Yesterday, Stanislav Ioudenitch, a gold medalist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the keynote for this year’s Discovery Day, wowed a packed house in the O’Malley-McAllister auditorium with his virtuoso piano performance. Ioudenitch performed both beautiful and rousing pieces by composers like Chopin, Stravinsky, and Schubert.  His wife Maria, an award-winning pianist herself, and his daughter Tatiana, an accomplished violinist, also performed, much to the delight of the audience.

Ioudenitch played Chopin’s Valses and two movements of Stravinsky’s Petrouchka Suite.  The encore was from Schubert’s Moments Musicaux Op. 94 in A Flat.  Afterward, Ioudenitch answered questions from the audience.

Here are some of the questions and his answers:

Why did you choose to become a pianist?

One of my teachers was the famous Leon Fleisher.  There is a story about him that when he was very little, his family took him to see a performance by the great composer Rachmaninoff.  After the performance, the parents took Leon to meet Rachmaninoff and told him their son wanted to follow in his footsteps.  Rachmaninoff patted Leon on the head and said with a frown, “bad business.”  What he meant was that pursuing music on this level is very difficult.  The composers who wrote these pieces were geniuses—and it is very hard to play them.  But I do it because I have a passion for the music.  It is like a sickness.  I must do it.

What is the essence of great piano playing?

We can always talk about the importance of interpretation and passion, but you must also have great and excellent technique.  Without excellent technique, a pianist cannot achieve greatness.  Usually, the pianist must establish good technique very early in life—when he or she is no older than thirteen years of age.

What pieces in particular do you love?

This depends on my age and time of life.  When I was young, I liked to listen to Chopin—but not necessarily to play him.  But it is imperative for young pianists to play Chopin, because it teaches such things fundamental to great piano performance.  Now, I very much like Stravinsky and the great Rachmaninoff.

One time I played a selection from Schubert’s Moments Musicaux.  It is a very passionate piece and it is difficult to explain how it affects you.  After I played it, a woman came up and said, “That is so beautiful.  I want that played when I die.”  It is difficult to explain the beauty.  Why don’t I play it for you to show you?

Ioudenitch ended his performance with that same selection from Schubert’s Moments Musicaux Op. 94 in A Flat which, as he said, communicates a beauty that is difficult to put into words.  It was delightful.

Stanislav Ioudenitch is widely regarded for his strong individuality and musical conviction. He has netted prizes for performances all over the world and has also performed at such revered places as Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  He was the youngest teacher ever invited to give master classes at the International Piano Academy at Lake Como in Italy and has taught at many revered institutions, including Stanford University, Cornell University, and the National University in Seoul, South Korea.  Currently, he is teaching at the International Center for Music at Park University in the Kansas City area.

The Benedictine College community was greatly blessed by the opportunity to listen to him perform.