Ukrainian presence at the Cliburn: Danchenko is semifinalist

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Among the 12 performers who had advanced from the preliminary to the semifinal round in the 10th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition being held in Forth Worth, Texas, was 19-year-old Mykhailo Danchenko from Ukraine, the youngest contender at the competition.

The competition, which opened on May 22, was held in three phases - preliminaries, semifinals and finals, and included 35 contestants age 19 to 30, most on the competition circuit.

Mr. Danchenko is a native of Kyiv, where he has performed with the Ukrainian National Symphony and the Kyiv Conservatory orchestras. In 1994 he won first prize in the Krainev Piano Competition in Ukraine. In recital he has appeared in venues such as the Vienna Musikverein and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and has participated in international festivals, including Virtuosi 2000 in St. Petersburg and the Colmar Festival in France, directed by Vladimir Spivakov. His most recent appearances were in Germany and in Italy, where he won third prize at the 1996 Busoni International Piano Competition.

Based in Hannover, Germany, since 1995, Mr. Danchenko is now studying with Vladimir Krainev at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater.

Mr. Danchenko performed the following works as part of his program at the Cliburn competition: Clementi, Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 26, No 2; Brahms "Variation on a Theme of Paganini," Op. 35, Books I and II; and Prokofiev's Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 - in the preliminary round; in the category of chamber music, Brahms "Piano Quintet in F minor," Op. 34; and, as part of his recital program: Schumann, Carnaval, Op. 9; Liszt, Spanish Rhapsody; Bolcom, Nine Bagatelles; and Rachmaninoff, Sonata No. 32 in B-flat minor, Op. 36 (1931) - in the semifinals; Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73; and Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 - in the final round.

Also among this year's contestants were Alex Slobodyanik, 22, and his wife, Katya Skanavi, 25. Ms. Skanavi, referred to by Allan Kozinn of The New York Times as a "firebrand" from Russia, was among the six finalists at the competition.

The winner of the Cliburn, announced on June 8, was 28-year-old American Jon Nakamatsu. Upon winning the gold medal, Mr. Nakamatsu, a Stanford University graduate, can now give up his day job of teaching German for the past six years at a parochial high school in California.

The silver and bronze medalists were, respectively, Yakov Kasman, 30, from Russia and Aviram Reichert, 25, from Israel.

The competition was founded in 1962 to honor Texas pianist Van Cliburn's (now 62) 1958 victory at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.

A television documentary about the competition, called "Playing With Fire," is to be shown by PBS on October 8.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 15, 1997, No. 24, Vol. LXV

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