This week’s local newspaper has an article about the upcoming concert Ben is in: Sibling rivalry at the symphony? Young musicians highlighted at Jan. 18 family concert. The author of the article called Ben last week and interviewed him over the phone. Here’s the part about him:
Ben Mildenhall won out in a rivalry of a different sort, since the 2008 competition is the second in which he was declared a winner. His rivalry is with himself. Currently a sophomore at OPRF, Ben entered the 2006 contest as a violinist, winning over older musicians with the glittery Tsigane of Maurice Ravel. Prohibited from competing a second time as a violinist, but undaunted, he stayed within the rules by entering again this year as a pianist.
Sharing first prize with Ryan Murphy, Ben will perform an athletic and dramatic work for solo piano, Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1. His teacher, Angela Wright, gave him a choice of preparing the Liszt concerto or the more frequently played concerto of Edvard Grieg. He listened to both pieces and decided that Liszt would be the winner. So far, Ben has been able to manage the competing demands of playing violin vs. piano. He also enjoys competing in math contests, which “are usually a lot less stressful than performing, until you get to the last five minutes.” At OPRF, he also uses his hands for something quite different: competing in the school’s ping pong club.
(Ben took the photo of him playing our grand piano – click for a larger version)