:00:16. > :00:21.It is the ultimate piano showdown. Hundreds entered. This final will
:00:21. > :00:26.be one of the best in the history of the Leeds competition. Now just
:00:26. > :00:31.six remain. I am looking for experience, a journey, a dream.
:00:31. > :00:37.Both testing themselves to the limit. How high it, in this Olympic
:00:37. > :00:43.year, are we prepared to put the bar. For a life-changing prize. Six
:00:43. > :00:53.world-class talents. You are born with it. You have got magic.
:00:53. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:30.only one will take gold. You have Welcome back to Leeds. Today we
:01:30. > :01:33.will be meeting the second of six pianists who have made it to the
:01:33. > :01:37.final of the 2012 Leeds International Piano Competition. We
:01:37. > :01:41.will be hearing them perform a little later with one of this
:01:42. > :01:46.country's leading orchestras, Talei Orchestra, conducted by Sir Mark
:01:46. > :01:49.Elder. This journey began three weeks ago when 59 of the world's
:01:49. > :01:53.best young pianists arrived at Leeds HQ, each of them knowing this
:01:53. > :02:03.might well be the most important journey of their young lives. They
:02:03. > :02:05.
:02:05. > :02:10.had been preparing for years, and Plans for this year's competition
:02:10. > :02:14.began to take shape as soon as the last one finished, back in 2009. As
:02:14. > :02:19.the opening day draws near, a major logistical exercise swings into
:02:19. > :02:23.action. More than 90 piano as are needed for the competitors to
:02:23. > :02:27.rehearse on, many of them being placed in the homes of volunteers
:02:27. > :02:35.across Leeds. But it is when the pianists themselves arrive, three
:02:35. > :02:38.weeks before the grand final, that the fun really begins. Ever since
:02:38. > :02:43.the first competition in 1963, the Leeds has attracted brilliant young
:02:43. > :02:49.musicians from all over the world. Every pianist would like to win
:02:49. > :02:54.this competition. It is a very good start, one of the most important.
:02:54. > :02:58.am very glad to be here because Leeds is a very prestigious,
:02:58. > :03:03.important competition. I have just sneaked to the visitors' book away
:03:03. > :03:06.from these volunteers and I have had a look through it. The list of
:03:06. > :03:12.countries is phenomenal. Competitors from Taiwan, Germany,
:03:12. > :03:21.Israel, America. It gives a tiny insight into how global competition
:03:21. > :03:25.is. I come from Italy. Romania. York is where I live and study.
:03:25. > :03:31.is like a family, everyone comes here. I think it is a good
:03:31. > :03:35.atmosphere, until now. Now it gets nasty? It is down to the small army
:03:35. > :03:40.of volunteers to make sure that their stay in Leeds goes as
:03:41. > :03:44.smoothly as possible. The team is led by a veteran of the Leeds.
:03:44. > :03:48.competitors, as soon as they arrive at the airport or the train station,
:03:48. > :03:54.there is a driver to meet them, they are welcomed, looked after.
:03:54. > :03:58.They are on age, very nervous. Some of them are very young and what you
:03:58. > :04:03.want to do is to make them relax and enjoy being here. Leeds has a
:04:03. > :04:07.reputation for making them feel incredibly welcome. The competitors
:04:07. > :04:10.will get five-star treatment while they are in Leeds and that is vital
:04:10. > :04:13.because they need all of their energy and focus on the musical
:04:13. > :04:17.marathon that lies ahead. Each one of them gets a ticket, chosen at
:04:17. > :04:21.random. It is one of these. It tells them when they get to take
:04:21. > :04:27.the stage in the early rounds of the competition, that initial, a
:04:27. > :04:31.crucial stage on their journey to the final. Leeds founder, Dame
:04:31. > :04:35.Fanny Waterman, is always anxious to meet the competitors before the
:04:35. > :04:39.competition begins in earnest. only thing they have got to think
:04:39. > :04:45.about is their playing. In other competitions, they have to find
:04:45. > :04:50.their way to the Conservatoire, made live in separate places. Here,
:04:50. > :04:55.it is like a club. Immediately, they get together with their peers
:04:55. > :05:00.and make friends, which lasts the whole of their lives. And I think
:05:00. > :05:07.they relax straight away. And, apart from their musical experience,
:05:07. > :05:10.I think they enjoy it. It is good fun. It may be fun, but this is the
:05:10. > :05:16.only time that these young players will all be together. From this
:05:16. > :05:19.point, the gloves are off. To reach the final, they have to survive
:05:19. > :05:24.three elimination rounds, where they are put through their paces in
:05:24. > :05:31.a series of incredibly demanding solo recitals. Those happen here in
:05:31. > :05:34.the Great Hall of Leeds University. The 12 semi-finalists played to
:05:34. > :05:44.packed houses and are closely scrutinised by a jury of
:05:44. > :05:45.
