Jon Nakamatsu - Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (1997)

I recently watched a 2008 documentary about the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, entitled They Came To Play. The competition is hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation and often uses past Van Cliburn medalists as adjudicators. In this context, Nakamatsu appeared in the documentary and reminded me of this CD, which consists of recordings from his performances in the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held in Ft. Worth, May 23 - June 2, 1997.

Tracks: There's no need to comment on performances that won a Van Cliburn gold medal, so I'll just say that my favorite selections are the Brahams Sonata in C Major, Op. 1, and, even though I'm usually indifferent to Chopin, the Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise in E-Flat major, Op. 22. The final tracks are William Bolcom's Nine bagatelles, commissioned for the competition. The competition has required competitors to perform a newly-composed work since its inception in 1962.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In 2001, I hosted Jon as he played in Bay City for the now-defunct Festival Arts Association. I've never met a nicer professional musician. The night before the performance, he wanted to practice for a few hours and asked if that would be possible. I couldn't get him to the Steinway he would be using for his performance, but I did offer him use of a baby grand in my church's sanctuary. Even though I'm sure that piano was far below his standards, he thanked me and got about his work. I told him he wouldn't be disturbed and he wasn't, but I have to confess to sneaking into the church balcony and just listening to him practice without his knowledge. Imagine a private performance by a Van Cliburn winner. What a wonderful experience. The next evening (Tuesday, November 13, 2001) he gave a beautiful public performance. Sadly, there were only about 200 in attendance.

Up until he won the Van Cliburn competition, Nakamatsu was a high school German teacher. Being a teacher myself, I was aware of how time-consuming that job can be. I asked him how he managed to be a teacher and still practice 5-7 hours a day in preparation for the competition. His reply: "I didn't get a lot of sleep for about a year." He probably played 100 dates in 2001 and most likely doesn't even remember Bay City, but I fondly remember his two days there. My autographed CD isn't just a souvenir from that time, it's one of the best classical CDs I own.