Wu Di (Concerto I)

Di Wu had to follow Bozhanov, and it says a lot about her that she didn't seem diminished by the comparison. We hadn't heard any Beethoven yet from her in this competition, but she sounded to the manner born when she played his a coruscating version of his Second Concerto. She started off decently enough, but the second movement was just gorgeous, with each phrase finely wrought from the opening. The pianissimo notes were particularly exquisite; I don't think I've heard better soft playing in the entire competition. Having mesmerized the crowd with that, she then launched directly into the rollicking third movement right after the orchestra finished the second. She played it with a great handle on Beethoven's sense of humor, and brought it home with assurance. What a magical pair of concerto performances we heard tonight! Let's keep this up.