Romaniuk wins inaugural ‘Westfield International Fortepiano Competition’ at Cornell

Superstar jurors and contestants assemble in Ithaca for the first historically informed keyboard competition in the USA

By Leah Harrison
Syracuse University's Goldring Arts Journalism Program 

An exquisite performance of works by Chopin, Hummel and Beethoven helped young Australian fortepianist Anthony Romaniuk beat out an international field of deserving (and closely matched) fortepianists to take First Place at the inaugural Westfield International Fortepiano Competition, held at Cornell University from July 31 through August 6.

The competition, the first of its kind in this country, is the first of a new series sponsored by the Westfield Center at Cornell University, America’s foremost organization advocating the study and performance of period keyboard instruments. Next year’s competition will focus on the harpsichord, followed in 2013 by the organ. 

This year’s competition, two years in the making, was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation as well as by private donors, and was arranged in three tiers: the first with 25 contestants, the second with 10 and the final with five. A jury comprising the world’s foremost historically informed keyboard advocates cast votes in each of the three rounds, upholding a strict rule of "no discussion regarding the contestants or their programs."

A laureate of the 2010 International Musica Antiqua Fortepiano Competition in Bruges, Romaniuk recently completed a master’s degree at the Amsterdam Conservatory while studying with Richard Eggar. He also holds degrees in fortepiano and harpsichord from the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague (2009) and in modern piano at the Manhattan School of Music (2003). Currently, Romaniuk studies privately with Sally Sargent in Vienna. In addition to Romaniuk’s $7,500 top prize, cash award winners included Mike Cheng-Yu Lee of New Zealand, who was awarded $3,500 for his second-place finish, and third-place winner Shin Hwang of the United States, who took home $2,500.

Malcolm Bilson served as president of the competition. Bilson has been involved in historically informed performance since its origins in the 1970s, and serves as a faculty member at Cornell University, the Eastman School of Music, and the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest.

A consortium of some of the most distinguished scholars, performers and educators in historical performance made up the jury, which included the venerable Christopher Hogwood. Rounding out the panel was scholar-pianist Robert Levin, Artistic Director of the Sarasota Music Festival; fortepianist Penelope Crawford, professor at the University of Michigan; Pierre Goy a specialist in chamber and four-hand historical music and professor at the Hautes Ecole de Musique; Tuija Hakkila, Artistic Director of the Early Music Festival in Hämeenlinna (Finland); György Vashegyi, leader of the Early Music Department at the Liszt Academy in Budapest; and Andrew Willis of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

The fortepiano was the immediate predecessor to the modern piano, dating from the early 18th-century to late 19th-century, though used most prominently from about 1780 to 1830. Contemporary performers began to take serious interest in historically informed performance practice during the 1960s and ‘70s, finding scholarly integrity in performing compositions on instruments the composers had originally intended.

The typical fortepiano spans anywhere between five and six-and-one-half octaves and lacks the metal frame inside of a modern (eight-octave) piano, yielding a lighter touch and more subtle response. It is also a much quieter instrument, constructed with thin strings and leather-covered hammers that result in a shorter ring-time, or sustain, of the notes played. The ranges of these instruments are not uniform, with a mild middle range, heavy (sometimes buzzing) bass range, and a twinkly treble.

The Westfield Competition initially accepted 30 contestants selected on the basis of DVDs submitted to the judges. Five of the candidates accepted were unable to attend, and so the initial round of competition, which took place during the first three days in August, comprised 25 contestants. The field was narrowed to 10 performers for Round Two, and the Final Round reduced that number to five. Each finalist was instructed to select any one of three piano trios from Beethoven’s Op. 1 to be played with a violinist and cellist provided by the competition, along with works of his/her own choosing.

Romaniuk opened his part of the program with Hummel’s Variations on a "Chanson hollandaise" in B-flat Major, an excellent choice for displaying the subtleties and nuances of the fortepiano that appeared to engage the audience more and more with each new variation. His gentle musical dialogues exchanging lyrical phrases with the two stringed instruments in Beethoven’s Piano Trio Op.1, No. 3 revealed the unmistakable authority of a well-seasoned chamber musician.

