@TheBoringPianist won 3rd place!!!! I was sitting next to him when it was announced and he was totally not expecting it and was on his phone, updating the results on his website 😂
I met the other two jurors at the reception tonight. Actually the last juror I’m glad I didn’t meet during jury feedback (which is limited to 5 min per juror) because we had a long chat and I got to pick her brain about competition repertoire! The takeaway is don’t compete with anything that I’m not completely solid on (unfortunately the Bach may never be, and she said it’s a very difficult and risky piece) and she said Chopin is also very risky, especially all of the big famous pieces that everyone knows really well. Basically the pieces I want to play. She said I can learn Ballade 4 for myself but I shouldn’t bring it to a competition. My takeaway is that I want to eventually bring it to a competition, but it had better be really, really good.
The winner tonight was astounding, he had a crowd waiting to congratulate him after he played his final round and I’m so looking forward to hearing his winner’s recital in two years. Also, he is a cardiologist and in his first year as a fellow! We joked that he shouldn’t tell his patients about his piano hobby, because they’d worry about whether he’s getting any sleep. He is a true musician, and so inspiring.
There's a bunch of people who are really into going to lots of piano competitions/festivals, it's basically like adult summer camp! I did not expect it to be so social. I can't go to Oberlin or the new Chopin Amateur competition in Nashville this year, but I think my life is going to get a lot more expensive going forward 😆