One often overlooked aspect of the Arthur Rubinstein Competition or, to give it its full name, The Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, is its support for native Israeli composers. As its home country, lauded for its seemingly endless production of fabulous musicians, is often under-rated on the composers front, that's a side of the contest that is worth wider note.
Two modern Israeli composers are selected for each competition and their work handed to competitors to play (among other things). In this way, composers such as Shulamit Ran, Jan Radzynski, Moseh Zorman, Joseph Dorfman, Noam Sheriff, Gil Shohat and Menachem Wiesenberg have been supported, and deceased composers such as Paul Ben Haim and Josef Tal honoured. In 2014, the chosen composers are Ella Milch-Sheriff and Benjamin Yusupov.
There are yet notable omissions. Avner Dorman is making great strides abroad. Gary Bertini is a big name from the past. Michael Volpe is very highly rated at home. But there is time for these and others. The main thing is, it's good to see a piano competition pushing new music. At the time of writing, there are only hours to go before the 2014 winner is decided. One could do worse than use the time to go listen to some of the new stuff.
