Canada's Piano Gold

It really is quite thrilling to watch the Montreal International Musical Competition, which you can do today -- live-to computer! And today is a banner day for the Canuck contingent, as three of them play this afternoon and this evening. (Here is the schedule.)

Yesterday I watched some of the contestants this way, by webcast, and I actually started feeling nervous on behalf of the competitors -- the sound was that good, the "liveness" of the webcast that live.

Only being there would be "live-er," and for that we have daily reports from our Man In Montreal, CBC R2 host Kelly Rice. Yes, he's there on the ground. Actually I'm pretty sure he gets to sit in a chair during the competition, but either way, he just sent me this missive:

"When I was a wee lad in music school, the word in the practice rooms was: get outta town! Go to Europe, go the States, go anywhere but Canada. Well, things have changed. What strikes me most about the 4 Canadians in this competition is that each one of them had their formative music education here at home. Chez nous!

Take 23 year-old Michelle Nam. When she was 15, her family moved from Korea to Edmonton, and a big part in that momentous decision was her musical prospects north of 49. Four years at McGill and a win at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal Competition were ample preparation for her next big career move: Julliard and the Big Apple.

Russian born Sergei Saratovsky was also seduced by the Big White North and is completing his doctorate in piano at the University of British Columbia. Earlier this month, he sped up his application for citizenship so he could compete under the Maple Leaf.

Then there’s Lang Ning Liu. A talent scout from Toronto’s Glenn Gould School recruited her from China.

Even Quebec native Marie-Hélène Trempe (she played yesterday) stayed close to home, with studies at the excellent piano department at the Université de Montréal.

With home-grown talent like this, Canada’s already won gold at this 'piano Olympics.'"
-Kelly Rice

For nuts and bolts details about what's coming up in the competition, please keep reading.

Photograph of André Bourbeau (president of the jury) with the Canuck contingent by Gunther Gamper.

Wednesday, May 21
The Canuck Contingent:
1 p.m. Lang Ning LIU - Canada
3:50 p.m. Michelle NAM - Canada
7:50 p.m. Sergei SARATOVSKY - Canada

The Full Lineup:
Wednesday, May 21
1 p.m. Lang Ning LIU - Canada
1:50 p.m. Kotaro NAGANO - Japan
3 p.m. Sanja BIZJAK - Serbia
3:50 p.m. Michelle NAM - Canada
7 p.m. Yu-Lin SHEN - Taiwan
7:50 p.m. Sergei SARATOVSKY - Canada
9 p.m. Dorel GOLAN - Israel
9:50 p.m. Piotr Tomasz SZCZEPANIK - Poland

• Live audio/video webcasts of the quarter-finals (May 20-22, 1 p.m. & 7 p.m. ET) and semifinals (May 23, 7 p.m. ET; May 24, 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET) at The Montreal International Musical Competition. Webcasts will be posted on the website the day following each session and will remain on-line all year long.

• Special 90-minute presentation at the end of Sunday Afternoon in Concert on CBC Radio 2 (May 25, 3:30 p.m.), featuring highlights from the quarter-final & semifinal rounds.

• Special live-to-air broadcast of Canada Live from Place des Arts in Montreal (May 26 & 27 at 7 p.m.; 8 p.m. AT; 8:30 p.m. NT, note early start time in most regions) hosted by Kelly Rice with guest commentators Martha de Francisco & David Jalbert.

• The competition finals will be posted on Concerts On Demand shortly following the competition, and will remain on-line all year long,