot, and I still feel very close to that whole <v Jeff Kahane>other side of the fence. <v Jeff Kahane>Although this is what I do and I guess that's what I do best. <v Jeff Kahane>The piece that I want to play the most that I, I feel closest to in a way of all <v Jeff Kahane>the pieces is the Schumann Fantasie. <v Jeff Kahane>It's always been a special kind of <v Jeff Kahane>statement for me.

<v Jeff Kahane>A testament, you know, an affirmation and a prayer. <v Jeff Kahane>And it's also <v Jeff Kahane>just incredibly beautiful music, and I very much want to play it because it's 1 piece <v Jeff Kahane>that I always feel like I can sit down and <v Jeff Kahane>speak through it. <v Jeff Kahane>In those moments before I go out to <v Jeff Kahane>to be a gladiator in the musical arena. <v Jeff Kahane>I, I try very <v Jeff Kahane>hard to think about how despite <v Jeff Kahane>my pounding heart and my sweating palms, I do have the capacity to go <v Jeff Kahane>out there and, and give.

<v Jeff Kahane>Well, behind this soft spoken exterior does literally, in fact, lurk a maniacal <v Jeff Kahane>competitor. <v Jeff Kahane>I would love to win this competition. I love to play the piano. <v Jeff Kahane>I'm just discovering how much I love it. <v Jeff Kahane>And if there's a maniacal aspect to it, for me, it's because I would really <v Jeff Kahane>like to to have the opportunity to play <v Jeff Kahane>with great orchestras and, and play as much as possible.

<v Jeff Kahane>And before I came, I went through a real soul <v Jeff Kahane>searching period and realized that I have nothing to lose. <v Jeff Kahane>There are times, of course, when I feel- I don't feel that way. <v Jeff Kahane>I'm not quite so lucid and on top of it. <v Jeff Kahane>But right now, I don't feel like I have anything to lose. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I live in this type of fantasy world now. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I as far as actually playing the piano, once you get to that piano, it's just you and it. <v Santiago Rodriguez>Let's face it, I will never be the most- the cleanest pianist there <v Santiago Rodriguez>is and I will never be the most, you know, <v Santiago Rodriguez>create the largest amount sound. I'm just not built to create a lot of sound.

<v Santiago Rodriguez>I'm not intent on doing that. I'm intending to express something I have inside of me. <v Santiago Rodriguez>It's a feeling that kind of lays dormant for a while. <v Santiago Rodriguez>This need to express yourself. What beat this into me like I was telling you was my kid <v Santiago Rodriguez>and my wife. And they didn't really have to talk to me about it's just them being there, <v Santiago Rodriguez>that kind of rhetoric. <v Santiago Rodriguez>There's my wife and my little girl, and there's my wife my little girl, <v Santiago Rodriguez>and there's my little girl. <v Santiago Rodriguez>And there's my little girl. I keep this full photograph with me all the time. <v Santiago Rodriguez>This is my good luck charm. Or really, I mean, like I said, it keeps you <v Santiago Rodriguez>humble. It kind of keeps you from taking yourself too seriously. <v Santiago Rodriguez>My wife and I met each other, we were in an auditorium.

<v Santiago Rodriguez>I was going to turn to listen to somebody play. <v Santiago Rodriguez>It was it really instant. 1 day we got engaged in <v Santiago Rodriguez>the third day and we got married <v Santiago Rodriguez>a month after that, and the part I'm not telling you was that it happened in Russia. <v Santiago Rodriguez>And I was in Russia for a competition. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I always call my wife after a play. She's always dying. <v Santiago Rodriguez>She's always sitting by the telephone telling me that she couldn't sleep or eat, which is <v Santiago Rodriguez>not true. She eats very well. <v Santiago Rodriguez>She sleeps very well. But it's still, but it's still it's still very it's still very <v Santiago Rodriguez>necessary for me to call her. Literally, she will have a nervous breakdown if I don't <v Santiago Rodriguez>call. I said, I'm through playing. <v Santiago Rodriguez>Natasha, Natasha, I'm so tired if I sound like <v Santiago Rodriguez>you don't know me. Oh no no Natasha, really. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I mean, I left everything I had right there on stage. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I mean, the Chopin Sonata I played like I was playing it for the last time, you know, I <v Santiago Rodriguez>played the Petrushka like I played it for the last time, you understand?