:05:45. > :05:49.distinguished pianists, led by Dame Fanny Waterman. It is three
:05:49. > :05:53.gruelling weeks of competition, challenging their playing, their
:05:53. > :05:57.artistry and their stamina. But things really step up a gear when
:05:57. > :06:02.the competitors reach the final. On stage, with a symphony orchestra,
:06:02. > :06:09.for the for virtuoso display of fireworks. This is when they have
:06:09. > :06:13.to perform a concerto. And that happens at Leeds Town Hall, where
:06:14. > :06:23.in the last competition, back in 2009, the Russian pianist took the
:06:24. > :06:36.
:06:36. > :06:42.I think they feel they are in God's hands. It is the loneliest walk, to
:06:42. > :06:49.go up those steps to that piano. There is so much at stake. But I
:06:49. > :06:53.say to them, don't worry. The jury are not listening to your mistakes.
:06:53. > :06:58.We are listening to your beautiful sounds and we admire your wall. And
:06:58. > :07:08.to get into our competition is already quite an achievement. --
:07:08. > :07:09.
:07:09. > :07:19.The six surviving competitors of 2012 will be determined to follow
:07:19. > :07:21.
:07:21. > :07:26.their example and produce that For whoever wins the competition,
:07:26. > :07:30.life can become radically different almost overnight. They will have
:07:30. > :07:34.promoters and record labels chasing them, hordes of fans following them
:07:35. > :07:41.at every concert. Winning the Leeds can get you into some exclusive
:07:41. > :07:45.company, joining the ranks of the world's piano superstars. These
:07:45. > :07:48.days, we are pretty familiar with the glamorous world of the
:07:48. > :07:53.international concert pianist. Global celebrities who enjoy
:07:53. > :07:57.honours, breeches and worldwide fame. But it was not always this
:07:57. > :08:03.way. One man, perhaps more than any other, help to create the model for
:08:03. > :08:07.today's keyboard virtuoso as, nearly 200 years ago. His name was
:08:07. > :08:10.Franz Liszt. He was the first piano superstar the world had ever seen.
:08:11. > :08:20.I have come to Budapest, to the apartment where he spent the last
:08:21. > :08:28.
:08:28. > :08:35.five years of his life, which today For me, the most amazing thing in
:08:35. > :08:43.this museum is this piano. It was made in Boston and sent to Liszt in
:08:43. > :08:49.1881. On top, this incredible music stand, featuring his three musical
:08:49. > :08:53.heroes. Schubert and Beethoven above Liszt himself. This, is the
:08:53. > :08:57.start of celebrity endorsement. They sent this piano to Liszt
:08:57. > :09:02.because they realised his worldwide fame could only add value to their
:09:02. > :09:07.pianos. There had been famous pianists before Liszt. Mozart
:09:07. > :09:10.toured Europe as a child prodigy. Beethoven, too, was a celebrated
:09:10. > :09:16.performer. The decades that followed, though, would bring a
:09:16. > :09:22.different order of musical celebrity. Liszt's fame sparked a
:09:22. > :09:26.brand-new phenomenon, the first ever found frenzy. It was
:09:26. > :09:30.characterised by insane levels of hysteria, mostly among female fans
:09:30. > :09:35.who would collect his old cigar butts and stash them in their
:09:35. > :09:39.bosoms. They would also collect broken piano strings, stashing them
:09:39. > :09:45.as saintly relics. And there were a lot of broken strings to be had. In
:09:45. > :09:49.one concert alone, allegedly, he broke three different pianos. His
:09:49. > :09:55.tours took him to every major cultural centre in Europe, and
:09:55. > :09:58.hundreds of smaller towns and villages in between. His travels
:09:58. > :10:07.extended from Moscow and Constantinople in the east, to
:10:07. > :10:11.Dublin, Glasgow and Cadiz in the far south-west. In 1840, Liszt
:10:11. > :10:14.visited Leeds. He was just 29, still young enough to have entered
:10:14. > :10:18.the international piano competition, had it existed. I reckon he would
:10:18. > :10:21.have relished the chance for the showmanship, the spectacle, the
:10:21. > :10:28.opportunity of making everybody else's playing pale into
:10:28. > :10:34.significance. In London, Liszt came here to the mansion house, where I
:10:34. > :10:40.have come to meet concert pianist and unabashed Liszt fan, Leslie
:10:40. > :10:43.Howard. You would have a variety evening and there would be a
:10:43. > :10:49.novelty piano at somewhere in the middle of it. He gradually got that
:10:49. > :10:52.out of the system and invented the piano recital. Is he, in some way,
:10:52. > :10:58.turning the piano into a new instrument, evolving what it can
:10:58. > :11:02.do? The first regular images we have a bay piano where it is now in
:11:03. > :11:06.the orchestra off to the left, they date from when he played. What
:11:06. > :11:09.happened before that? Mozart and Beethoven at the orchestra
:11:09. > :11:16.surrounding them and they played with their back to the audience,
:11:16. > :11:20.generally. What is amazing about that is that I get no sense of the
:11:20. > :11:27.artistry, no sense of what your body is doing to make the sound. It
:11:27. > :11:30.is not a good concert experience to sit behind the pianist. No. Liszt
:11:30. > :11:35.realised that by turning the piano or around the audience and be able
:11:35. > :11:38.to hear more clearly and better admire his prowess at the keyboard.
