The ten finalists are chosen

Things are accelerating rapidly towards a conclusion. It seems that no sooner had the third-stage auditions begun than they were over, and yesterday the 10 finalists were announced. Among them are two who are generally considered to be the front runners: Ingolf Wunder and Evgeni Bozhanov, who seem to be getting better and better as the Competition unfolds. I was listening again to selections from their performances on the Competition website (available on CD free with the Chopin Express, if you happen to be in Warsaw); and it struck me that these two favourites are  chalk and cheese in their approach to Chopin. If Bozhanov can be a little hard in his playing style, he makes up for it with wonderfully crisp rhythms and a strong, unmistakeable musical personality; conversely, if Wunder can sometimes treat the music like a swoony Viennese waltz, rather than a sharp-heeled Slavic dance, he redeems himself with a gorgeous bel canto line and thoughtful, imaginative, lyrical approach. But I'm being hyper-critical: both pianists are exceptional young musicians.

As are the other eight competitiors, and anything could happen in the concerto finals, so it's not a done deal. Interestingly there are no finalists from Far Eastern countries this year, simply a field dominated by Europeans: five Russians, one Pole, a Bulgarian, two French pianists, and an Austrian. It also seems that 8 out of 10 pianists prefer the E minor Concerto. We should thank Paweł Wakarecy and Hélène Tysman for going against the grain and choosing F minor, but be warned, on Tuesday night it's three E minors in a row...
After a brief rest on Sunday, the finals begin on Monday 18th with Miroslav Kultyshev's performance at 6pm, Central European Time. Be there, either in person or online at http://konkurs.chopin.pl/en/edition/xvi/online/broadcasting to watch the drama unfold.