<v Santiago Rodriguez>So to me, that love and that passion is 1 and the same. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I have a great deal of passion for my wife. Well, if you saw her, you would know what I <v Santiago Rodriguez>mean. But when I go out with that piano <v Santiago Rodriguez>you know, it's a feeling that you sit there and all the accumulation of what your family <v Santiago Rodriguez>has given you and what your teachers have given you, everything that you have accumulated <v Santiago Rodriguez>by loving somebody, by being loved back, which is your input, kind of comes <v Santiago Rodriguez>out. You're kind of like a medium where that goes into you and then, and the piano <v Santiago Rodriguez>kind of speaks for you. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>The last thing you would want to happen has happened.

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>A violin string breaks, the performance stops until the string can be replaced. <v Santiago Rodriguez>Well, when we can't pick up from there, can we start from the beginning again? <v Santiago Rodriguez>We'll pick up <v Santiago Rodriguez>right from when we popped the string. That's a perfect. Yes. <v Santiago Rodriguez>Things like this happen. I'm glad. You know, it's just that- we're human beings. <v Santiago Rodriguez>Strings do pop. <v Santiago Rodriguez>This is definitely my last competition.

<v Santiago Rodriguez>No more, absolutely no more. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I'm 29 years old. I've been on the tour now on the concert tour for about 5, 6 years. <v Santiago Rodriguez>And this competition is like putting 4 or 5 years of that tour <v Santiago Rodriguez>into 2 weeks. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I think I've lost about 8 pounds since I've been here. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I've seen my face change from I would say from no lines <v Santiago Rodriguez>to quite a few lines. And my forehands are, are sore. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I notice that I'm getting extra calluses on my fingers. <v Santiago Rodriguez>And this will be my last. Win or not win. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Because this was such a confusing type of system. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>I want to make sure that not only are the scores accurate, but <v John Giordano (non-narration)>that we have the right 6 people that everybody wanted. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>I think we'd better check the scores very carefully, please. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Abravanel 90. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Chasins 60.

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>That's correct? <v Jury Member>It sure is. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Gheorghiu 92. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Henriot 78. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Nojima 75. Wild 90. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Zhou 90. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>If you are willing to take 6 people into the finals. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>That's my question right now. <v Jury Member>Yes, but with those three? We now have an embarrassment of riches. <v Jury Member>We have 7. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>No, we'll have to, we'll have to take 2 out of 3. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>We'll have to take 2 out of 3. <v Jury Member>Obviously. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>All right. Would anyone else care to try to speak to that? <v Andre Watts>We're still waiting for the final decision of the judges in this sixth Van Cliburn <v Andre Watts>International Piano competition. <v Andre Watts>Our videotape report has carried us through to the end of the semifinals from the <v Andre Watts>original 39 contestants. The field was narrowed first to 12 and now <v Andre Watts>to 6 finalists. <v Andre Watts>Tension and expectation are earmarks of all competitions. <v Andre Watts>But here, as the field grows smaller, this increase in tension seems to highlight and <v Andre Watts>bring to the fore the different musical personalities of the contestants.

<v Andre Watts>And that's what interests judges. Personality. <v Andre Watts>Certainly, they want to hear technical proficiency, but that alone is not enough. <v Andre Watts>Those 11 musical experts out there didn't come to Fort Worth from all over the world <v Andre Watts>just to keep score. They came to be surprised, to be enthralled. <v Andre Watts>In fact, out there on stage are patiently waiting some of the world's great <v Andre Watts>optimists. <v Andre Watts>Well, let's go back to the finals. <v Andre Watts>This is it. This is the last lap out of this comes <v Andre Watts>what we've been eagerly waiting for. And out of this comes a new international <v Andre Watts>career. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>The jury deliberated very carefully.

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>You must realize that the decision in all aspects of this competition, <v John Giordano (non-narration)>while scores are not accumulated, is based on the performance <v John Giordano (non-narration)>in every phase of the competition. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>I am reading the names in order of their original <v John Giordano (non-narration)>numbers. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Number 5, Zhu Da Ming. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Number 7, Jeffrey Kahane. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Number 17, Andre Michel Schub. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Number 26, Santiago Rodriguez. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Number 33, Christopher O'Riley. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>And number 36, Kanayis Lyris.

