Episode 2 Leeds International Piano Competition

It is the ultimate piano showdown. Hundreds entered. This final will

be one of the best in the history of the Leeds competition. Now just

six remain. I am looking for experience, a journey, a dream.

Both testing themselves to the limit. How high it, in this Olympic

year, are we prepared to put the bar. For a life-changing prize. Six

world-class talents. You are born with it. You have got magic.

only one will take gold. You have Welcome back to Leeds. Today we

will be meeting the second of six pianists who have made it to the

final of the 2012 Leeds International Piano Competition. We

will be hearing them perform a little later with one of this

country's leading orchestras, Talei Orchestra, conducted by Sir Mark

Elder. This journey began three weeks ago when 59 of the world's

best young pianists arrived at Leeds HQ, each of them knowing this

might well be the most important journey of their young lives. They

had been preparing for years, and Plans for this year's competition

began to take shape as soon as the last one finished, back in 2009. As

the opening day draws near, a major logistical exercise swings into

action. More than 90 piano as are needed for the competitors to

rehearse on, many of them being placed in the homes of volunteers

across Leeds. But it is when the pianists themselves arrive, three

weeks before the grand final, that the fun really begins. Ever since

the first competition in 1963, the Leeds has attracted brilliant young

musicians from all over the world. Every pianist would like to win

this competition. It is a very good start, one of the most important.

am very glad to be here because Leeds is a very prestigious,

important competition. I have just sneaked to the visitors' book away

from these volunteers and I have had a look through it. The list of

countries is phenomenal. Competitors from Taiwan, Germany,

Israel, America. It gives a tiny insight into how global competition

is. I come from Italy. Romania. York is where I live and study.

is like a family, everyone comes here. I think it is a good

atmosphere, until now. Now it gets nasty? It is down to the small army

of volunteers to make sure that their stay in Leeds goes as

smoothly as possible. The team is led by a veteran of the Leeds.

competitors, as soon as they arrive at the airport or the train station,

there is a driver to meet them, they are welcomed, looked after.

They are on age, very nervous. Some of them are very young and what you

want to do is to make them relax and enjoy being here. Leeds has a

reputation for making them feel incredibly welcome. The competitors

will get five-star treatment while they are in Leeds and that is vital

because they need all of their energy and focus on the musical

marathon that lies ahead. Each one of them gets a ticket, chosen at

random. It is one of these. It tells them when they get to take

the stage in the early rounds of the competition, that initial, a

crucial stage on their journey to the final. Leeds founder, Dame

Fanny Waterman, is always anxious to meet the competitors before the

competition begins in earnest. only thing they have got to think

about is their playing. In other competitions, they have to find

their way to the Conservatoire, made live in separate places. Here,

it is like a club. Immediately, they get together with their peers

and make friends, which lasts the whole of their lives. And I think

they relax straight away. And, apart from their musical experience,

I think they enjoy it. It is good fun. It may be fun, but this is the

only time that these young players will all be together. From this

point, the gloves are off. To reach the final, they have to survive

three elimination rounds, where they are put through their paces in

a series of incredibly demanding solo recitals. Those happen here in

the Great Hall of Leeds University. The 12 semi-finalists played to

packed houses and are closely scrutinised by a jury of

distinguished pianists, led by Dame Fanny Waterman. It is three

gruelling weeks of competition, challenging their playing, their

artistry and their stamina. But things really step up a gear when

the competitors reach the final. On stage, with a symphony orchestra,

for the for virtuoso display of fireworks. This is when they have

to perform a concerto. And that happens at Leeds Town Hall, where

in the last competition, back in 2009, the Russian pianist took the

I think they feel they are in God's hands. It is the loneliest walk, to

go up those steps to that piano. There is so much at stake. But I

say to them, don't worry. The jury are not listening to your mistakes.

We are listening to your beautiful sounds and we admire your wall. And

to get into our competition is already quite an achievement. --

The six surviving competitors of 2012 will be determined to follow

their example and produce that For whoever wins the competition,

life can become radically different almost overnight. They will have

promoters and record labels chasing them, hordes of fans following them

at every concert. Winning the Leeds can get you into some exclusive

company, joining the ranks of the world's piano superstars. These

days, we are pretty familiar with the glamorous world of the

international concert pianist. Global celebrities who enjoy

honours, breeches and worldwide fame. But it was not always this

way. One man, perhaps more than any other, help to create the model for

today's keyboard virtuoso as, nearly 200 years ago. His name was

Franz Liszt. He was the first piano superstar the world had ever seen.

