XIII International Paderewski Piano Competition: Highlights - Bydgoszcz, PL (09/11/2025 - 23/11/2025)

First Stage - Day 1:

Ms. Julie Haismann of France began with Scarlatti’s Sonata in B-flat major, K. 545, which featured skilled and tasteful use of finger legato. This was followed by her performance of Paderewski’s Sonata in E-flat minor, Op. 21, bringing the first day of Stage I to a stunning close. The entire opus demonstrated an admirable sense of continuity and large-scale musical processes, highlighting motivic relationships both within and between the movements. Throughout the piece, Ms. Haismann presented engaging dialogue between voices and nuanced changes in tone color to great expressive effect. This was particularly poignant in the second movement, where her sound possessed the clarity of a freshwater spring and her voicing resulted in emotionally touching moments. At times her use of the upper register sounded with the resonance and delicacy of tiny bells, while at others her sound was huge, rich, and free from any harshness. In the final movement, Ms. Haismann’s balance, clarity of sound, and attention to individual voices allowed the composer’s use of counterpoint to truly shine.

First Stage - Day 2:

In Händel’s Suite No. 3 in D minor, HWV 428, Mr. Pin-Hong Lin of Taiwan executed clean articulations with a singing tone. Although occasionally individual voices were temporarily obscured, the bass was generally soft but resonant, supporting delicate upper register decorations. Upon finishing, he moved immediately into Debussy’s Étude No. 8 "Pour les agréments," in a manner that was surprisingly smooth, where his sense for color and voicing became apparent. Soprano melodies like water droplets were supported by rich, rippling bass accompaniments. His inner voice melodies sang out, and at times shimmering harmonic colors evoked images of moonlight dancing under water. Once again, Mr. Lin moved smoothly and directly into the Stravinsky-Agosti Firebird Suite, which contrasted richly resonant chords like pealing church bells with moments of striking delicacy. Although on occasion during moments of intensity Mr. Lin’s sound toed the line of good taste, his attention to tone color and voicing effectively depicted shifting orchestral colors on the piano, creating compelling dialogue between voices and at times evoking chills.

Second Stage - Day 1:

Mr. Michał Oleszak of Poland began his program with two works by the competition’s patron: the sarabande of Op. 14 and the Op. 16 “Melody”. The Sarabande featured a clarity of individual lines that highlighted their contrapuntal motion and allowed nuances of melodic shaping to shine. The texture of the arpeggiated chords was noticeable but never excessive. The Op. 16 “Melody” featured a soprano line with a singing quality that was as times crystalline, though on occasion it was lost in the texture. In Prokofiev’s 10 Pieces from Romeo and Juliet, Mr. Oleszak demonstrated impressive facility with both quick shifts in musical texture and nuanced changes of articulation and dynamics when shaping melodic lines. Attention to voicing and changes in tone color often combined with harmony in vibrant ways. Although there were moments when intense passages resulted in a sound that would be better suited to a larger space, these were balanced by ones possessing impressive delicacy—perhaps the most notable of which were the final few whispered notes of the soprano line which faded away to silence, ending the performance with great effect.

Second Stage - Day 2:

Mr. Ivan Shemchuk of Ukraine began with “Un moment musical” from Paderewski’s Miscellanea Op. 16, which was notable for its rich bass, clarity of individual lines. The pearly shimmer often heard in the soprano took on a particularly delicate, glittering quality during the last note of the piece to great effect. The “Caprice valse” of Op. 10 followed, featuring contrasting articulations and impressively smooth runs. Mr. Shemchuk continued his demonstration of tone colors in both the Tchaikovsky-Rachmaninov “Lullaby” and the Kreisler-Rachmaninov Liebesleid, though at times a concern for softness led the soprano to become somewhat obscured in the texture. In Prokofiev’s Op. 83 sonata, Mr. Shemchuk contrasted full, powerful sounds and accents with colorful soprano decorations of inner voice melodies. Sometimes the piece seemed to lack a sense a sense of large-scale trajectory, but sudden changes in musical affect were executed with technical facility.

