by Daniel Hathaway
For those who advanced to the semifinal round, the performance order remained the same as in the original draw.
ZIAOXUAN LI
First to play was Ziaoxuan Li (13, China), with a portfolio of pieces by J.S. Bach (Prelude & Fugue in B-flat from WTC I), Robert Schumann (Kinderszenen) and Rodion Shchedrin (“Invention in Two Parts” and “Basso Ostinato” from Polyphonic Notebook).
by Daniel Hathaway
On Friday, May 15 at 7:00 pm Round Two of CIPC’s Young Artists Competition got underway at Baldwin Wallace University’s Gamble Auditorium. The evening featured five talented pianists ranging in ages from 12 to 15.
Yerin Yang (12, South Korea) started things off with impressive technique — and graceful, fluttery runs during the first movement, “Allegro,” of Mozart’s Sonata No. 18 in D Major, K. 576. She exhibited these same musical qualities during the second movement, “La Leggierezza,” of Liszt’s Trois études de concert. Yang showed a nice sense of pace in Shostakovich’s Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, Op. 87, No. 2 and displayed some fine hand-crossing in Schumann’s Abegg Variations, Op. 1.
by Jarrett Hoffman
A good party doesn’t sit. It moves — from room to room, topic to topic, different people getting to tell their good joke.
Now imagine a party like that, but in a palace. Think golden handrails, spacious rooms, drinks poured and legs dancing, and good music. Think Gatsby.
Or think Severance Hall on Friday night, May 15th. The Cleveland Orchestra’s last Fridays@7 concert of the season featured four musical acts in four rooms, including one last party in the gilded Grand Foyer.
Berea — May 18
Elliot Wuu (15, USA), Leonid Nediak (11, Canada), and Jae Hong Park (15, South Korea) have advanced to the final round in the Junior Division of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artists Competition. They will play concerto movements with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thursday, May 21 at 7:30, along with the three finalists in the Senior Division, who will be named after the two semi-final rounds on Tuesday, May 19 (see the concert listings for Tuesday’s schedule).
by Mike Telin
The Second Round Senior Division performances continued on Sunday, May 17 at 10:00 am in Gamble Auditorium.
First up was Nima Mirkhoshhal (17, Germany) who brought to life the creatures who come out at night in Bartók’s “The Night’s Music,” from Out of Doors. Next, during Scriabin’s Etude, Op. 42, No. 5 Mirkhoshhal played with a rich, dark sound, never losing track of the musical line. His interpretation of Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 31 was explosive in the best way possible.
by Mike Telin
The Junior Division continued with its second round on Saturday, May 16, at 10:00 am in Gamble Auditorium.
Nina Yifang Hu (14, USA) kicked things off with an engaging performance of Liszt’s “La campanella” from his Grandes études de Paganini, which she followed with a nicely-shaped and well-voiced rendition of Chopin’s Nocturne No. 8 in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2. Hu was in her element during Liebermann’s Gargoyles, Op. 29, playing with sensitivity and wonderful technique.
by Timothy Robson
The distinguished American church musician and organist Bruce Neswick appeared in recital in Akron on Friday, May 15 as part of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church’s Arts @ Holy Trinity concert series. Neswick is Interim Canon for Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. He was previously on the faculty at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and served as director of music for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.
Berea, May 18, 2015
Twelve young pianists will advance to the semifinal rounds in the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artist Competition. Sessions will take place on Monday afternoon and evening, May 18 (Junior Division) and Tuesday afternoon and evening, May 19 (Senior Division) in Gamble Auditorium at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. See our concert listings page for links to ticketing, biographies, repertoire and live streaming of the four sessions.
JUNIOR DIVISION SEMI-FINALISTS:
Xiaoxuan Li (13, China), Elliot Wuu (15, USA), Leonid Nediak (11, Canada), Maxim Lando (12, USA), Jae Hong Park (15, South Korea) & William Yang (13, USA).
SENIOR DIVISION SEMI-FINALISTS:
Jiacheng Xiong (18, China),Yuanfan Yang (18, U.K.), Chaeyoung Park (17, South Korea), Giorgio Trione Bartoli (18, Italy), Evren Ozel (15, USA) & Kyubin Chung (17, South Korea).
by Nicholas Jones
May Wine is a delightful spring punch made out of a bit of everything — the fruitiness of Riesling, the bubbly of Prosecco, the tart bite of strawberries, and the sweet pungency of the flowers and leaves of woodruff (also wonderfully known as sweet-scented bedstraw), blooming now in northern Ohio. For their final concert of their fifth season, the BlueWater Chamber Orchestra served up a bowl of musical May wine, more than welcome on one of the first warm evenings of the season. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Rebranding is sometimes just a marketing ploy to sell the same old product with a shiny new veneer. But when Opera Per Tutti changed its name to Cleveland Opera Theater last fall, the announcement came with an ambitious set of new plans. On Friday evening, May 8, the new company reached its first milestone with a first-class production of Puccini’s Tosca in COT’s new performing space, the acoustically excellent Masonic Auditorium. [Read more…]