The New Golden Age – Defending the Jury pt. 2

With so much attention being paid to Tsujii (including from me) I wanted to be sure to not overlook the other gold medalist Haochen Zhang, his extraordinary ability and unbelievable upside potential. If not breaking barriers like Tsujii he certainly dispelled a myth and if some feel that the jury took a chance with him, well they are supposed to take a chance!….

Firstly the perception that the Cliburn jury simply awards the gold to the “best” is just not true at all.  There’s so much more that goes into the decision and Richard Rodzinski articulated very clearly at the awards ceremony that it needs to be someone who is both ready for a major career, but who also has tremendous upside and potential so that our interest in them continues to grow.  In a sense it is about how we as an audience can win from the selection. Haochen Zhang is a perfect example of perhaps someone who might have in past competitions not placed in the medals, but grew into becoming a major artist.  If you look  at the list of past finalists and where they placed , certain place getters have had, or are having more major careers than some of the winners from the same year.  I am speculating that that the jury does take that into consideration and are looking also at the prospects and potential, combined with the readiness of an artist (again since that is what they are charged to do).

By all accounts, whilst I was awestruck that Haochen turned 19 during finals week, what stood out with him was that the authenticity, stamina and maturity that he demonstrated was astounding, and whilst he was performing, his age didn’t cross my mind.  My initial thought was that his innate maturity is simply a gift, something he was born with, but when it comes to crafting interpretation does age wisdom and performing experience trump personal experience?  If one looks a little deeper there is back story that gives some insight.  In this article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram, this jumped out at me:

Along the way, his parents’ marriage collapsed when Zhang was 13. He has had little contact with his father, a manager with a Japanese trading company, beyond a couple of e-mails a year. Zhang has not told his father that he reached the Cliburn finals but is fairly certain he knows through media reports.

Settling in at Curtis and a whole new culture at 15 was made all the harder because the U.S. immigration authorities wouldn’t extend his mother’s visa after five months, while families of other foreign classmates got permission to stay on.

“I told them I am only 15, but they said, ‘You are you, and your mother is your mother,’ ” Zhang said.

Because of his love affair with KFC, she knew he wasn’t eating right. He lost weight and complained of insomnia while she was in Shanghai and could help only with phone calls. No one had advised them to consult an immigration lawyer. Her requests for a new visa were turned down five times, the American consulate relenting only after Zhang wrote that he’d like his mother to be at his December 2008 Carnegie Hall debut.

“Handling the loneliness was the most challenging of what I went through,” Zhang said during a break from practice Tuesday and between bites on a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, later supplemented with KFC.

“I had never been alone before, without family,” he said. “I could have just hung out with friends and done nothing, or done drugs at that age. But I see it let me grow. What helped was reading [the Chinese translation of Henry David] Thoreau, who wrote, ‘I never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.’ ”

It made me think that losing something or someone precious, happiness, sadness, love, loneliness etc.. can happen at any age.  Haochen was alone in a foreign country at 15!!!!  It is a myth that experience and maturity is something that only happens over time.  In his case it happened all at once!  Haochen’s companion, his friend and his solace has been music and it is clear that he channels that personal connection into his playing.  Combine that with his mind boggling virtuosity and the sky is the limit from here.  I have heard that some feel that he is “unfinished”.  Well, they way I look at it is that he’s is only just getting started!

The Cliburn is not a final exam, it’s a starting exam, and the beginning of a Pianist’s journey to connect with the world and to make what they do relevant.  With this in mind I believe the jury hit it out of the park with both gold medals!

As an aside, Silver Medalist Yeol Eum Son and Gold Medalist Haochen Zhang will be performing with my orchestra in Springfield MO Nov 14 and Feb 13 respectively!