Mr. Tiantuo Li of China began with Tchaikovsky’s Op. 72 No. 5 "Meditation" which featured rich harmonies and a singing melodic line. This lyrical soprano was also present in the nocturne of Paderewski’s Op. 16 Miscellanea, this time accompanied by a soft accompaniment and tasteful voicing of the tenor melody. In his Haydn, Mr. Li demonstrated a sensitivity to phrase endings, tastefully voicing to emphasize the resolution of dissonances. Although at times his sound possessed a weight that seemed somewhat out of place in Haydn, individual lines possessed a clarity that was in keeping with the style. While the Rachmaninov Op. 39, No. 5 "Étude Tableaux" demonstrated a variety of tone colors, it was the Rachmaninov Wild Floods of Spring that shone with vibrant hues. There were moments when the soprano seemed to flash with the silvery hue of darting fish, while the inner voices, for me at least, evoked shades of teal and green. The voicing of the bass at times added depth, while rapid entrances of ascending motives in different registers imbued the music with a swirling quality appropriate to the title of the piece.

Semifinals - Day 1 (Solo recital):

Mr. Shuhei Aoshima of Japan began by demonstrating the clarity of individual voices in Herdzin’s Arrectis auribus, which although it could have used less presence of his fingers at times, also featured a singing melodic line and chords with a metallic quality. The Scriabin Op. 53 Sonata was notable for start contrasts in dynamics between moments of intensity and softer sections where a crystalline soprano was colored by the alto, floating over a velvety bass line. Here too, the clarity of Mr. Aoshima’s lines enhanced the music by making successive entries of material in different registers audible and contributing to the sometimes-dizzying character of the piece. He continued a demonstration of his ability to produce a large sound in Robert Schumann’s Op. 9 Carnaval, which might have benefited from more attention to melodic shaping and large-scale continuity. Despite this, quick changes in dynamics and articulations paired with engaging dialogue between voices to add interest.

The final recital of the morning was that of Ms. Hyunjin Roh of the Republic of Korea, whose performance of Herdzin’s Arrectis auribus featured a clarity that allowed the sometimes-liquid quality of her soprano to shine through. This was followed by Robert Schumann’s Op. 11 Sonata, which benefited from nuanced shaping of melodic lines that imbued the music with a sense of direction. The first movement was marked by a variety of tone colors, particular during softer sections where the melody sometimes seemed to flow beneath water, while other times a delicate soprano floated as if on moonlit clouds. In the second movement, the melody took on an almost liquid quality as the soprano fell like raindrops over a rich velvety bass. Although the third and fourth movements occasionally seemed to lose forward momentum, the clarity of Ms. Roh’s lines and attention to musical detail resulted in engaging dialogue between voices, imparting an ensemble-like quality to the music.

Semifinals - Day 1 (Mozart Concerto):

Mr. Elia Cecino of Italy selected Mozart’s K. 459 for his concerto, which he began after cordially shaking hands with the concertmaster, demonstrating a sensitivity to orchestral colors from his initial entrance in the Allegro, as the sound of the piano emerged from that of the orchestra. Although at times his fingers could have been less present in the sound, he regularly responded to orchestral colors, sometimes mimicking low strings with his bass lines and performing trills with a delicate touch that blended with the upper woodwinds. During the Allegretto the piano part occasionally felt as if it might have benefited from more connection to the orchestral part, but in general Mr. Cecino seemed to engage in successful dialogue with the rest of the ensemble, conscientiously lowering his dynamic levels and taking a supportive role when other members of the ensemble had primary melodic material. In the Allegro assai, he responded to the woodwinds by changing his dynamics and articulations when the piano switched to echoing their material. Overall, he seemed to connect with the orchestra, frequently playing as part of the ensemble rather than just a soloist, leading to what seemed to be a very sincere hug with the conductor and another handshake with the concertmaster after his performance.

