| It all started when I was asked by my coach and pianoteacher,
Mr Romuald Sztern, if I wanted to attend the Helsingborg Pianofestival,
which was to take place in Dunker's Cultural Center in Helsingborg
during a hectic summer week. The Piano Festival contained master
classes for three very famous and renowned world-class pianists,
concerts with both masters and students, and open discussions
around different themes. It is still a fairly young festival,
now on its second year.
The Swedish pianist Per Tengstrand and the Russian Ilya Itin
performed in solo concerts and Per Tengstrand and his wife Shan
Shan Sun from China played four hands.
It was a very exciting and inspiring experience to work with
Per Tengstrand over Beethoven's sonate op. 109 and we had a
very open dialog, much unlike the normal Master-pupil dialog
that normally takes place. It was inspiring to feel that he
listened to and respected my interpretations and, of course,
very valuable to hear his interpretation of the piece.
What makes it so interesting with these international festivals
is the possibility to meet musicians and make friends from different
parts of the world. Among the participants there were two Koreans
now living in USA, coming all the way to Sweden to participate.
This gave me a chance to catch up on some korean, since I have
a korean background myself, growing up in Sweden. We found many
things to talk about and we became really good friends during
this week. They promised to come visit Sweden again in the future.
There were also participants from countries like Estonia, China
and Denmark. The atmosphere felt very much like in any major
international pianofestival, despite its short history.
The students had several opportunities to perform in front
of an audience during the week. At my lunch concerts I performed
Schumanns "Carnaval" and Beethovens sonate op. 109.
One evening there was even a summer-night outdoor concert where
a grand piano was placed out on the terrace. The audience was
placed around the piano and down by the waterline, listening
to the music. The sun set at the horizon, and the atmosphere
was absolutely magical.
On our day off we went to Fredriksdals Castle just outside
Helsingborg. We had a well-deserved picnic and a guided tour
around the castle and its gardens.
The festival week went by much to fast and at the end of the
week, at the final concert, every participant performed one
piece and afterwards received a beautiful red rose.
In retrospective I must say that it was a very well-organized
and enjoyable piano festival with very high standards on the
participants. Despite its short history it is remarkable how
many people it attracted. Every concert played by the great
masters Per Tengstrand, Shan Shan Sun and Ilya Itin was, of
course, more or less sold out, but also at the masterclasses
there were lots of people listening to the students performing.
It has been a great pleasure to attend and to get to know people
from all over the world. It is definitely true that "music
unites". I think of my new korean friends and hope that
I get a chance to show them around next time they come to Sweden.
See you next year!.
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