:11:38. > :11:48.If you position yourself where the front row of the audience might be,
:11:48. > :11:51.this is what you will get. Well, that is absolutely the modern
:11:51. > :11:56.concert sound, that lovely warm sound coming out of the piano.
:11:56. > :12:01.Great. Liszt's revolutionary approach to the piano did not just
:12:01. > :12:06.bring fame and riches, it gave him status as well. Wherever he went,
:12:06. > :12:10.he was invited to stay with the King, the Tsar, the Prince, the
:12:10. > :12:16.Duchess, whoever. There was no door closed to him. When he was in Rome,
:12:16. > :12:20.of course he stayed at the Vatican. When he was here, in 1886, of
:12:20. > :12:24.course he stayed with Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. Thanks
:12:24. > :12:28.to his skills at the keyboard, Liszt could hold his head up in the
:12:28. > :12:32.highest society and alongside the greatest heroes of the age. Today,
:12:32. > :12:36.we have our own piano celebrities, modern musical champions with
:12:36. > :12:41.global reach, people like Lang Lang, who this year becomes global
:12:41. > :12:46.ambassador for the Leeds International Piano Competition.
:12:46. > :12:54.Liszt was the biggest rock star during his time. He knows where to
:12:54. > :12:59.perform, and he knows how to do the programming. He would sometimes do
:12:59. > :13:04.the Beethoven sonata, sometimes on improvisation. In a way, he was a
:13:04. > :13:09.great musician and at the same time a great showman. Two centuries
:13:09. > :13:13.after Liszt's birth, we idolise our celebrity performers more than ever,
:13:13. > :13:18.and the flamboyant concert virtuoso remains an iconic part of our
:13:18. > :13:25.cultural world. It started with Liszt and looks set to continue for
:13:25. > :13:28.centuries to come. Leads gives us the chance to be
:13:28. > :13:33.there at the beginning of a young pianist's career, to watch those
:13:33. > :13:40.people we hope will become the Liszt or the Lang Lang of the
:13:40. > :13:43.future, and be able to say, I was there when it all started. Last
:13:43. > :13:50.week we sought Louis Schwizgebel of Switzerland make his bid for the
:13:50. > :13:54.title with Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. His playing was wonderful,
:13:54. > :13:59.and very respectful to the score, which is something which is crucial
:13:59. > :14:07.in Beethoven. In the last movement, he cheered up and it was a charming
:14:07. > :14:12.performance, I thought. There is more Beethoven to come later in the
:14:12. > :14:22.series. Two Emperor Concerto as from Australian finalists Jayson
:14:22. > :14:27.
:14:27. > :14:37.We'll also hear Prokofiev's piano concerto number three performed by
:14:37. > :14:45.Andrejs Osokins of Latvia. And the American, Andrew Tysontakes on the
:14:45. > :14:53.monumental third concerto by Rachmaninov. Tonight, it's the turn
:14:53. > :15:02.of this year's youngest Leeds Finalist. Jiayan Sun is 11--22 and
:15:02. > :15:07.from China. He is one of 19 pianists to kpwer the competition
:15:07. > :15:12.from New York's Julliard School. Three of them have made it to the
:15:12. > :15:19.final. For him and his classmates, Leeds has become a home away from
:15:19. > :15:25.home. It's great to meet in a different setting other than school
:15:25. > :15:29.in this lovely Devonshire Hall we meet and live together. We talk so
:15:29. > :15:39.much about music and life. It make this is competition, for me, very
:15:39. > :15:40.
