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The piano auditions for Stage I of Round II came to a conclusion on June 22nd in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. Lukas Geniušas (Russia-Lithuania), Daniel Kharitonov (Russia), and Julia Kociuban (Poland) played for the afternoon session. The day wound up with Russians Mikhail Turpanov, Nikolay Medvedev, and Dmitri Masleev. Almost none of the pieces played on this day were repeated, as only Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7 was played twice. (During the two days of this solo recital stage in Round II, different competitors played all of the composer’s triad of “War” sonatas.) Alongside compositions by Bach, Haydn, Liszt, Chopin, and Prokofiev, some performers also played works by composers who had not been popular in the competitions, such as Debussy, Messiaen, and Grażyna Bacewicz. Proceedings began with Lukas Genušias, a pianist well-known to Moscow concert-goers and by some accounts one of the main candidates for a victory. His programme had Brahms’ Sonata No.1, Chopin études (Nos. 3 to 6, and 10) and Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7 and was distinguished by the intellectual approach, clarity, and precision of his playing. Daniel Kharitonov, the youngest competitor at just 16, emphasized Liszt and Rachmaninov but preceded these Romantic pieces with the Bach-Busoni Chaconne, which was also interpreted with a Romantic tone. After that came Liszt’s “Petrarch Sonnet” No. 123 and the “Hungarian Rhapsody” No. 12 followed by Rachmaninov’s Prélude in G-flat major and his Sonata No. 2. The piano artistry of Poland’s Julia Kociuban showed an affinity for grand, concerto-style forms. Her programme was made up of three sonatas, one of which is a real rarity in the concert hall (Grażyna Bacewicz’s Sonata No. 2) while the two others (Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 and Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7) are “warhorses”. The evening session began with Mikhail Turpanov. He offered the audience Brahms’ “Variations and Fugue” on a theme of Handel, Scriabin’s Sonata No. 7, and wound up with Messiaen’s “Regard de l’Eglise d’amour” from his “Vingt regards sur l’enfant-Jesus”. This very unusual programme was fascinating, but exactly which of his skills the pianist wanted to display and what he meant by the choice of pieces was a matter for speculation. The inner logic of Nikolay Medvedev’s programme was by comparison quite clear. This musician began with Prokofiev’s sixth piano sonata and then played Debussy’s “Des pas sur la Neige” and “Feux d’Artifice”, and was Liszt’s “Reminiscences de Don Juan”. The pianist had made a backward-looking traversal from the dramatic happenings of the 20th century to the refined Impressionism of Debussy and back further to the vivid Romantic virtuosity of the 19th century. The concluding audition fell to Dmitri Masleev whose programme seemed devised to challenge human physical capacity. Every composition was a virtuoso showpiece, but in differing styles and with different artistic goals: Haydn’s C major sonata (Hob. XVI/48) , Rachmaninov’s “Variations on a Theme of Corelli”, and Rachmaninov’s transcription of the Scherzo from the Mendelssohn’s “Incidental music to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. In each of these the pianist was not only on top of the technical demands, but also able to bring out special colourations, reveal fine details, varying gradations of tone and textural details even in passages taken at a breath-taking pace. And in the Rachmaninov variations he demonstrated an amazing understanding of the style and the ability to delineate a deep, perfectly formed structure. Dmitri Masleev set aside a special place in his presentation for the theme of the infernal that was so dear to the hearts of the Romantics. In the first half of his programme the Saint-Saens –Liszt “Danse macabre” (arranged by Vladimir Horowitz) glittered with demonic sarcasm and wit, as if to prefigure the final quotation of Liszt’s Dies irae that comes as a frightening, overpowering infernal vortex that carries all to their end. As soon as he had finished, the musician dashed off stage. The audience gave him a rousing ovation that made it clear that at that moment the Competition had two audience favourites, who will challenge each other in the finals—Lucas Debargue and Dmitri Masleev. The violin auditions for Stage I of Round II continued on June 22nd in the Moscow Conservatory. There were six semi-finalists in the Small Hall. Afternoon auditions were for Yu-Chien Tseng (Taiwan), Clara-Jumi Kang (Germany), Yoo Jin Jang (South Korea); and in the evening for Haik Kazazyan (Russia), Sergei Pospelov (Russia), and Christoper Tun Andersen (Norway). Four years ago in the previous Competition only eight out of the twelve semi-finalists made it to Stage II of Round II. Now the rules have changed so that on June 24th and 25th each of the Round II participants will perform a Mozart violin concerto with the Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Valentin Uryupin). On June 22nd just as on the day before, listeners heard six solo programmes lasting about one hour each and with almost no pieces repeated. Nevertheless, Wieniawski’s “Variations on an Original Theme” came up three times, while Grieg’s Sonata No. 3 and Tchaikovsky’s “Melody” were each played twice. Clearly the most unusual repertoire was offered by Yoo Jin Jang and Haik Kazazyan. Yoo Jin Jang closed her presentation with John Corigliano’s violin sonata, and it was perhaps the only piece in Round II that had not been