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Martín García García reflects on winning the Cleveland International Piano Competition

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by Mike Telin

On Saturday evening, August 7 at Severance Hall, the jury of the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition awarded the Mixon First Prize to 24-year-old Martín García García of Spain.

On Sunday afternoon I was able to speak with the still slightly stunned García García over Zoom.

Mike Telin: Congratulations! You played beautifully.

Martín García García: Thank you so much. I still can’t believe it.

MT: When you finished, I remembered you telling me last week that playing Rachmaninoff 3 was like climbing a mountain. I thought wow, not only did he climb the mountain, he firmly planted the Spanish flag at the summit.

MGG: It was quite nice to come onstage and see all the flags at the back. And it was such a good feeling to see the flag of my own country. [Read more…]

Four CIPC Finalists play concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra (Aug. 6 & 7)

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by Daniel Hathaway

The audiences for the Concerto Round of the Cleveland International Piano Competition on August 6 and 7 — both in-person and online — were eager to hear the four finalists play, but they were also about to enjoy the extra treat of hearing The Cleveland Orchestra live, back on its home turf, and at full strength for the first time since March of 2020.

That must have been an equally memorable experience for the four finalists whose performances in the earlier rounds won them the opportunity to play concertos with Jahja Ling and the Orchestra — a prize in itself.

Byeol Kim (31, from South Korea) led off on Friday evening with Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto, followed by Yedam Kim (32, also from South Korea), who chose Rachmaninoff No. 3. On Saturday, Lovre Marušić (28, from Croatia) reached back into the Classical period with Beethoven No. 4, and Martín García García (24, from Spain) closed out the competition with another Rachmaninoff No. 3. [Read more…]

PianoCleveland Announces Prizewinners in 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition

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by Daniel Hathaway

Following the second Concerto Round on Saturday evening at Severance Hall with The Cleveland Orchestra, the jury announced the prizewinners in the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition. Being applauded by conductor Jahja Ling, they are, from left to right, Martín García García (24, Spain), First Prize, Lovre Marušić (28, Croatia) Second Prize, Yedam Kim (31, South Korea), Fourth Prize, and Byeol Kim (31, South Korea), Third Prize.

As Mixon First Prize winner, García García takes home a cash award of $75,000, as well as receiving a New York recital debut, Professional Management Services, and a recording by Steinway & Sons, New York. The Knowlton Second Prize comes with $25,000 in cash, the Third, and Fourth Prizes with awards of $15,000 and $10,000 respectively. Additionally, artist consulting services will be awarded to the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Prize winners, provided by Gold Sound Media.

García García won other honors as well as the gold — the Audience Prize, Chamber Prize, and Piano Duo Prize (with Rafael Skorka, who also won the Baroque Prize). Byeol Kim also claimed the Armchair Jury and Female Composer Prizes. Other special awards went to Ying Li (French and Mozart Prizes), Suah Ye (Russian Prize), Clayton Stephenson (American Prize), Stefano Andreatta (Beethoven Prize), Peter Klimo and Daria Parkhomenko (who shared the Contemporary Prize), and Arsenii Mun (Chopin Prize).

Photo by Roger Mastroianni.

CIPC Finals: Chamber Music Round with the Escher Quartet (August 3 & 4)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Why put international piano competition finalists through a chamber music test between their solo and concerto rounds? Because there’s no better indicator of musicianship than one’s ability to function in a team. And since pianists tend to spend long hours all by themselves in practice rooms, collaborating in chamber music with other musicians is a healthy, socializing activity that can produce wonderful results. (Photo: Yaron Kohlberg welcomes the audience on August 3.)

Thus it was that over the course of two evenings, the four finalists in the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition joined the Escher String Quartet onstage at Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art to perform their choice of works from a list of five piano quintets.

On Tuesday, Byeol Kim chose César Franck’s Piano Quintet in f. Yedam Kim followed with Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet in E-flat. On Wednesday, both Lovre Marušić and Martín García García selected Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in g. (Dvořák No. 2 and Brahms, the other possibilities, went unclaimed.)

That made things interesting for the audience and jury on the one hand, and for the Escher on the other. [Read more…]

The Cleveland International Piano Competition: The Final Four — Part Two

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by Mike Telin

Following the conclusion of the Semifinal rounds on Sunday afternoon, August 1, Piano Cleveland announced that Byeol Kim (South Korea), Yedam Kim (South Korea), Lovre Marušić (Croatia), and Martín García García (Spain) would advance to the Finals of the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition.

The first phase is the Chamber Music Round which continues tonight at 7:00 pm in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Lovre Marušić and Martín García García both perform Shostakovich’s Piano Quintet in g, Op. 57 with the Escher Quartet. In-person and virtual tickets are available here.

