Chopin 2025: I'm not here to win, but to play Chopin, says Yang (Jack) Gao
Chinese pianist Yang (Jack) Gao said after playing in the third stage of the 19th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw that rather than thinking about winning the contest he wanted to play Chopin's music.
Gao's performance commenced the third round auditions on Tuesday morning. Later, he was asked by reporters about his choice of Chopin's pieces, including the Sonata in B minor, Op. 58, and the mazurkas from Op. 33.
"This sonata is dynamic and carries a strong emotional charge. It also contains a whole palette of colours. It's personally important to me, so I felt more freedom in my own interpretation," he said.
"The selected mazurkas, on the other hand, are very well-known, so I tried to convey my own personal touch in them," Gao added.
He also admitted that the greatest challenge with mazurkas was achieving balance in the interpretation. "I see a lot of introverted nature in them," he said and added that in some of them he saw Chopin's personal diary and treated them as a long journey through changing moods.
Asked if he had any strategy for winning the competition, Gao replied that he wasn't thinking about it at all. "I came here to play Chopin's works," he said.
Twenty pianists from eight countries are competing in the third stage of the Chopin Competition. Auditions continue until Thursday, and the names of the musicians qualified for the finals will be announced on that evening.
The 19th edition of the International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition runs from October 2nd to 23rd. It is organised by Poland's Fryderyk Chopin Institute.
The Polish Press Agency is a media partner of the competition. (PAP)
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