played by any of the other violinists. On the other hand, Haik Kazazyan put Milstein’s “Paganiniana”, a fantasia for solo violin on themes of Paganini, right in the centre of his programme. This piece begins exactly like the Caprice No. 24 that was one of the mandatory pieces in Round I, and for the first few seconds there is a sensation of dejà vu. However, that quickly faded away. Each of the competitors had their own way of making up a programme. Yu-Chien Tseng began right away with two large works—Mozart’s sonata in B-flat major K. 454 and Brahms’ second violin sonata—then eased up a little on himself and the audience with Tchaikovsky’s “Melody”. He performed the most virtuosic piece, Wieniawski’s “Variations on an Original Theme”, at the end. In Clara-Jumi Kang’s programme every number was a highlight in its own right. With Grieg’s Sonata No. 3 the violinist showed her abilities with a large musical form; in Prokofiev’s “Five Melodies” she brought out the lyricism; and in Ernst’s “The Last Rose of Summer” she showed off her virtuosity. Hubay’s “Fantasia on Themes from G. Bizet's Carmen”was the finale of Kang’s programme. In that piece the ensemble playing was particularly noteworthy. The soloist and her accompanist, Evgenia Smirnova, sounded like a fine duo that had been performing beautifully together for a long time. Yoo Jin Jang’s programme differed quite a bit from the rest. Where the others played four or five pieces, she played just three, and none of them offered any respite to either the performer or the audience. Starting with Schumann’s Sonata No. 1 and continuing with Schnittke’s “A Paganini”, she then launched into Corigliano’s violin sonata (1963), which is almost unknown here. This sonata is not written in a very complicated idiom, and in that respect it differs from everything heard in the first two rounds. Backed up by Oleg Khudyakov on the piano, Yoo Jin Jang brought off this composition beautifully even though it looked a little out of place for a competition. Just like Clara-Jumi Kang, Haik Kazazyan began with Grieg, although it was the Sonata No. 2 and not No. 3 that had been heard several times. Along with the already-mentioned “Paganiniana” he played Lutoslawski’s ”Subito”, Tchaikovsky’s “Sérénade mélancolique”, and Wieniawski’s “Variations on an Original Theme”. That last composition was interpreted also by Sergei Pospelov, who devoted the other half of his programme to Ravel. In addition to “Tsigane” which is often heard in competitions, he performed the Sonata in G major with the blues in its middle movement very effectively. When Christopher Tun Andersen’s turn came, he offered four compact compositions (by Paganini, Brahms, Shostakovich, and Wienawski) and concluded with Grieg’s Sonata No. 3. Next the competitors have a day for rehearsals with the orchestra, and then Stage II of Round II. The cello auditions for Stage I of Round II concluded on June 22nd in the Small Hall of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic. On June 23 the competitors will rehearse with the chamber orchestra. On Wednesday and Thursday each of them will play one of Joseph Haydn’s cello concertos (eight have chosen the C major concerto Hob. VIIb/1, and four the D major concerto Hob. VIIb/2.) Unlike the previous Competition, the jury will not eliminate anyone after Stage I. The results of both stages taken together will determine the six finalists. A masterful performance by Seung Min Kang of a virtuoso showpiece by 20th century Spanish composer, Gaspar Cassadó finished off the afternoon auditions of cellists in Stage I of Round II. The high quality of performance was still there, and along with it each of the participants had his or her own individual viewpoint. For example, Buzlov overwhelmed the listeners with his intellect and carefully thought out interpretation of the Britten sonata. Worlitzsch delighted with an elegant lyricism and a gentle tone in Schubert, and Seung Min Kang with lively expressiveness. Along with the customary Shostakovich and Prokofiev, Seung Min Kang turned to Alfred Schnittke’s Cello Sonata No. 1 and played it beautifully with a fully developed musical sensibility and at certain points with the skills of an actor. The evening session featured Russian cellists Fedor Amosov and Alexander Ramm along with the youngest competitor at these auditions, 17-year-old Jonathan Roozeman. Fedor Amosov was trained overseas at universities in Michigan and Cleveland and beginning this year plays for the Bolshoi Theatre. In addition to playing the cello, he composes and took the risk in Round II of playing his own “Sonata-Fantasia” for solo cello, a rather extensive composition in which one can make out allusions to jazz and American folk songs blended with classical music for cello. Coming right after Fedor in the evening session, Jonathan Roozeman impressed most of all with his delicately detailed technique (nicely put to use in Luigi Boccherini’s Sonata No. 6 in A major) and his velvety tone. For a larger musical form Jonathan selected Schubert’s “Arpeggione” and the first movement of Prokofiev’s sonata. But it was Alexander Ramm, graduate of the Moscow Conservatory studying under Natalia Shakhovskaya, who closed the evening to a rousing round of applause from the hall. He had played the deeply philosophical Cello Sonata No. 4 by Ludwig van Beethoven, the Britten sonata already familiar to listeners from Round I, the slow movement from Rachmaninov’s cello sonata, and Bohuslav Martinů’s sardonic “Variations on a Theme of Rossini”. Stage II of Round II for piano, violin, and cello will continue on June 24th and 25th.