For his final selection Romaniuk tackled Chopin’s mammoth Ballade No. 1 in G Minor. Hearing this popular masterwork of pianistic literature on its historically intended instrument afforded listeners a rare treat, providing insight as to how Chopin intended this warhorse to sound. Romaniuk’s technical display was dazzling, flawless and spirited ― particularly during the rapid scalar passages. It was his versatility of musical styles, however, that ultimately won him top prize.

Romaniuk appears to favor pieces that start simply and then elaborate, which is why so many sets of variations appear in his repertory list (the Beethoven Trio includes variations in its second movement). He began with a clean, rather blank rendition of a theme and drew his listeners in as he showed every theme to be interesting and full of delightful turns. He is particularly skilled at sweet phrases and fast, twinkling scales.

In addition to his First-Prize cash award, Romaniuk will receive invitations to perform with several historically informed and/or period-instrument organizations, such as the Boston Early Music Festival (Boston and New York City), Kerrytown Concert House (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Los Angeles County Museum, New York State Baroque (Ithaca and Syracuse), Raleigh Chamber Music Guild, the Smithsonian Institution, Utrecht Festival Oude Muziek (The Netherlands), and a concerto performance with the Orfeo Early Music Orchestra in Budapest. 

Second-Place winner Mike Cheng-Yu Lee is a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University. His final program consisted of Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 2 and J.S. Bach’s Partita in D major, BWV 828.  Lee brought life to the somewhat bland Beethoven Trio, embedding the spirit of Beethoven’s later works in this uneventful keyboard part ― which resembles more of an accompaniment to the violin and cello than an autonomous part of the ensemble. Lee captured the hearts of the audience with the Partita, in which his deliberate style portrayed the integrity, purity, complexity, and truth in Bach’s music. 

Lee’s performance could have been a campaign for the fortepiano, with balance and control that were breathtaking, and his level of concentration was evident from the contorted looks on his face. It was clear that he had put all of himself into this performance, which rightly earned him the Herbert J. Carlin Audience Prize ($1,000).

Third-Place finisher Shin Hwang, who is currently pursuing a dual master’s degree in piano performance and fortepiano at the University of Michigan, performed Schubert’s Sonata in A minor, D. 845 and the Piano Trio No. 2 of Beethoven. Hwang’s command of the historical instrument was clear from the first measure of the Schubert. The quiet melodies in the opening had the audience leaning in to hear the mystical tunes, and the looks of ecstasy on Hwang’s face proved contagious. Although he had a slight memory lapse in the beginning, which may well have cost him a higher prize in this competition, Hwang recovered quickly and performed brilliantly for the remainder of his time onstage. 

Major competitions are often accompanied by minor controversy, and the final ranking of the contestants at this competition was, as may be expected, not to everyone’s liking. While Romaniuk’s performance was delightful, I did not feel he exhibited the same level of control and balance shown by either Lee or Hwang. To put it another way, Romaniuk’s performance did not appear to directly benefit from having being played on a fortepiano: It could have been just as good, if not better, on a modern piano. Moreover, his bass was often too heavy, booming over whatever his right hand played, and his clinical, metronomic openings were somewhat boring.  

David Hyun-Su Kim, a finalist who did not place in the top three, performed a splendid and moving Davidsbündlertänze by Schumann, a piece he used to explore the subtleties of the instrument. His Florestan was elegantly calamitous, and his melodies representing Eusebius were like a dear friend whispering arcane truths to only you. Kim’s version of the Piano Trio may have been dull, but Romaniuk never exhibited the control shown in the performances by either Kim, Hwang or Lee. Romaniuk’s choice of repertoire did however demonstrate great versatility, which for this competition was apparently more important to the judges than overall command of the instrument.

Leah Harrison is a graduate student at Syracuse University's Goldring Arts Journalism Program, based at the college's renowned S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. A pianist and musicologist, Ms. Harrison holds a master’s degree in musicology from Florida State University and a bachelor’s degree in music history from Converse College. A native of Campobello, South Carolina, Ms. Harrison enjoys professional cycling, travel, and southern mountain music and culture.

DETAILS BOX:
What: Final Round: Westfield Center International Fortepiano Competition
Where: Cornell University: Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
When: August 6, 2011
Length of Performance: Approximately 5 hours (1 hour per finalist)