Competition is an integral aspect of classical music education, where students compete for coveted positions in orchestras or to pursue careers as soloists. But how are musicians evaluated in these competitions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In prestigious events like The International Chopin Piano Competition, the evaluation of the participants is \u201cto assess the interpretative skills of each participant in the Competition, taking especially into account the challenges which Fryderyk Chopin\u2019s music poses to pianists, and to award prizes and distinctions to the best competitors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, the determination of superior interpretive skills remains a nuanced endeavor. According to Levinson (1987), each musician should be assessed on individual terms, reflecting the notion of artistic autonomy, and advocating for contextualized assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To address this problem, competitions often delegate the selection of winners to panels of esteemed pianists, such as the 17-member jury in the 2015 Chopin competition. Among them was John Rink, whose evaluation methodology emphasized his own experience with the performances, employing himself as a discerning barometer (Rink, 2020). While evaluating a performance Rink was looking for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a. \u2018deep understanding, musical intelligence, sensitivity and the ability to project an individual conception in a convincing, appropriate and highly skilled manner\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
b. deeply embedded knowledge of the music that comes from within, which holds up to close scrutiny in terms of what one might expect as a listener<\/p>\n\n\n\n
c. whether the performance spoke to him<\/p>\n\n\n\n
d. whether the performer had a \u201cpersonal take on the composer\u2019s music in a uniquely creative instantiation\u201d realizing \u201cone or more aspects of the music\u2019s potential\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While professional musicians may generally share an appreciation for certain aspects of musical understanding, intelligence, sensitivity, communicative power, and individuality in an interpretation, it’s unlikely that they will unanimously agree on the precise degree or quality of these attributes in a particular performance. Musicians are shaped by their individual artistic philosophies and performance traditions, so what one musician considers to be a deeply insightful and sensitive interpretation, another may view as lacking in depth or originality. Rink’s evaluation criteria are therefore very subjective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n