The International Chopin Piano Competition (a.k.a. the Chopin Competition) is considered the Olympics for piano players. Young musicians from all over the world train their whole lives for a chance to compete in the gruelling 21-day competition, which is held in Warsaw every five years. Jakub Piątek’s documentary Pianoforte takes audiences behind the scenes of the legendary contest to show just how nerve-racking and exhilarating the quest for musical glory really is.
Started in 1927, the Chopin Competition has become the gold standard in the piano world. It’s an event that has launched careers in ways far more valuable than the cash prize associated with it. Piątek’s film follows six contestants—Eva (Russia/Armenia), Marcin (Poland), Hao (China), Michelle (Italy), Alexander (Italy/Slovenia), and Lenora (Italy)—as they prepare to conquer the Everest of musical mountains. Dropping viewers in just as the competition is about to commence, it’s immediately apparent how much effort and calculation go into every step of the journey. From choosing the right brand of piano to being able to recite a piece mentally, each element can be the difference between advancing to the next stage or packing one’s bags to go home.
As one competitor notes early on, these individuals rarely make mistakes once their fingers touch the ivory keys, but one sees the nerves clear as day when the spotlight is not on them. Not only do they have to endure rigorous callus-inducing practices, but also the blunt feedback from their teachers and family members. Some of which walk a fine line between construct criticism and straight-up insults.
Piątek’s film is most intriguing when it’s offering a glimpse of the contestants lives away from the competition. Pianoforte reminds us that these are young people who are more than their immense musical talent. Unfortunately, Piątek does not expand on these sections enough to paint a truly vibrant portrait.
As a result, one never really gets to know any of the contestants on a meaningful level. While there are times when Piątek’s fly-on-the-wall filmmaking approach is disrupted by the musicians talking directly to the camera, the discussion is almost always focused on the Chopin Competition. One learns very little about their lives up to that point, and how it shaped the musicians they are today. We are simply left with broad outlines—Eva goes to the gym, Marcin plays Xbox, etc.—that are in desperate need of colouring in.
Piątek instead relies on the event itself to create the drama and define the musicians. In capturing the rigours of this epic competition, Pianoforte is filled with plenty of built-in highs and lows. And similar to other musical competition documentaries, take Stacey Tenenbaum’s Pipe Dreams for example—where events unfold like a tense sporting event, one cannot help but find one or two individuals to root for.
One of the contestants laments that sportification of music, questioning “how can you compete in music?”, but even he admits that the personal benefits of winning the Chopin Competition would be too great to pass up. For such a life changing event, it would have been nice if Pianoforte had dived deeper into the lives being altered.
Pianoforte is screening as a part of Sundance 2023’s World Cinema Documentary Competition.
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