Original subtitles

Jenny... I haven't felt goosebumps like that

since listening to Martha Argerich at Fisher Hall in 1998.

You're ready.

You're so ready for this.

Are you excited about going back to Belgium?

I don't know. I don't remember much about that time.

I guess that's normal. After all, you were just a child, weren't you?

Yeah.

Jen?

How come you're home early? Has something happened?

No.

How did it go?

- Good. - Good? Just good?

It went very well, Mum. Very well.

That one's not quite finished.

I can see it.

How many jumpers do you want me to pack?

I was going to do that.

I'll pack all of them. You're always cold.

- I still think I should come. - Mum...

I'll be fine. You spoke to the host family, didn't you?

They don't know you and what you need.

You're a unique talent. A gift to the world. And that should be protected.

I wouldn't want...

I don't want to stress you out, sweety.

I'm worried, that's all. It's only normal.

Will you miss me?

- Just humour me and say yes. - Yes.

I'm going to miss you so much.

But I can live with that because I know you're going to make me proud.

Let's go in.

The dining room. The kitchen. The pool.

That's our son's piano.

He was a talented pianist, but he had a wrist problem.

Chronic tendonitis.

- Others might call it chronic laziness. - Yes.

Beautiful.

Hey, I'm not finished yet.

Don't worry. I told you, didn't I?

I'm your mom.

You can trust me, can't you? Well then?

Just stay in the bath.

Dear members of the jury,

the next semifinal candidate is number 24, Jennifer Rogiers.

- Jen? - Hi, Mom. I made it to The Chapel.

Look, you won't like hearing this,

but I got a few days off to go to Brussels.

I know I make you nervous, but you won't even know I'm there.

I want to see you play on the most important day of your life.

What do you say?

Okay, say no more.

All right, I'll stay here then.

We can't take any risks at this stage of the competition.

Sorry, Mom.

Welcome to The Chapel.

Mrs Janssens, thank you so much

for accommodating Jennifer these past three weeks.

We'll take over now. Time to say goodbye.

- What? Right away? - Yes, I'm afraid you can't go in.

Oh right.

Apparently I can't go in, so... we need to say goodbye here.

I must remind you

that the isolation of the 12 finalists in The Chapel must be complete.

So no TV, no radio, no computer, no visits, no phones, letters or messages.

- Do you understand? - Yes.

Okay, so I have to ask you. Did you bring a radio? A laptop or a smartphone?

- Yes, a smartphone. - Can I have it?

Thanks. Don't worry. You'll get it back after the contest.

So here it is. The famous imposed concerto.

As you know, you have only seven days to study it.

On the night of your final performance,

you have to play it as well as a concerto of your choice.

- You will play Rachmaninoff No 2, correct? - Yes.

No, sorry. I must ask you to only open it when you are in your suite.

Oh, okay.

Now, let me show you around. It's not as bad as everyone says.

This is our communal space.

Here you can relax with the other contestants,

discuss music, play chess, read...

Do you like it?

- Yes. - We want you to remember...

For us you are all winners. Every single one of you.

And here is the most important room in The Chapel.

Breakfast is at seven, lunch at one and dinner at eight.

That's in about two hours and I'm starving already.

Now, let's meet the person who is going to spoil you for the next seven days.

Here we are. This is Hilde. She's Flemish.

So you two can talk behind my back.

Hilde is our cook, our concierge, our confidante... our everything.

What's the matter, Chopin? Want some attention?

He's beautiful. I had a black cat when I was little.

- Did you? - Yes, Minoes.

Well, would you like to see your suite or do you prefer to stay with Chopin?

We've tried to isolate all the rooms,

but as you can hear, it's almost impossible to keep all the sound in.

You and Mr Nazarenko are the last to arrive,

so I'm afraid I have only two suites left to choose from.

This is the first one.

- Do you like it? - Yes.

Then this is going to be your home for the next seven days.

See you at dinner.

Mom! They're here!

Watch the bottom.

We'll find a spot for it, won't we?

What's going on here?

- She already has a piano. - That old thing isn't good enough anymore.

- How much did that thing cost? - Tony...

- How much, Sara? - Tony, please.

- See it as... - As what?

- As an emergency. - An emergency?

The audition for Juilliard. She stands a good chance of getting in.

- She's eight years old, Sara. - That's exactly it!

- Can't you see? - Guys? Start loading it back in.

