NEWS
2023.09.15
Interview : Dina Yoffe vol.1
On June 13th, Dina Yoffe performed at the Kawai Concert 2023, and after the concert I was able to ask her to give me her thoughts about the program. I also explored with her the state of international piano competitions in recent times from the perspective of both jury members and teachers, as well as her views on up-and-coming pianists in Japan.
Interview, text and translation: Nanako Takeda (Music Journalist)
▼Click the link below for a digest video of her recital held in Hyogo, Japan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3E139mD-8k
Reasons for my Program Selections:
Every year, I carefully choose a theme for my programming, and this year I decided on Beethoven for the first half. I selected the contrasting works of Piano Sonata No. 14, the ‘Moonlight’ and 15 Variations and Fugue in E-flat Major ‘Eroica Variations’. I followed this with Silvestrov’s the Messenger because of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Although I know I can’t make a significant impact, I wanted to support Ukraine as a human being and as an artist by performing this exceptional piece. Finally, I included Chopin’s Piano Sonata No.3 because he has always been a part of my life. I am turning 70 this year and wanted to play this piece to reflect my own musical journey. With age, I’ve come to understand and perceive things I might not have realized before. It’s been almost 50 years since I participated in the Chopin International Piano Competition in 1975, and now feels like the right time to play this work.
Views on Current International Competitions from the Perspective of a Jury Member
I find that everything has positive and negative aspects. One of the positive aspects of major international competitions like the Chopin, Hamamatsu, and Rubinstein Competitions is that they can be streamed and we can watch them wherever we are in the world, despite the time differences. This gives contestants the advantage of reviewing their performances objectively after they finish playing. And for music professionals, streaming reaches an audience of millions, which serves as a significant promotion and is therefore beneficial.
But the negative aspect of YouTube streaming is that the sound heard through electronic devices is quite different from what is experienced in a concert hall because streaming is artificially adjusted. Because of this there may be discrepancies in how people who listened to a concert in a concert hall evaluate a performance compared with how contestants evaluate the same performance when it’s streamed electronically. This is also the case when their teachers listen to the performance in their home countries. So I believe that the evaluation criteria should be based on listening to performances in concert halls.
One thing I think that needs to be controlled during streaming is the display of viewers’ comments during a performance because when such comments are malicious, this can be very distressing for contestants when they proceed to the next round. So I think it would be best not to show any comments during the competition period.
Can International Competitions serve as a ‘Passport’ to Success?
Competitions themselves may not serve as a ‘passport’ because there are pianists like Evgeny Kissin and Yuja Wang who have built remarkable careers without participating in major competitions.
But what is important, is how prizewinners continue to strive and grow after winning a competition.
Years ago, contestants wanted to get an idea of their position among their peers of a similar level, rather than building a career. But these days some contestants seem to participate in competitions with only a few Beethoven sonatas and Chopin etudes in their repertoire, and then they embark on travels with their suitcase, but not the necessarily enough experience. In the past it was unthinkable for us to enter a competition without being fully prepared.
▼Continued in the next episode
Official media of Dina Yoffe
Website : https://www.dinayoffe.com/
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