They Came to Play

They Came to Play (out this month on DVD) follows a dozen pianists from many places and walks of life gathered for the Van Cliburn Foundation’s International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. In the mold of recent films about spelling bees and crossword puzzles, Alex Rotaru’s documentary is a well-made look at people pursuing a particular fascination—one that actually requires skill, discipline, even emotional depth. Interviews are interposed amid the music—not chopsticks but challenging work by Bach and Beethoven—as tension rises over who will win the prize. They Came to Play suggests that dedicated amateurs playing for love might be just as worth hearing as their professional counterparts.