- Sorry. We can't afford that piano. - Yes, we can.

Go on. Unload it!

I studied for two years to be in this competition and they make me play this?

But that's why it's called imposed concerto, Gerard.

Yeah, but my fingers hurt from playing it. And my head is like...

Can I have your attention, please? As you know, tomorrow is our press day and I w...

Oh, Mr Nazarenko.

- There you are finally. Welcome. - Sorry. Traffic.

Please, sit down. I will ask Hilde to warm something up for you.

No, thank you. I'm not hungry. I'd like to start working right away.

- Are you sure? - Yes.

- Okay. I'll walk you to your suite. - Thank you.

- Did you see the gloves? - Yeah, so weird.

Six days ago, the laureates started to arrive at The Music Chapel in pairs.

Yesterday and today were the only days all twelve candidates were here together.

From tomorrow, two candidates will leave The Chapel

to perform on stage at the Centre for Fine Arts.

You were very young when you started at Juilliard.

My mother decided I was going to be a famous pianist.

And what about you? I mean, you like playing the piano, right?

Of course I do. I couldn't live without it.

And why have you chosen Rachmaninoff?

Because he is... Russian.

Russia makes me think of winter.

So you love the cold?

No.

I hate the cold.

Ladies and gentlemen,

allow me to show you one of the essentials of music performances.

When you perform, you have to be on a very high level of feelings.

You cannot be just in a daily, normal state of mind.

Let me show you.

Stop, stop, stop. Stop!

You play pompously. Music must never be pompous.

Music must be generous, selfless.

Music is the art of selflessness, of dignity, love, tenderness.

All those things have to... be embodied in that music. Music must never be pompous!

Come, sweety. Let's go. We're going to Munich.

What? We'll buy a toothbrush on the way.

- The lesson's not over, sir. - Oh, I think it is. Come, Jennifer.

Come, sweety.

We'll have fun, I promise. Wait here.

I doubt my daughter understands what pompous means, sir.

Even though she sat next to it for the past two hours.

Cat got your tongue?

- She's going to be very angry. - Sweety... Don't be scared.

Of anyone.

Scared people forget to live.

Look at this.

I'm a cowboy now.

And now I'm free.

Come here. Come and sit on my lap.

Yes. I'll teach you how to steer.

Hold it there. Good.

How does it feel?

Press that.

Come on, horsy. Faster! Your turn.

Hey.

Hello, Chopin.

- Oh, Jennifer. - Hi.

- Sorry. I hope I didn't wake you. - Oh no. I'm a bad sleeper.

- Are you still practising? - Yes.

- It's 3 a.m. - Is it?

I must've lost track of time.

You all work too hard.

What's that? Gin. Don't you remember it?

I have some if I can't sleep.

I'm going back to bed. You should get some sleep too, sweety.

You look tired.

Go back to Hilde...

Catherine wants to see all of us in the communal room.

- Now? - Yeah, now. Something happened.

This competition has existed for almost a century.

And this is the first time something like this has ever happened.

This contest is supposed to bring people together

in a healthy competitive environment.

I could make a big thing out of this.

But if Jennifer agrees and for the sake of the competition,

I'm prepared to forget the incident this one time.

Jennifer?

Yeah.

Of course.

All right then. Back to work. All of you.

Why did you look at me like that?

Like what?

You think I did the photo thing.

I don't care.

It wasn't me.

I tell you, it wasn't me.

Somebody is jealous of your talent. But me? Come on.

I'm not jealous. Not of you. Not of anybody.

- How is the imposed concerto going? - Fine.

Did you see the mistakes in the score?

What?

Small mistakes, but big problems.

Like for example a B that is marked as B-flat.

- You did see it, right? - Yeah, of course I did.

- Are you sure about that? I can show. - No, it's fine.

Okay.

Only trying to help.

Jennifer?

I have your sheets.

I found them downstairs.

Are you okay? You look pale.

I'm fine.

I looked at your notes. You made a couple of really great ones.

You're not supposed to look at them. Those are my notes.

- Hey, I'm sorry. - Yeah. Please go.

- Listen, I wasn't spying or anything. - Just go. Please!

- I'm sorry. - Yeah, it's okay. I need to work.

There he is.

Thank you.

You look like an aristocrat going to his execution.

Don't forget to bow to the royal box. That's protocol.