:15:40. > :15:47.special. With the final fast approaching Jiayan focus is on
:15:47. > :15:51.Prokofiev's second piano concerto. Prokofiev is not the easest? It's
:15:51. > :15:58.not just the technical difficulty of this work, it's more this
:15:58. > :16:03.grandeur and the quality of this work that really touched me deeply
:16:03. > :16:10.and the emotional depth that most people wouldn't think that
:16:10. > :16:14.Prokofiev po cressed. -- possessed. Time with Mark Elder is an
:16:14. > :16:17.essential part of preparing his performance. Meeting with the
:16:17. > :16:21.conductor is always an interesting thing, I think. I always treasure
:16:21. > :16:27.that very much, every time I play with the orchestra and new
:16:27. > :16:33.conductor. It was quite special that we worked together, especially
:16:33. > :16:37.upon the ideas and the expressions of certain parts of the piece.
:16:37. > :16:45.you play these two late, it encourages you to play faster tempo.
:16:45. > :16:50.They are really just on the half beats, aren't they? Yes. For me,
:16:50. > :16:56.the most important thing is this, sort of, idea that you want to
:16:56. > :17:00.express in music. Especially for our pianist because we are lonely
:17:00. > :17:06.animals. We play with yourselves and single minded. It's good to
:17:06. > :17:15.play with other musicians and get different ideas and be inspired by
:17:15. > :17:21.others. For me, the most important thing is to communicate with the
:17:21. > :17:26.audience and to express the music that I play to the audience. I
:17:26. > :17:29.think that's the job of the musician. You have devoted many
:17:29. > :17:35.hours and years of your life to the pursuit of playing the piano. Does
:17:35. > :17:40.it feel at this stage like a sacrifice and one that was worth
:17:40. > :17:45.making? For me, since I was 12 or 13, when I started, I already made
:17:45. > :17:54.the decision that I would devote my life to music and to piano. So
:17:54. > :17:59.since then I haven't looked back. I haven't regretted. I think it's
:17:59. > :18:06.very very important for me that I devote my while life and everything
:18:06. > :18:14.to music. There are lots of concerto that amateur pianists like
:18:14. > :18:18.me can have a go at, even if we can't play them as well as the pros
:18:18. > :18:28.can. Prokofiev's are in a different league. A bit of a risk I think to
:18:28. > :18:29.
:18:29. > :18:31.take in The Leeds. Can you not play this and not be up to the job.
:18:31. > :18:34.Prokofiev wrote this concerto after a close friend of his had killed
:18:35. > :18:40.himself. He left a note to Prokofiev that read, "I'm reporting
:18:40. > :18:44.the latest news to you, I have shot myself, don't grieve too much ."
:18:44. > :18:50.The music Prokofiev wrote as a response is less about grief, it's
:18:50. > :18:56.more a piece of unrelenting fury with some of the longest and most
:18:56. > :19:02.demanding solos written for the piano. It's incredibly raw this
:19:02. > :19:10.piece almost primitive in its violence. He pulls a beautiful
:19:10. > :19:17.melody out of the bag, just when you think you can't take any more.
:19:17. > :19:21.Is that too much? A whril bit. It was all right. Such a challenging
:19:21. > :19:30.piece this. Listening throughout the rehearsal my expert guides
:19:30. > :19:34.through this series, Prokofiev 2 is a such a big piece. Is in your
:19:34. > :19:38.repertoire, can you play it? It is a master place. I cannot play, it
:19:38. > :19:43.actually, I have to confess. When I was a student I started to learn it
:19:43. > :19:52.from the second movement. I thought, I really like this concerto, oh, my
:19:52. > :19:56.goodness, I thought, no, no. I have never even learnt it at all. This
:19:56. > :20:00.is the one piece which I think we will say isn't quite standard
:20:00. > :20:03.repertoire yet. What does that say about the pianist who chooses, it
:20:03. > :20:08.are they brave or foolish? Absolutely going for it. It's a
:20:08. > :20:16.mission statement, isn't it? That is right. He is definitely going
:20:16. > :20:20.for it. Prokofiev is a one composer who plays in a cold way. Nobody
:20:20. > :20:24.else did it before. I think this concerto has got this cold part as
:20:24. > :20:29.well. I'm really looking forward to that bit. I wonder how much he
:20:29. > :20:33.expects the pianist to be a kind of machine that you have to completely
:20:33. > :20:40.disengage gauge yourself emotionally, is that the key to a
:20:40. > :20:43.good performance of this? It's a grotesque fantasy. You have all
:20:43. > :20:49.this orchestral colouring. It's's being aware of the fantastical
:20:49. > :20:56.elements that could bring this piece alive. A monster concerto
:20:56. > :21:02.that none of us is brave enough to play. We have to wish him good luck,
:21:02. > :21:10.I think. Every three years this stage becomes the centre of the
:21:10. > :21:14.piano universe. Tonight, it's spotlight is on Jiayan Sun. His
:21:14. > :21:19.performance will be judged by a distinguished pan Elf 13. They
:21:19. > :21:29.decide if he has what it takes to win Gold. It's time to meet The
:21:29. > :21:30.
