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Cleveland International Piano Competition: conversations with the four finalists

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by Mike Telin

FourFinalistsNow that the four finalists of the Cleveland International Piano Competition have completed their chamber music performances with the Escher String Quartet, we had a chance to sit down and meet them for the first time in the Case Western Reserve University dormitory where the contestants are being housed. On Friday, August 5 and Saturday, August 6 the finalists will play their concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Bramwell Tovey at Severance Hall. (L-R: Leonardo Colafelice, Georgy Tchaidze, Dinara Klinton, and Nikita Mndoyants).

We first spoke with Nikita Mndoyants of Russia and Leonardo Colafelice of Italy.

Mike Telin: So far, what has been the most memorable moment of the competition?

Nikita Mndoyants: For me it was playing the chamber music round. It was a pleasure to play with such great musicians. And I am really looking forward to playing with The Cleveland Orchestra. [Read more…]

Behind the scenes at the Cleveland International Piano Competition

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by Mike Telin

CIPCBackstage2Long before the pianists arrive and each session begins, a whole group of people arrive to begin work backstage at Gartner Auditorium — making sure that microphones and cameras are properly placed and focused, that the audio and video feeds are working, that pianos are tuned, that radio broadcasts are announced, and that ushers are ready to take tickets, seat the audience, and deal with latecomers.

When I arrived in the lobby one hour prior to the 7:00 start time for the chamber music segment of the finals on Tuesday, the ushers were busy preparing to receive the audience, and volunteers were stocking the competition gift shop with program books, CDs and other CIPC items.

When audio engineer Alan Bise meets me and takes me backstage, the piano technician is busy tuning the Hamburg Steinway that both Georgy Tchaidze and Nikita Mndoyants had chosen for their performances with the Escher String Quartet. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom: a chat with guest conductor Nicholas McGegan

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by Mike Telin

McGegan-Nicholas-kbd“If I were to have a dinner party, whom would I invite from a list of composers?” conductor Nicholas McGegan asked himself during a recent telephone conversation. “You could pretty much count on Handel eating all your food, or on Mozart disgracing himself with the girls, but Haydn and Mendelssohn would be two of the most perfectly wonderful guests. Mendelssohn could talk to people in almost any language, and Haydn was just a charmer. And that comes through in their music.”

On Sunday, August 7 at 7:00 pm, Nicholas McGegan will return to Blossom Music Center to lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a concert that will feature music by his two preferred dinner guests: Joseph Haydn (Symphony No. 99) and Felix Mendelssohn (Symphony No. 3). The evening will also include George Benjamin’s Divertimento on Themes by Gluck with the Orchestra’s assistant principal oboe, Jeffrey Rathbun, as soloist.

McGegan, who admitted to be being a little bit of a foodie — he was putting vegetable soup on to simmer when I phoned — said that he looks forward to returning to Blossom. [Read more…]

Homes and music combine for Tuesday Musical’s new Arts-in-Residence Series

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by Mike Telin

Escher-SQ-New-2Is there a better way to spend a summer evening than enjoying refreshments while listening to a world-class string quartet in the elaborate ballroom of a historic Georgian Revival house?

On Thursday, August 4 at 7:30 pm, Tuesday Musical invites you to a  “Summer Soirée” featuring the Escher String Quartet at the Byron R. Barder House on West Market Street in Akron. Hosted by Braun & Steidl Architects, the event marks the inauguration of the Escher String Quartet as Tuesday Musical’s first Quartet-in-Residence.

The multi-year residency will include performances by the Escher on Tuesday Musical’s mainstage concert seasons, as well as programs at The University of Akron School of Music, Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and others educational and community venues. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition: Semifinal Round, Session 2 (July 31)

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by Mike Telin

Mndoyants-YangThe semi-finals of The Cleveland International Piano Competition continued at 3:00 pm on Sunday, July 31 in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, when a large audience was treated to polished performances by Nikita Mndoyants (27, Russia, left) and Yuanfan Yang (19, United Kingdom, right). In addition to being accomplished pianists, the two are also award-winning composers. They also each concluded their programs with the second of Prokofiev’s three “war sonatas.” [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition: Semifinal Round, Session 1 (July 31)

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by Mike Telin

Tartakovsky-TchaidzeWhen the names of the eight semi-finalists were announced on Saturday evening shortly after 7:00 pm, four pianists had the daunting pressure of putting the final polishing on their 60-minute recital programs and performing less than 24 hours later. On Sunday, July 31 the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium played host to the first two of four semi-final sessions. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition: Round 2, Sessions 5 & 6 (July 30)

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by Mike Telin

CIPC-Flags-&-BannersThe last ten of the thirty-one pianists in the 2016 draw played their second round recitals at the Cleveland International Piano Competition on Saturday, July 30 at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition: Round 1, Sessions 5 & 6 (July 27)

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by Mike Telin

CIPC-Flags-&-BannersOn Wednesday, July 27, the final eleven contestants at the Cleveland International Piano Competition made their first impressions on the jury and audience in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition & Festival: a conversation with guest artist Dan Tepfer

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by Mike Telin

TepferFor many keyboard players, performing J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations is a daunting task, but jazz pianist Dan Tepfer has taken things one step further. Not only does he play the monumental work in its entirety, he follows each of Bach’s 30 variations with one of his own.

On Sunday, July 31 at 8:00 pm in the Maltz Center for the Performing Arts, Dan Tepfer will present his critically acclaimed project titled “Goldberg Variations/Variations” as part of the Cleveland International Piano Competition and Festival.

By his own admission, Tepfer’s upbringing was anything but typical. “I grew up in Paris, France with American parents, and outside of popular culture. We never had a TV, but I played a lot of music and read a lot of books, so the way I experienced culture was different,” the pianist said during a telephone conversation from his home in Brooklyn, New York. [Read more…]

Jahja Ling to lead two concerts this weekend at Severance and Blossom

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by Mike Telin

Tony-Yike-Yang-Oberlin-Cooper-Finals-(Mastroianni)This weekend is going to be a busy one for conductor Jahja Ling. On Friday, July 22 at 7:00 pm he’ll lead The Cleveland Orchestra in a Summers@ Severance concert featuring the three finalists of the Thomas and Evon Cooper International Piano Competition (left, in 2014). The following evening at 8:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, Ling and the Orchestra will present a concert featuring Igor Stravinsky’s Four Norwegian Moods, Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 in e, and Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Jean-Yves Thibaudet as soloist.

Jahja Ling has enjoyed a long relationship with The Cleveland Orchestra. He served as Associate Conductor during the 1984-85 season, Resident Conductor for 17 years from 1985-2002, and as Blossom Festival Director for 6 seasons (2000-05). Working with young musicians has always been an important part of his musical life. He founded both the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, and has also conducted TCO during the finals of the Cooper Competition since its inception in 2010. [Read more…]

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