- No worries. - The king of pianists. Bow to the king.

Thank you. Stop doing that. Good luck. Bye.

It must be so hard to be the first one.

I wish it was me. I want to get out of this place.

When I was seventeen, I had a dream.

It was a big, old building. I went inside.

And I saw Rachmaninoff. And he told me:

'Eugen, you have to play for me.'

I don't want to hear his story!

So I play his Barcarolle for him and he tells me:

'You have to play this piece without the pedal.'

And when I woke up, I remembered what he told me and I think:

No, I play this with the pedal because that is how everyone plays Barcarolle.

Jennifer?

You are the Rachmaninoff expert here. Pedal or no pedal?

- Pedal. - Exactly.

But many years later, I find an obscure record.

Rachmaninoff plays Barcarolle on this record.

And he plays without the pedal.

- Are you making this up? - No. It is true. It really happened.

- So you're a psychic? - A what?

- Like Rosemary Brown. - Who is Rosemary Brown?

- Has nobody heard of Rosemary Brown? - No.

The one that claimed dead composers dictate work to her.

What? Okay.

So, Liszt controlled her hands and fingers.

Chopin told her the notes and pushed her hands into the right keys.

And Schubert tried to sing his compositions to her. I swear.

And were any of these compositions good?

Allegedly some of them are.

But the crazy part is she wasn't even a musician.

What?

She worked at a post office. She only took piano lessons for three years.

She's dead now, so... She might be haunting you.

Stories like these make me nervous.

But you know what? Let's see if it would work for us.

We could all use some help, right? Fumiyo, Alexandra, pull down the curtains.

I really don't think we should do that.

Of course we should. Ladies, please, go on.

Let's hold each other's hands. Come.

- I'm going to my room. - No, no. You can't.

We've all got to stay here or it's not going to work.

No. Good night.

She must have a bad conscience.

Yeah, I think we scared her.

Who is there?

Who is there?

- Assholes! - Come on. We were joking.

We didn't want to scare you this much.

Get out!

- Who is it? - Room service.

You missed lunch.

Come in.

- Hilde warmed it up for you. - That's very kind of her.

And you.

I wanted to apologize for yesterday.

I should not have looked into your notes.

Although I do want to say how absolutely great they are.

Thanks.

- I'm sorry I snapped at you. - It's okay.

Well... enjoy.

Do you know about Fumiyo's birthday party tonight in the communal room?

- No. - Maybe you'd like to come?

Fumiyo told me she'd love to have you there.

And it won't be for too long, so...

Oh, I was planning to work.

One needs to relax once in a while, Jennifer. It'll be great fun. I promise.

Okay, I'll think about it.

Okay. Cool.

Sweety?

Are you sleeping?

Shut up. Shut up.

- Victory is mine! - What? Forget it! It's mine!

Bye-bye, Gerard!

We missed you yesterday at the party.

Yeah, I'm sorry. I had a terrible headache.

That's fine.

Back to work early?

I skipped dessert.

Get away from the losers, right?

- Why are you like this? - Like what?

- Like you hate everyone. - You don't want to win?

Yeah. Of course.

This is war, Jennifer.

Bang, bang, bang. Everybody's dead.

Except me.

You don't scare me.

Jennifer, I must confess a little secret.

Yesterday, I came listening to your door when you were working on the nocturne.

I listened.

And I can feel you struggle. And I know what your problem is.

I can help.

If you want.

I'll show you.

What are you doing?

We've been here every night.

I'm quite sure Hilde leaves the door open on purpose. Come, sit.

More pressure. Always more pressure.

Hey, can I have one?

Here.

Take the package.

Do you mind?

I always feel so bad when I hear someone else play so good.

Do you think Nazarenko is right?

About what?

About being the best or not to play at all.

I think Nazarenko is full of shit.

He's messing with our heads.

That guy would do whatever to win.

He's very talented.

Did you hear the Dvorak piece he played in the semifinals?

Yeah.

He made me cry.

Why are you smoking?

- Because I want to. - No, you don't.

You're pretending to be someone you're not.

You don't know me.

You're scared, Jennifer.

You're scared shitless.

I can feel it. Everybody can.

Is that how you all feel about me?

Fuck you! Fuck all of you.

- You never sleep? - I'm practising.

It's five in the morning.

I must do my performance tomorrow. I need sleep.

I have to practise. I'm sorry.