:21:30. > :21:35.Leeds Jury. The overall standards of technical perfection are so
:21:35. > :21:39.dizzying that kind of prowess, alone, does not suffice to anoint a
:21:39. > :21:43.prize winner. You are looking for something unique. Something with
:21:43. > :21:48.imagination. Somebody with flare and stage personality. The great
:21:48. > :21:51.ability to communicate, that touch of magic. Something individual.
:21:51. > :21:57.That's what I'm looking for, an experience. A journey. A dream.
:21:57. > :22:01.Somebody who has a language. Somebody who says things
:22:01. > :22:06.differently. Are you creating atmosphere? Are you saying this is
:22:06. > :22:11.phenomenonal music, have you to hear it? There is a rule to play
:22:11. > :22:16.Bach? Is there a rule to play Beethoven? We need someone who
:22:16. > :22:21.shows every sign of being able to grow and develop as an artist.
:22:21. > :22:26.I'm looking for is someone I would want to travel 100 miles to hear
:22:26. > :22:36.again. Basically, they have to get the majority of the jury to say, I
:22:36. > :22:46.
:22:46. > :22:50.Perhaps, Prokofiev mighty second concerto will be the work that make
:22:50. > :22:54.that is special impact with this year's Leeds Jury. Jiayan Sun, 22,
:22:54. > :23:02.from China is the man with that daunting musical challenge ahead of
:23:02. > :23:12.him. Sir Mark Elder conducting the Halle Orchestra tonight lid by Lyn
:23:12. > :23:13.
:23:13. > :38:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 918 seconds
:38:31. > :38:41.Fletcher. Jiayan Sun performing MUSIC: Concerto No.2 in G Minor by
:38:41. > :38:41.
:38:41. > :55:55.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 918 seconds
:55:55. > :55:58.MUSIC: Concerto No.2 in G Minor by Jiayan Sun looking pretty pleased
:55:58. > :56:04.after that performance of Prokofiev's punishing 2nd Piano
:56:04. > :56:06.concerto. He performed it here at the Finals of the Leeds
:56:06. > :56:15.International Piano Competition 2012. That performance given with
:56:15. > :56:25.the Halle Orchestra and conductor Sir Mark Elder. Well done. Thank
:56:25. > :56:31.
:56:31. > :56:36.Took you on a journey. It was a suspense thriller. Absolutely
:56:36. > :56:43.fantastic. It was thrilling. I think that sets a very high
:56:43. > :56:47.standard. I feel great. Sir Mark and the orchestra was amazing. We
:56:48. > :56:53.had good time on stage. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
:56:53. > :56:56.Listening with me this evening the pianist, Norkio Ogawa and Tom
:56:56. > :57:00.Poster. You said you couldn't face learning that concerto. How did you
:57:01. > :57:05.think he did? He gave everything. I was nervous for him during the
:57:05. > :57:10.rehearsal because he showed a little sign, a touch of nervousness.
:57:10. > :57:17.Not at all in the concert. It was absolutely amazing. Also, what
:57:17. > :57:23.really moved me was that the huge movement, the repressed music he
:57:23. > :57:27.absolutely exploded. Oh, I loved it. Tom, you? I think in the first
:57:27. > :57:31.performance apparently of this piece with Prokofiev himself
:57:31. > :57:34.soloist, audience members walked out. Other people said they were
:57:34. > :57:39.frozen with fear. There were moments when the hair were standing
:57:39. > :57:46.up on the back of my neck. Real moments of power and extraordinary
:57:46. > :57:56.things. At 22 it's amazing to play Prokofiev 2. My slight concern is
:57:56. > :58:00.that there were a few balance move -- movement issues. We need the
:58:00. > :58:10.monstrous level of dynamics. two are tough to please. We have
:58:10. > :58:13.
:58:13. > :58:21.had two of our Leeds finalists. Join me next week when Pavel
:58:21. > :58:28.Gililov from Australia plays. showed how Beethoven should sound.
:58:28. > :58:33.This is an incredibly exciting moment for him in his young life.