Debussy/Prokofiev
Dublin International Piano Festival
Dublin International Piano Festival
For my first trip and concert in Ireland, the Dublin International Piano Festival pulled out all the stops. I started off my wonderful week of piano playing and teaching with the Smackdown. The audience packed the Hugh Lane Gallery, and it was a wonderfully diverse audience by age, with an average age of 40, and a pretty even split within the age brackets.
Only the 40-60s skewed for Debussy - the rest went definitively for Prokofiev, hence the overall victory for Prokofiev. This was a surprise for me - I had thought that the beautiful setting, the limpid piano and resonant acoustic would favor Debussy. I’ll now have to rethink my theory about when Debussy wins and when Prokofiev wins! Fun fact: the Irish do not like ties! See more below.
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Favorite Comments:
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•Harder to decide than I thought! I'd expected to love the Debussy and find the Prokofiev ok but I liked it much more than I thought.
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•I liked Prokofiev better because he's more fun than Debussy. (age 9 1/2)
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•I was in the mood for more soothing Debussy this morning!
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•Prokofiev drama is too much, for Debussy here!
Other Comments:
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•Thanks for a great concert!
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•Difficult!
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•I learnt a lot. Thank you.
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•Absolutely terrific Prokofiev and Dream-like Debussy! It really did transport me into a different place. Loved the programme!
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•Amazing effort on Prokofiev round 3!
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•Amazing! Thank you so much.Welcome to Dublin's fair city!
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•Beautiful, what a lovely creature this man is, a gentle graceful talented performer. Wonderful - calm, peaceful and no greatsail Irish
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•Both brilliant for different reasons - at my stage in life I would listen to Debussy more - but wow Prokofiev is genius!
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•Breathtaking performance. Loved it - thank you!
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•Enjoyed the concert - both composers. Excellent works - thank you
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•Excellent performance and great choices of the music pieces
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•First round: clear choice! Second round: very hard to make a choice. Third Round: More catchy Prokofiev but I preferred Debussy
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•For an authentic artists comparison results, the pieces to smack down should be chosen from the same portfolio: slow, moderate, fast and very fast
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•Gorgeous and thrilling! Brilliant and wonderful idea.
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•Great interpretation! Congrats!
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•I just like Debussy's music much better but I thought you played Prokofiev brilliantly. I love the Piano Festival - have been each year.
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•I like pizza.
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•I love the Montagues and the Capulets and Public Merrymaking, but overall, Debussy wins for me. Wonderful performance.
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•Lovely performance. Swayed towards Prokofiev due to life-affirming vitality in his music.
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•Masterful, funtastic. Thank you for a magnificent event!
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•Pianist superb. I lean towards the more reflective Debussy but the 2 Fugitive Visions were fantastic. The Toccata was very dramatic.
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•Piano festival such a good idea. Had Debussy in mind as favourite but recital changed my mind - not so familiar with Prokofiev.
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•Prokofiev is so robust. Love it!
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•Superb performance, good audience participant, well chosen pieces. Confounding - you changed my mind! Thank you so much for visiting us in Dublin. A pity you didn't tell us a little about yourself in the introduction.
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•Thank you so much for your introductions and explanations as well as magnificent playing.
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•The acoustique of the room and you seemed to prefer Prokofiev but still my favourite of the day is Debussy
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•The performance was incredible!
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•Thoroughly enjoyed recital and your Prokofiev pieces but prefer Debussy. Prokofiev music too "aggressive" love the more calm Debussy
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•Thrilling, wonderful, wonderful recital. I love the intros at the outset. Come back to Dublin soon again. Sorry I am biased towards Prokofiev.
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•Wonderful concert. Contest between composers great idea. Good for audience participation. Pianist outstanding.
