Musical Bridges Around the World, whose piano competition The Gurwitz 2020 dazzled San Antonio in January and February with amazing performances by pianists from around the globe, will be rebroadcasting the first three rounds of the competition starting Monday, March 30 on their Facebookand YouTube channels. You'll be able to see and hear all twelve competitors, and witness how the judges narrowed down the field to three, who performed in a unique World Music round at the Empire Theatre with members of the Silk Road Ensemble.
In the meantime, Musical Bridges is checking in with the finalists after the competition. Naturally, lives and performance schedules have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. But in the video below Yedam Kim, who lives in Paris, shares a bit of grace that happens at 8:00 each night as Parisians fling open their doors and windows to acknowledge the hard work of people caring for those afflicted by the virus. Then, watch closely as her cat naps on top of the piano while she plays "Sheep May Safely Graze" by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Yedam Kim won the Silver Medal at this year's Gurwitz 2020 International Piano Competition, which came with a $15,000 prize. Her first round program included music by Mozart, Debussy, and Modest Mussorgsky's mammoth display of contrasting moods and colors, "Pictures at an Exhibition." Hear an excerpt from her performance in the audio link below.
