Semi-Final Stage

The competition has been lingering in a sort of calm before the semi-final storm as the remaining contestants prepare for third stage. The morning after the second-stage results were announced, they had to begin rehearsing with the chamber groups provided for the competition, leaving no time to recover before having to be ready with a whole new set of repertoire. The pieces for this round are:

Beethoven - Serenade (trio transcribed by Ami Maayani for flute, viola, and harp - originally for flute, violin, and viola)

Caplet - Conte Fantastique (for harp and string quartet)

Each contestant has now rehearsed both pieces on each day; they were given 50 minutes for each rehearsal and only had 30 minutes for the Beethoven on the first day. Those who have shown excellency as soloists in the first two rounds are now being challenged in an entirely different way. No longer is the stress on the memory of notes, for this time they are allowed to use their scores, but the jury will be looking for their skills at working in an ensemble: solid and clear rhythm, communication with the other musicians, attention to the balance of the sound.

The schedule of performances is as follows:

Friday 16, 13:00:

Noel Wan, USA

Remy van Kesteren, The Netherlands

Gwenllian Llyr, Wales

Saturday 17, 20:00:

Ina Zdorovetchi, Moldova

Valérie Milot, Canada

Emily Levin, USA

The rest of us who are no longer busy practicing and rehearsing have now been free to see a bit of the rest of the country. Today the competition organized a tour of Jerusalem for us. We are still shuffling through the pictures that we took today and will post a more detailed review of our trip shortly.