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Jury member John O'Conor talks to Aleksander Laskowski
■ It is your first time on the Chopin competition jury. What are your impressions?
First of all it is exhausting. The days are incredibly long. Plus, we have had two weeks of practically eleven hours a day with only one day off. It's been very tiring but also a very exhilarating experience to hear so many people play this repertoire. It was wonderful.
■ Has this experience changed your perception of Chopin?
It is more likely that it confirmed I was on the right track.
■ With what you have heard here, how would you describe the level of playing?
The technical standard at this competition is as high, if not higher, as at any other competition I've heard. However, the standard of Chopin playing has not been as high as I would have expected from the point of view of poetry.
■ So what does it take to find the poetry in Chopin's music?
When I hear some people I feel they have not read the biography of Chopin, they don't know who he was and how he played. They have not read the poetry he liked, nor seen a polonaise danced. It is extraordinary that people seem to think that music making and piano playing are the same and they are not.
■ What about the quality of sound?
This is one of the most beautiful halls in the world, I want to wrap it up and take home with me. All three pianos are amazing, congratulations to the producers. It is also fascinating that two pianists can make the same piano sound totally different.
■ Would you advise piano students to learn Polish to understand Chopin's music better?
I'm not sure, he spent so much time in France. But you definitely have to read some Mickiewicz-you cannot play ballads without it-and dance the mazurka and polonaise to understand the rhythms. You have to realize the difference between a waltz by Chopin and a waltz by Strauss.
■ Have you ever danced the polonaise?
Yes, I have. I danced as a child in Ireland-my mother thought it was good for me so I did all the dances, polonaise included.
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