I have reviewed several of the winners' concerts for this competition this year.  It is no mystery to me that in such a short time this competition ranks among the best.  The winners all show promise in every category and there has been some exciting talent presented.  This afternoon's concert was no exception.  Emi Nakajima is a spectacular twenty-three year old pianist who is at present doing her doctorate with the renowned Susan Starr at Rutgers University.  The enthusiastic and substantial audience was heavily sprinkled with prominent musicians.

All gifted young (and older) artists have uneven gifts.  Were this not true, we would all just be clones playing the same pieces in the same way.  Other than competitions and degree programs, I know of no other areas that force us to be superior with every composer and style.  As we grow older we find what is most innate to us and sharpen that with the more awkward repertoire.  With Ms. Nakajima I think I was most impressed with her innate, strong rhythmic sense, her huge technique and control and with the delicacy and elegance she could bring out in certain compositions.

Her J. S. Bach French Suite No. 5 literally danced with vibrant rhythms and flawless precision.  There was that aforementioned delicacy and elegance in the way she handled the motives and the bravura Gigue should have received a standing ovation.  The Beethoven Sonata in c minor, Op. 111 stands at the pinnacle of the literature for the piano.  In this reviewer's opinion, the robust and aggressive handling of the first movement by Ms. Nakajima was more in the character of the great middle period sonatas of Beethoven.  For me, this movement is full of fury, but full of a resigned fury.  The breathtaking second movement had everything in its proper place and there were some very beautiful moments throughout; however that indefinable aura of other-worldliness was missing for me:  that time in a concert where one is afraid to even breathe and break the spell.  As masterfully as this young pianist plays this Sonata now, I would love to hear it in a few years.

The Rachmaninov Corelli Variations were stunning.  Again, everything was in the proper place but that metallic fury that threads through even the most lyrical of Russian piano music was not lurking beneath the surface for me.  In the Chopin Barcarolle and the Ravel La Valse Ms. Nakajima was once again in her element--and what a brilliant element it was!  The predominant strong barcarolle rhythm was the perfect vehicle for her to weave through the passionate and often- times delicate lyricism of Chopin in this later work.  In La Valse, she quite literally blew us away.  Again, her pronounced rhythmic sense and brilliant technique and playful handling of the structure of this great work was a total delight.

            In any review, it isn't possible to exclude some of the preferences of the reviewer.  After all, the reviewer isn't writing just a travelogue of the concert, but also of his or her own impressions.  I foresee only a spectacular career for Emi Nakakima and only hope many of us are privileged to hear her often in the future.

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