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This afternoon on NPR I heard sixteen-year-old Emily Carter, from Westchester, Ohio, perform the second movement of the RVW. Very lyrical playing.

Emily also discussed attitudes toward auditioning. Her goal is to win, not make the other losers cry.

http://www.fromthetop.org/Programs/Perf ... m?pid=2631" target="_blank" target="_blank

Audio portion should be at http://www.fromthetop.org/Files/120608-5.ram" target="_blank" target="_blank .

Really fine playing, particularly considering the age of the young lady. That last note (which, to me, has always been the biggest hurdle in performing the second movement of the RVW) was gorgeous!

I think it's telling to note the difference in musicality (understandably, a nebulous term) between the soloist and the very fine pianist in this recording. Notice how the pianist really makes music with the opening and the piano interludes of the second movement. The soloist, while playing the notes/rhythms with great accuracy and beautiful sound, just doesn't express the maturity of musical understanding to me. Where was the huge crescendo to the second-line B in the middle? How about starting ff and backing off to piano in less than a bar on the next entrance? I don't mean that to be a "shot" at her playing but rather an observation of what might help a player auditioning on this piece "stand out" from the others.

I also didn't really get the point of the two interpretations of the Wagner excerpt either. The first was a bit louder, and the second featured some vibrato on the long durations. I didn't detect much of a difference besides that...perhaps it's my low-fidelity speakers?

Nice stuff, though. It's wonderful to see the IAA still fostering excellence in young musicians. This young lady has a great start and a real shot at an excellent career.