The Competition

The Competition is a 1980 American drama musical film starring Richard Dreyfuss, Amy Irving and Lee Remick, written and directed by Joel Oliansky. Plot Paul Dietrich, a gifted but disillusioned classical pianist, is nearly 30 years old. He has never won a major piano competition and will soon be past the age limit to compete. Paul has accepted a job as a music teacher at a prep school in his hometown of Chicago, needing to help his mother and ailing father. However, he decides to compete one final time at an international piano competition in San Francisco, even though it could cost him the job. The competition for a financial grant and two years of concert engagements pits the intense and arrogant Paul against a select group of talented artists. He advances to the final round of six, which includes brash New Yorker Jerry DiSalvo, who can only play one concerto; Michael Humphries; Canadian pianist Mark Landau; and a meek Kazakh girl, Tatiana Baronova. Another contestant, Heidi Joan Schoonover, is a confident 23-year-old from Massachusetts who was romantically attracted to Paul after meeting him at an earlier music festival. Heidi's esteemed music teacher, Greta Vandemann, advises her to avoid letting personal matters hinder her concentration. Heidi is rebuffed by Paul, who also wants to avoid any distraction.