PIANO COMPETITIONS: THEIR FORMER IMPORTANCE AND RECENT DECLINE by Jeffrey Swann and Joseph Patrych

The New York Chapter of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections presents its June 2019 program:

PIANO COMPETITIONS: THEIR FORMER IMPORTANCE AND DECLINE IN RECENT YEARS
Presented by Jeffrey Swann and Joseph Patrych

The idea of piano competitions dates back to the classical era, and reached its full flower in the 19th Century with such exhibitionistic “Duels,” as that between Franz Liszt and Sigismund Thalberg. It was not until the 20th Century that the piano competition became a formal event, awarding prizes and aiding career development (the earliest well known example would be the first Chopin competition in 1927, won by Lev Oborin). As the 20th century progressed, a number of very influential piano competitions were established (Queen Elizabeth in 1938, Tchaikovsky in 1958, Leeds and Cliburn in 1962). Many winners of these and other smaller competitions often went on to enjoy major careers.The question, however, is whether the competition’s influence has declined on the musical scene. This talk will attempt to answer that and two others: whether the piano competition has been supplanted by other types of career development; and whether the sheer number of current competitions has had a deleterious effect on their collective importance.

JEFFREY SWANN is currently Artistic Director of the Dino Ciani Festival & Academy in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; Professor of Piano at New York University; and the President’s Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Northern Arizona University. Himself a native of Northern Arizona, he studied with Alexander Uninsky at Southern Methodist University, and with Beveridge Webster and Adele Marcus at The Juilliard School, where he received the B.M., M.M. and D.M.A. Degrees. He won first prize in the Dino Ciani Competition sponsored by Milan’s La Scala; a gold medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels; and top honors at the Warsaw Chopin, Van Cliburn, Vianna da Motta and Montreal Competitions, as well as the Young Concert Artists auditions in New York City. His large and varied repertoire embraces more than 60 concertos and solo works ranging from Bach to Boulez. His performing career has taken him throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America and Asia, appearing with major orchestras and conductors. He lectures regularly at the Bayreuth Festival, and at Wagner Societies in the United States and Italy, and is a frequent judge at competitions. He has recorded for DG, RCA Italiana, Fonit-Cetra, Replica, Agorà, Replica, and Music and Arts.

JOSEPH PATRYCH is a recording producer and the owner of Patrych Sound Studios in New York City. He has produced and/or engineered over 350 CDs for various labels including Albany, Arbiter, BIS, BMG, Bridge, Centaur, Classico, Diva Productions, Koch, Music & Arts, Nonesuch, New York Philharmonic Special Editions, Pearl, Pierian, Warner Classics, in addition to thousands of private clients. He studied music theory, history, analysis and performance at the Aaron Copland School of Music, and has performed as a pianist, conductor and choral singer. From 1980 to 1993 he was Classical Music Director at WFUV-FM, and also the co-producer and co-host of Concert Grande, a radio program devoted to the piano that aired from 1977 to 1993. He has been involved in the design and construction of studios for Harvard University, The University of Missouri at Kansas City, The Edison National Historical Site and The International Piano Archives at Maryland, as well as many private studios, and He has been a member of ARSC for over 25 years and is a member of its Technical Committee.

THE ASSOCIATION FOR RECORDED SOUND COLLECTIONS (www.arsc-audio.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and study of sound recordings, in all genres of music and speech, in all formats, and from all periods. ARSC is unique in bringing together private individuals and institutional professionals—everyone with a serious interest in recorded sound.

Videographer: Joseph Patrych; http://www.patrych.com/index.html
Editor: James Wu; http://video.jameswu.nyc/