Encouraged by his grandmother, Canadian-born pianist Carter Johnson took up the piano aged five, and aspired to be a concert pianist—at eight, his mother created an elaborate Halloween costume for him, including a cardboard piano she hung from his shoulders. Resident in the US since 2019, Johnson completed a master’s degree at the Juilliard School in New York, continuing at the Yale School of Music where he is now studying for a doctorate. Asked about his experience of participating in the Van Cliburn competition, Johnson is full of praise for the warm atmosphere, which he tells Apple Music Classical has enabled him “to enjoy the music every step of the way”. He continues: “I’ve tried my best to not think about how far I would make it in the competition, and instead only focus completely on whatever music I have been set to play next.” German music, including J.S. Bach and Schubert, is core to Johnson’s repertoire, though he has also championed Shostakovich and Poulenc, as well as Polish works for piano by composers such as Szymanowski and Bacewicz. In his semifinal recital, Johnson’s relaxed and engaging performance of Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze clearly reflected his deep love of that richly diverse cycle of pieces. He describes it as “possibly my favorite work I have ever studied in my whole life. Robert wrote the work just after his engagement to Clara and believed that it was the most complete expression of love that he had written at that point. Likewise, I take great inspiration from mine and my wife’s love for each other, and dedicate this performance to her—particularly the 14th movement.” Yet this did not preclude Johnson adding a touch of steel to some of its livelier movements. “Across this set of 18 dances, you can hear every part of the human emotional experience,” he affirms. Johnson’s subtle but effective highlighting of some of Schumann’s more forward-looking harmonies gave advance evidence for his affinity with Scriabin’s unearthly-sounding Preludes, Op. 74. His performance here is suitably intense, followed by his neatly turned account of Hindemith’s Sonata No. 3, representing the composer’s sardonic and sometimes sly take on tonality.