<v Non Intelligble Dialog>[Photographers and onlookers setting up photos and poses]. <v Photo organizer>Can we have something convincing please? <v John Giordano>Even the most seasoned musician would be exhausted after 5 demanding performances in less

<v John Giordano>than 2 weeks time. <v John Giordano>In this final phase of the competition, complete with full orchestra, the contestants <v John Giordano>eagerly await their final battle. <v Santiago Rodriguez>Take my life. I thought I was going to die, but no way.

<v Backstage attendant 3>Go on, go on. <v Santiago Rodriguez>I can't believe I got to this competition.

<v Santiago Rodriguez>I just can't <v Santiago Rodriguez>believe it. <v Andre Watts>This is Andre Watts again. We are backstage live on the night we've all been waiting for. <v Andre Watts>Grand prize night at the sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, <v Andre Watts>Texas. And just a moment behind me out there onstage, Van Cliburn <v Andre Watts>will tell us the ending of our 2 week tale. <v Andre Watts>The name of the young soloist who will get the boost of a lifetime toward an <v Andre Watts>international career. <v Andre Watts>Contests like this teach a performer a lot. <v Andre Watts>They are not really unlike the life outside, so to speak. <v Andre Watts>Concert playing can be at least as rugged as participating in a competition like the <v Andre Watts>Cliburn. In fact, the life of a concert pianist can sometimes make 2 weeks <v Andre Watts>in a pressure cooker like this seem a little sheltered. <v Andre Watts>If I have 1 wish for the winner of this incredible race, <v Andre Watts>and even rather, I should say, all the participants in this race. <v Andre Watts>I hope that in the midst of what follows after this night, they will be able to keep a

<v Andre Watts>sense of the joy that they felt <v Andre Watts>when they started on this road of music. <v Andre Watts>And now we will have the joy of hearing and seeing the culmination of hard work, devotion <v Andre Watts>and love as we discover the winner of the sixth Van Cliburn International Piano <v Andre Watts>Competition. Let's go out on stage and join the proceedings. <v Stage announcer>Ladies and gentlemen, may I ask you, please, to give a good Texas welcome to Van <v Stage announcer>Cliburn. <v Van Cliburn>Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. <v Van Cliburn>Through the universal language of music and through 1 of its instruments, the piano, we <v Van Cliburn>here in Fort Worth have for the last 2 weeks experienced the joy,

<v Van Cliburn>consolation and spiritual nourishment of an inspiring <v Van Cliburn>music festival. <v Van Cliburn>The 39 talented international young artists who thrilled us <v Van Cliburn>with riches from the piano literature have given us an intimate view <v Van Cliburn>of a performer's life long dedication to the service of musical <v Van Cliburn>performance and the quest for a lasting career <v Van Cliburn>in the art of music. <v Van Cliburn>But what really is the catalyst for this dedication to art? <v Van Cliburn>What motivates a human heart to strive, as Rachmaninoff <v Van Cliburn>once said, for that ever receding horizon? <v Van Cliburn>In the third act of Puccini's great and last opera Turandot, <v Van Cliburn>we find the Chinese Princess Turandot questioning the little <v Van Cliburn>slave girl Lu for the answer to her stoic ability

<v Van Cliburn>in the face of death to continue to conceal the identity <v Van Cliburn>of her master who is her secret love the Prince <v Van Cliburn>Calaf. The slave girl's only answer to the insensitive princess <v Van Cliburn>was, oh, your Imperial Highness, it is <v Van Cliburn>for love. <v Van Cliburn>Within the parameter of love, we find that she loved enough <v Van Cliburn>to care. <v Van Cliburn>She had the devotion, dedication and the discipline <v Van Cliburn>to serve, and eventually she had the determination <v Van Cliburn>to sacrifice her own life. <v Van Cliburn>Thus, those who are artists know <v Van Cliburn>something about love. <v Van Cliburn>Its devotion, discipline, dedication <v Van Cliburn>and sacrifice are all the great imperatives,

<v Van Cliburn>not only for the arts, but for all of life. <v Van Cliburn>It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you our distinguished and wonderful <v Van Cliburn>chairman of the foundation, Mrs. Jo. <v Van Cliburn>A Tilly, Phyllis Tilly. <v Phyllis Tilly>To thank everyone responsible for making the Van Cliburn competition a success <v Phyllis Tilly>would delay the beginning of tonight's program well into next week. <v Phyllis Tilly>So I will confine myself to 2 special salutes to the heroic and hardworking <v Phyllis Tilly>members of the Van Cliburn committe, my boundless admiration. <v Phyllis Tilly>You have performed miracles with routine grace. <v Phyllis Tilly>And to the people of Fort Worth, my gratitude and my love. <v Phyllis Tilly>In opening your homes and your hearts to these fine young artists, you have done Texas <v Phyllis Tilly>proud and turn strangers into friends.

