Star violist Lawrence Power and John Wilson’s orchestra dazzle at the Proms. Elsewhere, fireworks on the stage and podium in early Verdi, and a young pianist astonishes
Even with the appearance of Clayton Stephenson at the start of this morning, I can still count the number of Black pianists I’ve seen at this competition on one hand. The young New Yorker is sharp, giving a crisp reading of the Hough piece and Haydn’s Sonata in D major (Hob. XVI: 37). He’s best in Guido Agosti’s
Monday, March 15, 2021
This year, everyone will be able to watch the Rubinstein Competition online, plus a few digital extras
Daniil Trifonov (photo: Yaira Yasmin)
One should probably never compare a piano competition to the Pope - anyway not every Pope can play piano (though Pope Benedict XVI certainly does, as evidenced by a video doing the rounds on YouTube of him playing some Schubert, very creditably). But it is a well-known custom that, when selected for the Papacy, the cardinal of choice shows reluctance. The idea being that a great honour confers a heavy responsibility and that a humble attitude to the job is likely to result in more people being helped, more lives being touched. Well, indeed comparing the Pope to a piano competition is rather unusual and in many ways hardly apt, especially when that competition takes place in the world’s only Jewish state (though, true, the birthplace of Jesus), and yet it springs to mind. Because when the great pianist