On Monday morning the finalists were invited to select either a New York or Hamburg Steinway for their Chamber Music Rounds. The Hamburg won three to one. After their selections were made, I had the opportunity to sit down with each contestant for one-on-one conversations in Wade Oval.

Today we hear from Lovre Marušić and Martín García García. Their responses have been edited for clarity.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland International Piano Competition: The Final Four — Part One

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by Mike Telin

Following the conclusion of the Semifinal rounds on Sunday afternoon, August 1, Piano Cleveland announced that Byeol Kim (South Korea), Yedam Kim (South Korea), Lovre Marušić (Croatia), and Martín García García (Spain) will advance to the Finals of the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition.

The first phase is the Chamber Music Round which begins tonight at 7:00 pm in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Byeol Kim will join the Escher String Quartet in César Franck’s Quintet in f, followed by Yedam Kim in Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet. Both in-person and virtual tickets are available. Click here. The second session happens on Wednesday, same time, same place.

On Monday morning the finalists were invited to select either a New York or Hamburg Steinway for their Chamber Music Rounds. The Hamburg won three to one. After their selections were made, I had the opportunity to sit down with each contestant for one-on-one conversations in Wade Oval.

All four are as engaging in person as they are onstage. Today we hear from Byeol Kim and Yedam Kim. Their responses have been edited for content and clarity. [Read more…]

PianoCleveland announces CIPC Finalists

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Following the fourth session of the Semifinal Round at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday afternoon, the jury named the four finalists in the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition. They will play chamber music with the Escher String Quartet on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Art Museum and concertos with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday and Saturday at Severance Hall according to the following schedule:

Byeol Kim (Tuesday and Friday)

FRANCK: Piano Quintet in f & TCHAIKOVSKY: Concerto No. 1 in b-flat, Op. 23

Yedam Kim (Tuesday and Friday)

SCHUMANN: Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op. 44 & RACHMANINOFF: Concerto No. 3 in d, Op. 30

Lovre Marušić (Wednesday and Saturday)

SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Quintet in g, Op. 57 & BEETHOVEN: Concerto No. 4 in G, Op. 58

Martín García García (Wednesday and Saturday)

SHOSTAKOVICH: Piano Quintet in g, Op. 57 & RACHMANINOFF: Concerto No. 3 in d Minor, Op. 30

CIPC Semifinal Round, Session 4: Byeol Kim & Lovre Marušić (August 1)

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by Daniel Hathaway

The playlists of the last two contestants in the Semifinal Round of the Cleveland International Piano Competition on Sunday afternoon at the Cleveland Museum of Art represented two markedly different approaches to programming.

31-year-old South Korean native Byeol Kim, who holds degrees from Eastman and Rice and is working on a doctorate at Northwestern, devised a procession of varied, individual works by Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Felix Mendelssohn, Freddie Mercury, and Pierre Jalbert.

28-year-old Croatian pianist Lovre Marušić, who serves as an Assistant Professor in the Piano Department at the Academy of Music in Zagreb, and is both Executive and Artistic Director of the Ostinato Chamber Music Festival in Croatia, brought a single, large work to the party — Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana. It’s lengthy, and switches moods to reflect the composer’s dueling personalities. [Read more…]

CIPC Semifinal Round, Session 3: Rafael Skorka & Martín García García (July 31)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Two splendid solo performances distinguished the third session of the Semifinal Round of the Cleveland International Piano Competition on Saturday afternoon in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, but the truly amazing feature of the afternoon was its finale.

Rafael Skorka (32, from Israel) and Martín García García (24, from Spain) set their strong individual personalities aside and joined their four hands together for an illuminating performance of Schubert’s Fantasie in f that was remarkable for its single mindedness and expressive nuances. Every detail fell neatly into place, but there was no sense that these pianists knew the piece too well. Instead, they made a standard work sound newly minted, its surprises freshly discovered. [Read more…]

CIPC Semifinal Round, Session 2: Jiarui Cheng & Yedam Kim (July 30)

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by Daniel Hathaway

Given relatively spacious blank canvases to work with, Friday evening’s pianists took different approaches to curating and performing their 40-minute solo programs in the Second Session of the Semifinal Round in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

22-year-old Jiarui Cheng, born in Nanjing, China and now pursuing a degree with Kathryn Brown at the Cleveland Institute of Music after studies at the Shanghai Conservatory’s Middle School, crafted an engaging playlist with a built-in crescendo of musical intensity.

He began by quietly capturing our attention with an introspective Scarlatti Sonata, then took us on an eventful boat ride via a Chopin Barcarolle, and ended (almost — there was more to come) with Rachmaninoff’s kaleidoscopic Corelli Variations. [Read more…]

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