I have come to Budapest, to the apartment where he spent the last

five years of his life, which today For me, the most amazing thing in

this museum is this piano. It was made in Boston and sent to Liszt in

1881. On top, this incredible music stand, featuring his three musical

heroes. Schubert and Beethoven above Liszt himself. This, is the

start of celebrity endorsement. They sent this piano to Liszt

because they realised his worldwide fame could only add value to their

pianos. There had been famous pianists before Liszt. Mozart

toured Europe as a child prodigy. Beethoven, too, was a celebrated

performer. The decades that followed, though, would bring a

different order of musical celebrity. Liszt's fame sparked a

brand-new phenomenon, the first ever found frenzy. It was

characterised by insane levels of hysteria, mostly among female fans

who would collect his old cigar butts and stash them in their

bosoms. They would also collect broken piano strings, stashing them

as saintly relics. And there were a lot of broken strings to be had. In

one concert alone, allegedly, he broke three different pianos. His

tours took him to every major cultural centre in Europe, and

hundreds of smaller towns and villages in between. His travels

extended from Moscow and Constantinople in the east, to

Dublin, Glasgow and Cadiz in the far south-west. In 1840, Liszt

visited Leeds. He was just 29, still young enough to have entered

the international piano competition, had it existed. I reckon he would

have relished the chance for the showmanship, the spectacle, the

opportunity of making everybody else's playing pale into

significance. In London, Liszt came here to the mansion house, where I

have come to meet concert pianist and unabashed Liszt fan, Leslie

Howard. You would have a variety evening and there would be a

novelty piano at somewhere in the middle of it. He gradually got that

out of the system and invented the piano recital. Is he, in some way,

turning the piano into a new instrument, evolving what it can

do? The first regular images we have a bay piano where it is now in

the orchestra off to the left, they date from when he played. What

happened before that? Mozart and Beethoven at the orchestra

surrounding them and they played with their back to the audience,

generally. What is amazing about that is that I get no sense of the

artistry, no sense of what your body is doing to make the sound. It

is not a good concert experience to sit behind the pianist. No. Liszt

realised that by turning the piano or around the audience and be able

to hear more clearly and better admire his prowess at the keyboard.

If you position yourself where the front row of the audience might be,

this is what you will get. Well, that is absolutely the modern

concert sound, that lovely warm sound coming out of the piano.

Great. Liszt's revolutionary approach to the piano did not just

bring fame and riches, it gave him status as well. Wherever he went,

he was invited to stay with the King, the Tsar, the Prince, the

Duchess, whoever. There was no door closed to him. When he was in Rome,

of course he stayed at the Vatican. When he was here, in 1886, of

course he stayed with Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. Thanks

to his skills at the keyboard, Liszt could hold his head up in the

highest society and alongside the greatest heroes of the age. Today,

we have our own piano celebrities, modern musical champions with

global reach, people like Lang Lang, who this year becomes global

ambassador for the Leeds International Piano Competition.

Liszt was the biggest rock star during his time. He knows where to

perform, and he knows how to do the programming. He would sometimes do

the Beethoven sonata, sometimes on improvisation. In a way, he was a

great musician and at the same time a great showman. Two centuries

after Liszt's birth, we idolise our celebrity performers more than ever,

and the flamboyant concert virtuoso remains an iconic part of our

cultural world. It started with Liszt and looks set to continue for

centuries to come. Leads gives us the chance to be

there at the beginning of a young pianist's career, to watch those

people we hope will become the Liszt or the Lang Lang of the

future, and be able to say, I was there when it all started. Last

week we sought Louis Schwizgebel of Switzerland make his bid for the

title with Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. His playing was wonderful,

and very respectful to the score, which is something which is crucial

in Beethoven. In the last movement, he cheered up and it was a charming

performance, I thought. There is more Beethoven to come later in the

series. Two Emperor Concerto as from Australian finalists Jayson

We'll also hear Prokofiev's piano concerto number three performed by

Andrejs Osokins of Latvia. And the American, Andrew Tysontakes on the

monumental third concerto by Rachmaninov. Tonight, it's the turn

of this year's youngest Leeds Finalist. Jiayan Sun is 11--22 and

from China. He is one of 19 pianists to kpwer the competition

from New York's Julliard School. Three of them have made it to the

final. For him and his classmates, Leeds has become a home away from

home. It's great to meet in a different setting other than school

in this lovely Devonshire Hall we meet and live together. We talk so

much about music and life. It make this is competition, for me, very

special. With the final fast approaching Jiayan focus is on

Prokofiev's second piano concerto. Prokofiev is not the easest? It's

not just the technical difficulty of this work, it's more this

grandeur and the quality of this work that really touched me deeply

and the emotional depth that most people wouldn't think that

Prokofiev po cressed. -- possessed. Time with Mark Elder is an

essential part of preparing his performance. Meeting with the

conductor is always an interesting thing, I think. I always treasure

that very much, every time I play with the orchestra and new

conductor. It was quite special that we worked together, especially

upon the ideas and the expressions of certain parts of the piece.

you play these two late, it encourages you to play faster tempo.

