Two Conservatory Pianists Win Russian-American Music Competition and Perform at Carnegie Hall and the Moscow Conservatory Story and photos by Michael Chipman
			Ja-Hye Koo, first year student from Fairfax, Virginia studying with Lydia Frumkin. Two freshmen pianists, William McDaniel from Springfield, Virginia and Ja-Hye Koo, from Fairfax, Virginia, both students of Lydia Frumkin, professor of pianoforte, recently were honored in the Russian-American Music Association Young Virtuosos competition. Both were invited to perform in Carnegie Hall, and McDaniel also performed at the Moscow Conservatory. The annual competition, which began in 1998, is open to students of Russian teachers from around the world. Teachers sent taped performances of their students for preliminary judging in December, and from that pool, several finalists were chosen to perform in Boston in January. From those finalists, several instrumentalists were chosen to perform in New York's Carnegie Hall, including Koo. Six winners were chosen for performances in both Carnegie Hall and the Moscow Conservatory; McDaniel was among those six. McDaniel, who played the Prokofiev 7th sonata at all levels of the William McDaniel first year student from Springfield, Virginia studying with Lydia Frumkin. competition, says he especially enjoyed performing in Russia. "It was very different there," he says. "First of all, it was really cold. But I found the Russian mindset is different than it is here, in that their opinions of music seem more natural. In addition to the recitals, we did a lot of sight-seeing, visiting museums and national landmarks and we saw a lot of the city. I felt like I gained an interesting, new perspective on where the Russian composers' music comes from. "There is also something recognizably different in the Russian school of playing," notes McDaniel. "I'm not sure how to describe it in words, but it has been referred to as a bel canto sound production -- which infers a more lyrical feel to sound production. That is what I'm working on." Koo performed "Ondine," the first movement from Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit. She says, "I had a good experience playing at Carnegie Hall. Watching other people play motivates me to take my music more seriously and professionally." Frumkin says both McDaniel and Koo are "very talented and wonderful students to work with. It is so nice to see them grow. With their talent and dedication, I'm sure they'll go far. We'll hear more about them in the future."
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