Mitsuko Uchida - A Grand Comeback
When Mitsuko Uchida was awarded the second prize at the 8th International Fryderyk Chopin Competition in 1970, she was 22 and a pianist both modest and uncertain of her talents. Today she returns to Warsaw as one of the brightest stars on the piano scene
It is hard to believe that Mitsuko Uchida's recital on 1 October, which inaugurates the 16th Chopin Competition, is her first appearance in Poland since she won second place at the competition in 1970. She is the most famous Japanese pianist, although she has lived in Europe since her her diplomat father took a post in Vienna when she was 12 years old. She completed her studies at the Conservatory in that city under the legendary Richard Hauser.
Those who know her exceptional interpretations of Mozart's piano sonatas and concertos may take all this as a given, but it is worth knowing that Uchida was not fond of Mozart during her student years. She protested against the fixed conventions of the day, she sought her own ways of interpretation, she experimented. After winning the Second Prize at the Beethoven Competition in Bonn in 1968 and then in Warsaw, she decided to withdraw from the competition circuit. She moved to London, where she still lives today and there, during the mid-1970s, she began to blossom. Despite feeling closest to the music of Schubert, she decided to turn back to Mozart. As she recalls, there was a spirit of contrariness in all this. The great pianists such as Brendel and Lupu were opting to perform Schubert sonatas over Mozart at the time. In those musical circles in which she tended to move, there was an opinion that not all of his sonatas were of equal merit.
A star was truly born in 1982, when she performed the complete Mozart sonatas during a series of recitals at the Wigmore Hall. The reviews were enthusiastic and she signed a contract with Philips. Hitherto almost an unknown, Mitsuko Uchida suddenly achieved worldwide renown.
Since then she has never failed to delight us, both her during concerts - she appears on the stage relatively rarely, giving up to 50 performances a year - and with her records. Alas, her only Chopin recording, dating back from the 1980s, is no longer available. We await her recital at the National Philharmonic Hall all the more eagerly.
Author: Bartosz Kamiński, October 2010
This article comes from the first edition of the "Chopin Express" gazette, published for the 16th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, in coooperation with the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and "Gramophone" magazine.
Other articles of interest from the first edition of "Chopin Express":
"Waldemar Dąbrowski on the Legacy of the Chopin Piano Competition"
"Polish Piano Tradition"
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