7.6. Soon we’ll know…

…the winner of the second Helsinki International Maj Lind Piano Competition! The finals began yesterday and there was a big audience – so many turned up, and especially at the last minute, that some didn’t get tickets in time. The late-comers did, however, get to hear two fine players. It was exciting for me, too, to have a chance to hear the contestants in the hall itself, though sometimes it was difficult just to enjoy the music with a hundred things I had to attend to buzzing round in my head. There was also a news team from MTV doing a story, so watch the MTV news at 7 tonight?

It’s been extremely quiet in our office at Finlandia Hall during the finals days. We’re a long way from the concert hall and there’s no monitor in the office, so we really have to call in at the café every now and then if we want to convince ourselves that the orchestral rehearsals really are in progress. There we can see the players on the monitor – or if they’re taking a break they fill the café in a second. The phone calls today have virtually been about one thing only: when will the results be announced and how? Nowadays news travels like lightning by email, so fast that not a word must be disclosed to the media until the chairman of the jury has announced the name of the winner. And the news can be obtained immediately via the Internet, WAP or SMS. Let’s hope the announcement comes in time to get it in the newspapers and late-night news. It will all depend on how long the jury takes to decide the winners. And it certainly won’t be an easy job! So now we just wait for the second finals evening and the results.