You must stop playing now. I can hear it. It makes me crazy.

- I have work to do. I cannot just stop. - But you must. You must stop.

- I need to practise. Leave me alone. - No!

You must stop! You hear me? Stop! Stop, stop, stop!

I can't fucking stop!

Stop this!

Stop. What... What's going on?

She must stop playing. I can hear it. I'm right there. I cannot sleep.

I need to practise.

I must play in the final tomorrow. She makes me tired on purpose.

- What? - Yes. I am almost 30.

This is my last chance. Please, you have to tell her to stop.

Listen, Ivanka, there is no rule against practising, okay?

- It's five in the morning. - Then wear some earplugs.

Sorry, but if you can't handle the stress, then you shouldn't be here. Okay?

This incident is closed.

Back to your rooms. Both of you.

Now.

You're a bad person.

Hey there. How is my sick little angel?

My throat still hurts.

Daddy's brought you a present.

Want to see it?

How come you're back already? Tony?

I drove all night. I was worried.

Let her sleep. She's got practice tomorrow. Come.

- She's too sick to practise. - She'll be all right.

Come to bed, Tony. What is it you want? Eh?

What do you want from her?

What do you want from her?

- Let's go to bed. - What do you want from her?

You stink of booze. Come. Let's go to bed. Come.

Let go of me.

You and your fucking dreams.

You leave that kid alone, you got me?

- You leave her alone, yeah? - Go to bed.

It's okay.

Are you okay? Want some water?

Oh, sweety!

You're the best thing that's happened to me.

One day, you will live in America.

And you will be able to wear the prettiest dresses

and everyone will think the world of you.

But you must persevere.

Whatever happens, you must never give up.

Wow, you look beautiful.

I feel ugly.

And tired.

I'll never come back to this place again. Ever.

So, Fumiyo, how did the rehearsal go? Are you still worried about the conductor?

He told me that I should play my triplets in time.

He said the same thing to me.

I have never played with such a big orchestra before.

Have you?

Not really.

And you?

No.

- You've started to pick up a bad habit. - Don't worry. I'll smoke it outside.

- That's not the point. - Then what's the point?

It's just the three of us now. There's no need to keep up the front.

Let's help each other, try to make it through this thing together.

Okay.

Okay, what?

The imposed concerto... I can't get it right.

No matter how hard I practise.

Okay, listen... My teacher always says:

'The best way to practise is to focus on the difficult parts in the piece.'

It's better than exercises.

Okay. Faster. Come on.

Even faster. Faster.

Yes. That's good.

Yes. Yes. Yes, that's it. That's it. Perfect.

- Feels good, right? - Yeah.

Are you happy?

Could you be happy? It's the first time I've seen you happy.

I'm sorry.

I'm just so focused.

I want to make my mother proud.

And your father?

- He hated classical music. - So did my parents.

I think that's why I played in the first place. Just to piss them off.

But when I was thirteen, I was playing Beethoven, Sonata 31, Opus 110.

And... I still remember playing the first page

and thinking what a beautiful melody it was. So I played it very expressively.

And then my teacher stopped me and she said:

'My dear child, this piece is not beautiful.

It is sublime.'

So she taught me to go beyond human expressiveness.

And search for an almost...

spiritual realm of purity.

Now I try to look for that feeling every time I play.

I wanted to ask, what's with the toy cowboy?

It's for good luck.

Good luck.

And good night.

Are you excited to finally rehearse with the orchestra?

Yeah, I am.

Don't listen to what the others say. Maestro Du Welz is a very nice man.

Our dear Jennifer here would like the entry of the orchestra to be very soft.

So this will be the superlative pianissimo of the week for us.

Especially for you.

What's wrong?

The orchestra is too loud.

Have you ever played this piece with orchestra?

- I know it very well. - So do I, young lady.

I've been playing this since well before you were born.

It's not going to work like this.

But it would, if you'd play louder.

I'm standing right beside you and I can hardly hear you.

That's because the orchestra is drowning me.

Would you like us to go home?

Are we in your way?

Just tell us and we'll go.

Stop it.

Stop!

It's me.

I just came to say goodbye.

- You look great. - Thanks.

I hope you do well.

You're a wonderful pianist.

So are you.

- How did the rehearsal go? - The conductor is a complete asshole.

I know. But don't let him get to you.

Okay?

