Bachauer judges have tough job

When the best pianists from around the world are assembled, how is the best of the best chosen? It's a tough call, but in a competition, somebody has to do it.

At this year's Gina Bachauer Young Artists International Piano Competition, that "somebody" is a panel of seven jurors. "In competitions involving art or artistic pursuit, the adjudication process is always very subjective," said jury chairman Douglas Humpherys. "It's not like a math problem or a sports contest where there's going to be a final score and absolute result. It has a lot to do with how they play in the moment.

"When you think about it, performance is a snapshot of a moment in a lifetime that's about preparation. We just see a glimpse into what their lives are like."

For the Young Artists Competition, who takes home the prizes will be decided by the opinions of Justas Dvarionas (Lithuania), Jason Hardink (USA), Tamami Honma (Japan/UK), Ilya Itin (Russia), Mi Kyung Kim (South Korea) and Yasuko Sugimoto (Japan) and Humpherys (USA).

"As an adjudicator," Humpherys said, "I'm looking for someone who has an understanding of the composer and of the style that they're playing — that will be very observant of composers' intentions and indications but still have the ability to combine that with their own individual and personal stamp.

"There are millions — literally — of people who play the piano in the world, so they need to play with individuality, commitment and character. They need to play with great understanding and profundity of emotion."

That's a tall order for teenagers, but Humpherys said each competitor is up to the task. "It's always inspiring to see talent among students who are so young. And yet it's just really expected that they are artists. So 'Young Artists' isn't a term that they thought up just to call it something; it's a true term. They really are young artists. They've reached very high levels of performance, and they've just happened to have done it at young ages."

Humpherys said the judging system is set up to be as objective and fair as possible while accounting for the jurors' varying opinions. All jurors cast their votes by secret ballot, he said, tabulating one prize level at a time. "No one on the jury knows any other voting. The jury is encouraged not to discuss particular contestants and performances, and certainly not to compare any voting or that sort of thing." This system has several advantages, said Humpherys.