Concerto Contest

If the purpose of the HRO Concerto Competition is to stimulate undergraduate musicians to higher achievement, this year's audition must be judged a resounding failure. All of four people showed up at Paine Hall to play Thursday night, and they were all pianists--a turnout a third as large as last year's.

The competition should be one of the most auspicious events of the Harvard musical season. Opportunities to play with a full orchestra are scarce; and the HRO is better than average. Considering the number of good musicians at Harvard, four pianists is a paltry showing. The total lack of string and wind players is disgraceful. One can only conclude that the competition no longer demands the attention of the musical community. Poor timing and almost non-existent publicity are both to blame. Still it is disheartening to see such an opportunity generate so little excitement.

Each contestant was asked to play excerpts from his concerto. Then we all sat and waited for the judges' decision. The way I saw it, two of the pianists could readily have been eliminated. James Richman's performance of the Mendelssohn Concerto in G Minor lacked the necessary technical expertise. The Mendelssohn is one of those piano showpieces with lots of runs and arpeggios and few solid musical ideas. Success depends on virtousity--something which Richman, for all his vigor and musicality, simply did not have.

Tonu Kalam played the Beethoven First Concerto--in a manner that suggested he had better things to do. A difficult work to put across, the Beethoven relies on classical structure and logic rather than flashy passage-work and sweeping melodies. Delicacy and extreme sensitivity are a must, and Kalam revealed neither. Without exception, his phrases were rushed, brusque, and superficial.

The other two contestants presented a difficult choice. Seth Carlin is the most virtuosic pianist I have heard at Harvard. His performance of the Rachmaninoff Second Concerto displayed a near-perfect technical mastery of that demanding score. The runs and complicated accompaniment figures came through clearly without covering the melodic line. Carlin also demonstrated rhythmic control and power that put his playing on a professional level.

The fourth competitor stood out for different reasons. Alan Summers's rendition of the Tchaikovsky First Concerto lacked much of the finesse of Carlin's performance. At many points his playing was messy, especially in passages with rapid octave runs. His habitual humming was frequently so loud as to be annoying. What Summers lacked in elegance, however, was compensated for by his sensitive handling of nuance and phrase. He played with a warm sound and Romantic lyricism that Carlin seldom achieved.

To my total surprise, Kalam was named winner. The rest of the audience must have equally amazed, for the announcement was greeted by a long, disbelieving hush. In my incredulity, I could only wonder how the judges managed to make such a clearly wrong choice. If they thought any of the works too difficult for the HRO, they should have prepared a list of approved pieces far in advance. If they are prejudiced against large Romantic concertos in general, then the validity of the whole competition is called into question. The judges would do well to consider the adverse effect their decision could have on the prestige of future contests. Qualified musicians cannot be blamed for apathy toward a competition that doesn't guarantee them a fair hearing.