The final concerto of the evening was Mozart’s K. 488, performed by Ms. Tsuzumi Namikawa of Japan, who—despite sometimes feeling a little removed from the orchestra—did at times incorporate orchestral color into her sound. In the opening Allegro, although her fingers could have been less present in the sound, she utilized legato articulations that matched the sound of bowed strings. The Adagio saw a missed opportunity to incorporate color from the poignant bassoon melody into the tenor line of the piano, much to my personal dismay, but this was partially compensated for by the clarity of its contrapuntal motion and the fact that it did sometimes match the colors of the woodwinds. In the Allegro assai, Ms. Namikawa seemed to increase her engagement with the orchestra, incorporating trills that more closely matched the woodwinds and presenting resonant staccato bass lines reminiscent of pizzicato low strings.

Semifinals - Day 2 (Solo Recital):

Mr. Ivan Shemchuk of Ukraine began his recital with Schubert’s D. 664 Sonata demonstrating his dynamic range by juxtaposing powerful sounds with softer passages. At times the verticality of his sound seemed to weigh the music down, but moments of delicate touch during the Andante resulted in a silvery shimmer on the soprano melodies and offered a pleasant contrast. The Szymanowski Op. 33 Études were notable for moments when voicing combined with harmonic color to imbue chords with a metallic quality and contribute to the kaleidoscopic effect of the music. Although Enescu’s Op. 10 suite might have benefited from more attention to melodic shaping and large-scale continuity—as would the rest of the program—the clarity of individual lines supported contrapuntal motion and added interest. Mr. Shemchuk concluded his program by performing from memory Herdzin’s Arrectis auribus, which featured smooth runs and moments when the soprano possessed a water-like clarity.

Semifinals - Day 2 (Mozart Concerto):

Ms. Hyunjin Roh of the Republic of Korea brought the last day of the competition Semi-finals to a close with another performance of Mozart’s K. 488. In the Allegro, her soprano was characterized by a silvery quality which at times seemed to glitter in the upper register. Attention to orchestral colors and articulations allowed her to effectively blend her sound with that of the orchestra in both the opening and the final Allegro assai. However, it was the Adagio where Ms. Roh’s musicality was perhaps most apparent. Although a desire for a soft, delicate sound sometimes resulted in a partial loss of tone, moments when her melody and bass accompaniment seemed to whisper prepared the entrance of the orchestra so effectively that at times it produced chills. Here, her soprano was sometimes so clear that it sounded like moonlit water droplets.

Finals - Day 1:

Ms. Hyunjin Roh of the Republic of Korea ended the evening with her performance of Beethoven’s Op. 73 concerto, beginning with a smooth entrance out of the opening orchestral chords and demonstrating an attention to the ensemble that characterized the remainder of the performance. Although there were a few moments when the piano and orchestra parts did not seem to fully coalesce into a unified entity, those were the exception rather than the rule. Throughout Ms. Roh’s performance, piano runs culminated in orchestral entrances that felt like a continuation of the ideas presented in the piano rather than a separate thought. These instances of sensitivity to the orchestra were enhanced by the variety of colors Ms. Roh produced. Occasionally her fingers might have been less audible, but in general her touch resulted in soprano melodies that at times glittering delicately above the sound of the orchestra like moonlit snow, and at others took on the sparkling clarity of a glockenspiel without any of the percussive attack.

Finals - Day 2:

Mr. Elia Cecino of Italy concluded the evening with another performance of Brahms’ Op. 15, where he demonstrated the ability to effectively engage with the orchestra. Occasionally the piano part did not feel completely locked in with the timing of the orchestra, but more often, Mr. Cecino aligned his part with the to great effect, perhaps most notably during the alternating chords in both the first and third movements. Additionally, although at times his playing might have benefited from a less vertical sound, the clarity of voices and melodic shaping during the Adagio contributed a sense of direction, which was enhanced by tasteful changes of color as individual lines engaged in dialogue with each other. The final movement was especially notable for moments when the piano and upper woodwinds shared melodic material, when Mr. Cecino adjusted the color of his sound to effectively blend with the ensemble.