Japan goes ahead with Olympics but cancels piano competition
mainThis is Japan’s major piano event:
The Executive Committee of the 11th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (President: Yasutomo Suzuki, Mayor of Hamamatsu City）regrets to announce the cancellation of the competition slated to be held in November this year. The decision was made in view of the current situation in Japan, where strict travel restrictions and a mandatory 14-day quarantine after entry are implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and there are no prospects for normalization of entry measures in the foreseeable future.
Through the application period until March this year, more than 450 young pianists expressed their intention
to enter the competition. We would like to thank all the applicants for intending to take part in the Hamamatsu
International Piano Competition and sincerely apologize for not being able to implement the event.
The next Hamamatsu International Piano Competition is scheduled to be held in November 2024.
Given that Osaka has run out of hospital beds, this makes sense and continuing with the olympics is moronic.
The Tokyo Olympic Games should be postponed for three more years and made to coincide with those of Paris 2024, so that for example we can have a final of the 100 meters with four participants in one venue and the others in the other. Tremendous fun.
Those guys at ‘The Executive Committee of the 11th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition’ should think out of the box.
This is a nice variant of Darwinian selection.
The musicians will be spared, to live and compete another day.
So will the music-loving audience.
Those dim enough to attend the Olympics, on the other hand, will expose themselves willfully to an unconscionable risk.
Music is good for your health ; athletics is lethal.
Goes ahead with what makes money; and money is made only when it concerns what the masses like; unfortunately , classical music is the interest of very few people in this age
Plus, the piano competition is months later than the scheduled Olympics.
Possibly they are expecting the Olympics to have a negative impact on the COVID situation there, which may still be making itself felt months later.
Also, they have been much more careful there than, for example, the US.
Good. All music competitions should be cancelled. They are not neccesary, are discriminatory, and do not encourage performers in a positive way. Competitions are for horses, as Bartok put it very eloquently.