I'll try.

So I'll see you tomorrow after your performance?

Okay.

Alexandra?

I'm going to miss you here.

It's just one more day. You got this.

- Okay? - Yeah.

Bye.

That was Brahms' Concerto No 2 performed by Alexandra Spinnler.

Come. Bath time.

Let's go.

Come. Bath time.

I'm your mom.

You can trust me, can't you?

Good grief.

Sorry.

I need to inform Catherine.

No.

- Don't. - I have no choice. She needs to know.

- Please. They'll disqualify me. - Perhaps that's for the best.

I have to play.

- I have to play. - Okay.

I'm not leaving you alone tonight. You're going to sleep in my bed.

I'll sleep on the sofa.

Thank you.

Okay. Thank you.

I wish you luck, Jennifer.

I hope you play well tonight.

And I hope the conductor won't ruin your performance.

Why do you say that?

Because he's a stupid ass. I fired him.

- What? - Yeah.

I will conduct tonight from behind the piano. Just like Mozart.

I didn't know we could fire the conductor.

I talked to the director.

I said: 'I do not like this conductor. I want to play without.'

He said: 'Okay. Your risk.'

- Why didn't they tell us? - I don't know.

Maybe because of ego conductor.

He's just a jerk.

We're live in five seconds. Five, four, three, two...

Good evening, dear viewers.

Welcome to this last evening of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Tonight, we welcome to our panel Madeleine Rousseau and Albert van der Wildt.

Mr Van der Wildt, you've won this competition before.

How do you look back on it now?

It was physically very demanding.

Playing piano for ten to twelve hours a day. It affects your nervous system.

- Ten, nine... - It's time.

Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

Your Majesties, ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

And welcome to the last evening of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. And welcome to Bozar.

This evening, each candidate willfirst perform the imposed concerto

followed by a concerto of their choice.

In a moment, we will hear Jennifer Rogiers.

She'll first render the imposed concerto, Scarbo's Nocturne by George Van Dam.

After which, she will perform Piano Concerto No 2 in C Minor

by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Ladies and gentlemen... Jennifer Rogiers and the conductor Alexandre Du Welz.

Fortunately for her,

her concerto of choice will be the jury's real measure.

And I hope she'll redeem herself with Rachmaninoff.

And I've heard she already could play this concerto at the age of nine.

And she also said she had a special emotional connection to it.

I must interrupt you because she has just appeared on stage.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jennifer Rogiers

with Piano Concerto No 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Well done. Very good.

This was very intense. Albert, what is your opinion?

If I've played exceptionally well,

I always feel like I've not done that on my own.

I always feel enormous gratitude towards the thing, whatever it is,

that has supported me in that moment.

And I have just experienced a similar moment.

It was really...

magical.

I couldn't stay away.

Oh, Jen... You were fantastic.

- A standing ovation. - That doesn't mean anything.

Others received a standing ovation, too.

- He's really good. - Not as good as you are.

I don't know.

I know. Jen... You are a unique talent.

What's wrong?

Jen?

- You knew. - What?

You knew that he wasn't going to make it.

It was an unfortunate accident.

- Did you love Dad? - Stop it.

- Stop it, Jen. - Answer me.

- Stop. - Answer me!

- Go away. Go away! - Come on.

- Go away! - What's wrong with you? Jen.

Go away, go away, go away. Go away!

Your Majesties, ladies and gentlemen,

it is my pleasure to welcome you to the second part of the evening.

We end this final week with the candidate Fedir Nazarenko.

He will first perform the imposed concerto,

Scarbo's Nocturne by George Van Dam.

- You were fantastic. - Thanks.

by Sergei Prokofiev.

Ladies and gentlemen, Fedir Nazarenko with the conductor Alexandre Du Welz.

Jennifer.

- Jennifer. Where are you going? - It was Nazarenko.

- What? - He crossed out my headshot.

- How do you know? - I just do.

- I'm going for a walk. - Now?

I'll be back in time for the results.

Do you want some company?

Stop worrying about me.

I'll be fine.

I just need some time by myself.

It's half past eleven, we're expecting the jury on stage any moment now.

The tension in the room is palpable.

You can imagine what the candidates must feel.

Your Majesties,

ladies and gentlemen,

it is my great honour to announce

the results of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Dear audience, here are the results.

First prize and winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition for piano...

Fedir Nazarenko.