NEW YORK—Remarkable performances of talented Chinese violinists from North America and Europe brought the semi-final round of New Tang Dynasty Television’s Third Chinese International Violin Competition into conclusion. The competition is being held at the Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center in New York on Friday, Oct. 29.
Aimed to provide a platform for talented artists of Chinese heritage from all around the world, the competition is one of a series of international competitions held by NTDTV.
“What a great idea is it to bring all Chinese artists together,“ said contestant Jing Zhang. ”I feel glad to know new friends of the same field.” Zhang, 22, hails from the New England Music Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. “I really hope the organizers carry on doing this competition every year.”
Two Beethoven pieces played at the competition were in lively tempos, while the third one followed the rhythm of a minuet.
“Beethoven’s classical sonatas have no slides. You spend a lot of time in certain parts,” said Corin Lee, 21, a student of The Julliard School.
Lee now takes classes with Camilla Wicks, one of the world’s most accomplished female violinists.
The Bach sonata starts with a peaceful set of notes and boasts dramatic and swift changes in pitches and tempos throughout, making the piece a very difficult one for solo performances.
“The Bach one had different voices. It’s hard but important to bring out the melody,” said Lee.
Lee is one of the contestants who advanced to the final round which is to be held on Sunday, Oct. 31. He said the challenge of the semi-final round is the complete different styles of Bach and Beethoven, and to play their masterpieces all at once.
His mother, Catherine Lee, runs a violin studio in San Francisco. She said the required pieces, especially the Bach sonata, were well chosen.
Playing for almost half an hour in a highly concentrated manner was certainly challenging for all contestants. A professional competition doesn’t only measure one’s skills, but also the mind. Like Lee said, “a competition is not for competing with others, but a competition for yourself.”
For Sunday’s final round, the contestants are required to choose one from four of caprices composed by Italian classical violinist Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840) and in addition, perform a series of classical variations of a Chinese piece called De Du, or “Be Saved.”
The gold winner of the competition will be awarded $5,000 and a brand new violin hand-crafted by a veteran luthier.
Ticket information for the final round is available at http://violin.ntdtv.com/en/
The Epoch Times is a proud media sponsor of the NTDTV competition series.