They are really just on the half beats, aren't they? Yes. For me,

the most important thing is this, sort of, idea that you want to

express in music. Especially for our pianist because we are lonely

animals. We play with yourselves and single minded. It's good to

play with other musicians and get different ideas and be inspired by

others. For me, the most important thing is to communicate with the

audience and to express the music that I play to the audience. I

think that's the job of the musician. You have devoted many

hours and years of your life to the pursuit of playing the piano. Does

it feel at this stage like a sacrifice and one that was worth

making? For me, since I was 12 or 13, when I started, I already made

the decision that I would devote my life to music and to piano. So

since then I haven't looked back. I haven't regretted. I think it's

very very important for me that I devote my while life and everything

to music. There are lots of concerto that amateur pianists like

me can have a go at, even if we can't play them as well as the pros

can. Prokofiev's are in a different league. A bit of a risk I think to

take in The Leeds. Can you not play this and not be up to the job.

Prokofiev wrote this concerto after a close friend of his had killed

himself. He left a note to Prokofiev that read, "I'm reporting

the latest news to you, I have shot myself, don't grieve too much ."

The music Prokofiev wrote as a response is less about grief, it's

more a piece of unrelenting fury with some of the longest and most

demanding solos written for the piano. It's incredibly raw this

piece almost primitive in its violence. He pulls a beautiful

melody out of the bag, just when you think you can't take any more.

Is that too much? A whril bit. It was all right. Such a challenging

piece this. Listening throughout the rehearsal my expert guides

through this series, Prokofiev 2 is a such a big piece. Is in your

repertoire, can you play it? It is a master place. I cannot play, it

actually, I have to confess. When I was a student I started to learn it

from the second movement. I thought, I really like this concerto, oh, my

goodness, I thought, no, no. I have never even learnt it at all. This

is the one piece which I think we will say isn't quite standard

repertoire yet. What does that say about the pianist who chooses, it

are they brave or foolish? Absolutely going for it. It's a

mission statement, isn't it? That is right. He is definitely going

for it. Prokofiev is a one composer who plays in a cold way. Nobody

else did it before. I think this concerto has got this cold part as

well. I'm really looking forward to that bit. I wonder how much he

expects the pianist to be a kind of machine that you have to completely

disengage gauge yourself emotionally, is that the key to a

good performance of this? It's a grotesque fantasy. You have all

this orchestral colouring. It's's being aware of the fantastical

elements that could bring this piece alive. A monster concerto

that none of us is brave enough to play. We have to wish him good luck,

I think. Every three years this stage becomes the centre of the

piano universe. Tonight, it's spotlight is on Jiayan Sun. His

performance will be judged by a distinguished pan Elf 13. They

decide if he has what it takes to win Gold. It's time to meet The

Leeds Jury. The overall standards of technical perfection are so

dizzying that kind of prowess, alone, does not suffice to anoint a

prize winner. You are looking for something unique. Something with

imagination. Somebody with flare and stage personality. The great

ability to communicate, that touch of magic. Something individual.

That's what I'm looking for, an experience. A journey. A dream.

Somebody who has a language. Somebody who says things

differently. Are you creating atmosphere? Are you saying this is

phenomenonal music, have you to hear it? There is a rule to play

Bach? Is there a rule to play Beethoven? We need someone who

shows every sign of being able to grow and develop as an artist.

I'm looking for is someone I would want to travel 100 miles to hear

again. Basically, they have to get the majority of the jury to say, I

Perhaps, Prokofiev mighty second concerto will be the work that make

that is special impact with this year's Leeds Jury. Jiayan Sun, 22,

from China is the man with that daunting musical challenge ahead of

him. Sir Mark Elder conducting the Halle Orchestra tonight lid by Lyn

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 918 seconds

Fletcher. Jiayan Sun performing MUSIC: Concerto No.2 in G Minor by

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 918 seconds

MUSIC: Concerto No.2 in G Minor by Jiayan Sun looking pretty pleased

after that performance of Prokofiev's punishing 2nd Piano

concerto. He performed it here at the Finals of the Leeds

International Piano Competition 2012. That performance given with

the Halle Orchestra and conductor Sir Mark Elder. Well done. Thank

Took you on a journey. It was a suspense thriller. Absolutely

fantastic. It was thrilling. I think that sets a very high

standard. I feel great. Sir Mark and the orchestra was amazing. We

had good time on stage. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Listening with me this evening the pianist, Norkio Ogawa and Tom

Poster. You said you couldn't face learning that concerto. How did you

think he did? He gave everything. I was nervous for him during the

rehearsal because he showed a little sign, a touch of nervousness.

Not at all in the concert. It was absolutely amazing. Also, what

really moved me was that the huge movement, the repressed music he

absolutely exploded. Oh, I loved it. Tom, you? I think in the first

performance apparently of this piece with Prokofiev himself

soloist, audience members walked out. Other people said they were

frozen with fear. There were moments when the hair were standing

up on the back of my neck. Real moments of power and extraordinary

things. At 22 it's amazing to play Prokofiev 2. My slight concern is

that there were a few balance move -- movement issues. We need the

monstrous level of dynamics. two are tough to please. We have

had two of our Leeds finalists. Join me next week when Pavel

Gililov from Australia plays. showed how Beethoven should sound.

This is an incredibly exciting moment for him in his young life.