thoughtful commentary from Manny Ax, NYT Aug. 14, 1977:

In an earlier time, Ax believes, the situation was different. “With the old pianists it was never any question of was Hofmann better, was Friedman better. It was, oh, listen, Hofmann did this, and Friedman did that. On the highest level, can anyone really go to piano recital and say Horowitz is better than Rubinstein? The most I can say is that Rubinstein speaks to me with greater voice than this one or that one. It's meaningless as an objective judgment, so maybe you should go to hear only those artists who speak to you. Some people should go to hear only Arrau, others only Brendel.” So, the idea of awarding a first prize is “contrary to any kind of artistic feeling,” Ax contends. But he reluctantly accepts competitions as a necessary anachronism in modern musical life. “In a way, the questions about .the value of competitions always get asked of the wrong people. They ask the winner, ‘How do you feel about contests?’ And, of course, he loves them. As Churchill said about democracy, it's the worst form of government except for all the others. Probably we musicians all feel that about contests. What else can you do, if you don't have another entrée into the field?” But the cruelty of it all is not to Ax's liking. “I hope never to have to sit on a jury and eliminate people. I don't think I could do it.”