I began watching the Chopin Competition’s content in 2018, with their first International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments. Since then, it has become an event whenever the Competition’s live content reappears in my YouTube feed. I followed this year’s competition quite a bit, but for me, so much of my appreciation took off after the winners were announced. My favorites at the start were Shiori Kuwahara and David Khrikuli; now that has shifted and I can’t get enough of Zitong Wang’s playing.

I’ll capture my personal highlights so far in terms of standout interpretations of particular pieces. These were performances that either introduced me to a new piece (Tianyou Li’s First Piano Sonata) or showed me a nuance I had never heard before. Either way, these pianists have enhanced my love for one of Chopin’s pieces. Going in descending order, these are also a ranking of how much each pianist has personally affected me, with one word describing their Chopin.

• Zitong Wang: invention
  • Nocturne in F major, Op. 15 No. 1; Ecossaises, Op. 72 Nos. 1-3; Presto con leggerezza in A flat major, WN 44; Preludes Op. 28 Nos. 19, 22, 23 (Round 2)
  • Waltz in E major, WN 18 (Round 3)
• William Yang: flow
  • Nocturne Op. 32 No. 2 in A flat major (Round 2)
  • Polonaise-Fantasy in A flat major, Op. 61 (Final Round)
• Tianyou Li: Classicism
  • Sonata in C minor, Op. 4 (Round 2)
• David Khrikuli: fire
  • Fantasy in F minor (Round 1)
• Vincent Ong: soul
  • Nocturne in E major, Op. 62 No. 2 (Round 1)
  • Preludes Op. 28 Nos. 2, 5, 11 (Round 2)
• Kevin Chen: technique
  • Grande Valse Brillante in E flat major, Op. 18; Etude Op. 25 No. 6 (Round 1)
  • Etudes Op. 10 Nos. 2, 4, 8, 10 (Round 2)
• Tianyao Lyu: charm
  • Variations in B flat major, Op. 2 (Round 2)

I’m sure I can add more to this over time; for now I think I’ve listened to the Round 1 / 2 of all finalists except for Miyu Shindo and Piotr Alexewicz. The focus again has been on a unique interpretation of a piece, and so far I have felt that Eric Lu and Shiori Kuwahara’s interpretations are too similar to what I am used to hearing in Chopin.

Some other visual highlights from this Competition:

• Tianyao Lyu’s head-bonk with conductor Andrzej Boreyko
• Zitong Wang casually dissing Chopin’s waltzes (preliminary round interview)
• Yumeka Nakagawa crying when playing the Raindrop Prelude

These has been so much to love and so much to go back and listen to. Although it will be 5 years until the next competition, I can keep myself busy with discovering all the other competitors' performances in the meantime.