First of all, I am DEVASTATED that the competition is over. For the past month, I've been working with hours and hours of Chopin's music from the competition playing in the background. I followed the competition since the preliminary round and I remember being so bummed that I had to wait for October. But October came by so fast I didn't even feel like I waited that long tbh.  

DISCLAIMER: I know that the title says Chopin Competition 2021 like it's a legit post or something so I had to add the novice thing. If you expect a critical assessment of the competitors' performances here I gotta say I'm not smart enough for that so you probably won't find it here. But if you just want to geek over the beautiful musical moments, the awkward Chopin Talks, and all the fun parts, you've (probably) come to the right place.

Indonesia and Poland have a 5 hour time difference (with the daylight saving) so I could almost never watch the evening sessions live. I could sometimes catch a few performances but would always have to see the rest on the following day. Not that I was complaining since the music was such great company on tedious workdays. I think among the other competitors, Avery Gagliano stood out the most during the first round for me. What amazing control she has! She has that traditional Chopin sound on her that instantly became everyone's favorites. Another disclaimer I'm not a pro and this is just my amateur opinion, but I felt like she was kind of holding back on the second round? It was so unfortunate she didn't pass to the third round and I really hope she comes back in 2025. Even if she doesn't, she has a sparkling future ahead of her! That's for certain!

I also ADORE Yasuko Furumi! Her first and second rounds just straight up left me breathless. I mean, that Nocturne!!!

All right let's get to the second round. I was listening to this one particular evening session but honestly, I can't remember if I was listening to it while I was working like I always did, or live because I was staying up late that night?? Anyway, I was minding my own business but then this one pianist really had me stop in my track. I finally paid attention to the YouTube video that was previously lost in the sea of other open tabs. I looked at him and saw his name and I thought, "ok he's GOOD" and then I continued whatever it was I was doing. But then I heard the Andante Spianato, and I really thought to myself, all right I really gotta pay attention this time. I remember thinking, what a bright and youthful tone he had! It's a bit hard for me to explain because, again, I'm not cut out as a critique. But if I could put it down in words, he has such refreshing sounds that I would expect from a young musician, yet he didn't seem to be rushing and overthinking it like a lot of young musicians sometimes do. On the contrary, regardless of his youthful tone, his playing was extremely mature and thoughtful. Then came the Polonaise... And my mind was just full-on blown away. At that moment, I became a fan and have never looked back since.Let's just skip to the final round. In the earlier session, my favorite was...