<v Phyllis Tilly>My thanks to all of you. <v Phyllis Tilly>And most important, welcome to the awards ceremony of the sixth Van Cliburn <v Phyllis Tilly>piano competition. And it is now my pleasure to introduce Rita Clements, <v Phyllis Tilly>first lady of Texas. <v Rita Clements>For 2 weeks, every 4 years, it's no exaggeration to say <v Rita Clements>that Texas becomes the musical capital of the world. <v Rita Clements>There are national press, a distinguished jury, concert <v Rita Clements>managers, musicians and music lovers come to Fort Worth <v Rita Clements>to celebrate the artistry of a new generation of pianists <v Rita Clements>and to be on hand when a bright new career is launched. <v Rita Clements>On behalf of the state of Texas, we are delighted to have you with us.

<v Rita Clements>And to those of you in the television audience, may I simply say that 4 <v Rita Clements>years indeed pass very quickly and preparations are already <v Rita Clements>underway for the seventh Van Cliburn competition. <v Rita Clements>Thank you. <v Van Cliburn>It is now my pleasure to introduce to you the chairman of our jury, <v Van Cliburn>Maestro John Giordano. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>From the beginning of the Van Cliburn competitions, we have tried to provide contestants <v John Giordano (non-narration)>with a highly visible platform upon which young talent can be offered to the

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>world. As a result, there are many others who will rise to piano stardom in <v John Giordano (non-narration)>addition to the finalists, the prizes that will be awarded tonight are based on <v John Giordano (non-narration)>the 11 member juries having invested something over 150 <v John Giordano (non-narration)>hours of concentrated listening and careful scrutiny. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>And this is taking place over the past 2 weeks. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>I should add that at the jury suggestion, while special attention was paid to the <v John Giordano (non-narration)>orchestral finals, the overall scores reflect the competitors' sustained <v John Giordano (non-narration)>levels of quality displayed throughout the 2 weeks of competition. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>The first prize, therefore, honors the artist who, in the opinion of the jury, <v John Giordano (non-narration)>displayed the most consistently superior level of performance since the beginning round. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>The jury's scrupulous attention to their heavy responsibilities, has been unstinting <v John Giordano (non-narration)>and devoted. I commend them for doing such a hard job <v John Giordano (non-narration)>with a rare mixture of sympathy, fair mindedness and <v John Giordano (non-narration)>hopeful expectation.

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>Well, onto the business at hand that we're here today to determine tonight. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>At each Cliburn competition, the jury has the option of presenting a special <v John Giordano (non-narration)>discretionary award to that non finalist who exhibits the most promise <v John Giordano (non-narration)>in the competition. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>This was an extraordinary year because this year the jury could not decide between 2 such <v John Giordano (non-narration)>contestants and they have voted unanimously to <v John Giordano (non-narration)>award 2 discretionary awards and they themselves <v John Giordano (non-narration)>have contributed to fund the second award. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>And I think that's extraordinary. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>As I read your names out, would you please- This is a total surprise to the youngsters <v John Giordano (non-narration)>who are in the audience. When I read your names, would you please come to the podium and <v John Giordano (non-narration)>receive your award from Mr. Van Cliburn, the jury special

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>discretionary award for the 2 performers exhibiting the most promise in this competition <v John Giordano (non-narration)>go to Barry Douglas of Northern Ireland and <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Kathy Selby of Australia. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>Now comes the time to announce the placement

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>of our 6 finalists on stage. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>The sixth prize, together with a check for 1,500 dollars, <v John Giordano (non-narration)>has been awarded to Zhu Da Ming of the People's Republic of China. <v John Giordano (non-narration)>The fifth prize, together with a check for 3,000 dollars, <v John Giordano (non-narration)>has been awarded to Christopher O'Riley of the United States.

<v John Giordano (non-narration)>Fourth prize and a check for 4,000 dollars <v John Giordano (non-narration)>has been awarded to Geoffrey Kahane of the United States.