There are two pianos on the stage here, a Steinway and a Kawai. Surprisingly, it's the Kawai that offers a greater level of control in this room. Van Cliburn played frequently in his younger days. After the dreamy prelude, Blinov is feather-light in the murderous finger work of the fugue. The snowfall becomes heavier later in the day, but that doesn't stop a Communist party demonstration.
Red flags color the gray day on the way back to the hotel.
We're slightly nervous when the driver points out several dozen military trucks that weren't there before around the Kremlin. The army trucks in front of the Kremlin are gone and, at least visibly, Russians have put away politics for the weekend. Inside the conservatory, with seven eager pianists on the list, the last and one of the longest days of the Cliburn European auditions commences. Yes, the Russian school of piano music is alive, but it's hardly at full power on this wintry day. He never quite recovers.