Kyohei Sorita is a standout at the Chopin Piano Competition in Poland

There were 85 pianists rolled out in the LIVE streamed continuation of the XVIII International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw commencing October 2, 2021. (The preliminaries had taken place between July 12 and 23rd.)

With a current paring down to 45 pianists, the Stage 2 phase is in progress with Stage 3 and the Finals set to reach a conclusion on October 23rd.

Among the slew of contenders, (a reference that would not be to Chopin’s liking), there’s one pianist in my opinion, whose musical maturity, imagination, poetry, and technical prowess have fused seamlessly to blissful proportion. His name is Kyohei Sorita (Japan) whose artistry flows through his every performance. (I’ve tabbed the Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante in E flat major, Op. 22 that was his last program offering at the October 9th, 2021 evening session.)

Sorita Bio

“Born on 1 September 1994 in Tokyo. He is currently a student of Piotr Paleczny at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, having studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Mikhail Voskresensky. He has worked with such ensembles as the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Rai in Turin, NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo, Russian National Orchestra of Moscow and Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. He has won first prize and the audience prize in the Japan Music Competition (2012) and first prize in the Cantu International Piano and Orchestra Competition in Italy (2015). In 2020, he made his debut at the Vienna Groser Musikvereinssaal.”

Of related interest, is the intrinsically woven triumph of Garrick Ohlsson at the 1970 Warsaw Competition for which the pianist “established himself worldwide as a musician of magisterial interpretive and technical prowess.” These superlatives would well apply to Kyohei Sorita.

Seymour Bernstein, pianist, teacher, author, and composer, reacted as I did to the pianist’s playing.

“OK, everyone stop what you are doing and experience some sort of ecstatic miracle. Kyohei Sorita performed this program in the 1st round of the Chopin Competition. I have been transformed.” (Seymour had yet to sample Sorita’s most recent Round 2 performance)

***

Looking back in history to what Chopin would think of a Competition in his name, honoring his music:

When queried by Tone Base founder, Benjamin Laude about what Chopin might have said in regard to the 2021 Competition’s framing of his music, Ohlsson replied that the composer would not be pleased with the large hall scaling–the antithesis of his preferred salon ambiance.

Chopin’s persona in the 19th Century, his potential membership on a contest jury, and how music was performed on a less developed, period piano at the time, are fascinating ingredients of Ohlsson’s interview.

Finally, in a flashback to the 1980 International Chopin Piano Competition, Martha Argerich one of its judges, stormed off the jury when 22 year old Yugoslavian (now Croatian) pianist, Ivo Pogorelic was eliminated in the third round. Argerich, who called the pianist “a genius,” nonetheless catapulted him to instant recognition and fame.

Naturally, aesthetic differences between jurors and among audience members will play a role in rendered opinions about pianists. For example, one of my colleagues in the music teaching profession, insisted that Tomoharu Oshida is her favorite among the Chopin Competition entrants.

Judging by his Stage 1 peformance, I believe he will pass to the Finals and be one of the top contenders for first place. But who knows what an elite jury of 17 pianists, many who’ve scored triumphs in International Concours, will decide.

As Garrick Ohlsson concludes, “Competitions are a lottery–there’s no guarantee that no matter how good you are, that every member of the jury see it that way.” (And such, he admits, is understandable.) Yet he continues, with a ring of optimism, “In a troubled world it’s nice to know that young pianists have applied themselves to something they feel deeply about.” Such words are pearls of wisdom.

from Arioso7's Blog (Shirley Kirsten)
https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2021/10/09/kyohei-sorita-is-a-standout-at-the-chopin-piano-competition-in-poland/