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Cooper International Violin Competition: Final Round with The Cleveland Orchestra

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Huang with TCO

Sirena Huang with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra. Photo: Roger Mastroianni

By Daniel Hathaway

Cleveland, OH — August 20, 2011

A large crowd gathered at Severance Hall on Friday evening, August 19, to hear Alexandra Switala, Sirena Huang (pictured above) and Laura Park, the final three contestants in Oberlin’s Cooper International Violin Competition, play concertos by Prokofiev, Mendelssohn and Sibelius with Jajha Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra. Cleveland’s premier concert hall was buzzing with excitement from an audience well stocked with young people, eager to hear and cheer on the three 17-year-old performers.

The competition began on August 11 with a field of twenty-four highly qualified contestants aged between 13 and 18. By August 19, that group had been distilled down to a trio of supremely gifted young women. We heard them for the first time playing their concertos with piano on Tuesday and were impressed by the technical prowess of all three contestants. We were looking forward to revisiting those pieces in all their orchestral splendor at Severance Hall. [Read more…]

Cooper International Violin Competition: Finalists named, four prizes awarded

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Top Three

L-R: Park, Huang, Switala. Photo by Roger Mastroianni

by Daniel Hathaway

Oberlin, OH — August 18, 2011

The three finalists who will play with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday evening were announced last night by WCLV’s Robert Conrad from the stage of Warner Concert Hall at The Oberlin Conservatory of music.

Alexandra Switala: PROKOFIEV Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 6

Sirena Huang: MENDELSSOHN Concerto in E Minor, Op. 6

Laura Park: SIBELIUS Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47

The audience prize for the Recital Round was awarded to Ms. Huang. Other prize winners were Mayumi Kanagawa (4th), Gergana Haralampieva (5th) and Kelly Talim (6th).

Cooper International Violin Competition: Recital Round

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Violin

By Daniel Hathaway

Oberlin, OH — August 18, 2011

Six violinists — the winners of Tuesday evening’s concerto round and all of them female — took the stage of Warner Concert Hall on Wednesday evening, August 17, to play 30-minute recitals. Each of the six had brought impressive technique to bear on their earlier performances. The big question to be answered tonight: which three would demonstrate the cumulative musical maturity, composure and personality to earn them the privilege of playing a concerto on Friday evening at Severance Hall with Jahja Ling and one of the most distinguished orchestras on the planet?

Gergana Haralampieva (17, Bulgaria) led off with movements from Bach and Beethoven, and moved on to Kreisler and Ravel. She used minimal vibrato in her sensitive account of the Andante from Bach’s Sonata in a, BWV 1003 and her Beethoven (the first movement of the Sonata in D, op. 12, no. 1) was spacious and stylish. She underplayed the virtuosity and pointed up the humor in Kreisler’s Caprice Viennois, and revealed the gypsy blood coursing through the veins of Ravel’s volatile Tzigane. Dark and moody at the beginning, it turned into a supple, sensual dance. Ms. Haralampieva played fantastic harmonics and made a thrilling crescendo and accellerando into the final cadence. She’s an unassuming stage presence, but her temperament clearly shines through in her playing. [Read more…]

Cooper International Violin Competition: Six Advance

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Violin

Oberlin, OH — August 17, 2011

The following six violinists will advance to the Recital Round and perform in Warner Concert Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory on Wednesday, August 17 at 7 pm. The concert is free and open to the public, and will be broadcast live on WCLV, 104.9 FM:

Gergana Haralampieva
J.S. BACH Andante from Sonata No. 2 in A Minor BWV 1003
L. v. BEETHOVEN Allegro con brio from Sonata No. 1 in D Op. 12 No. 1
KREISLER Caprice Viennois, Op. 2
M. RAVEL Tzigane

Alexandra Switala
J.S. BACH Allegro from Sonata No. 2 in A Minor BWV 1003
W.A. MOZART Adagio from Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, K. 219
H. WIENIAWSKI Faust Fantasy, Op. 20

Laura Park
J.S. BACH Siciliano and Presto from Sonata No. 1 in G Minor BWV 1001
N. PAGANINI Caprice # 24
SAINT-SAENS/YSAYE Caprice After the Study in the Form of a Waltz, Op. 52, No. 6
A. SCHOENBERG Phantasy, Op. 47 (1949)

Kelly Talim
L. v. BEETHOVEN Allegro con brio from Sonata No. 1 in D Op. 12 No. 1
A. BAZZINI La Ronde des Lutins, Op. 25
B. BARTOK Second Rhapsody (1928)

Mayumi Kanagawa
J.S. BACH Siciliano from Sonata No. 1 in G Minor BWV 1001
L. v. BEETHOVEN Romance No. 1 in G Op. 40
H WIENIAWSKI Polonaise Brillante No. 2 in A Major, Op. 21
E. YSAYE Sonata No. 3 (Ballade)

Sirena Huang
L. v. BEETHOVEN Allegro assai Sonata No. 8 in G Op. 30 No. 3
E. BLOCH Nigun (Improvisation) from Baal Shem Suite (1923)
N. PAGANINI Caprice # 1
M. RAVEL Tzigane

The three winners to be named following the Recital Round will play concertos with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday Evening, August 19 at 8 pm at Severance Hall.

Cooper International Violin Competition: Concerto Round

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Violin

by Daniel Hathaway

Oberlin, OH — August 16, 2011

Ten very talented violinists played eight different concertos in afternoon and evening sessions today in Oberlin Conservatory’s Warner Concert Hall. It’s clear that violin playing has a bright future in the hands of these impressive young musicians.

AFTERNOON

Alexandra Switala: Prokofiev Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63 — Ms. Switala (17, from Grapevine, TX) looked entirely composed as she established good tempos and spun long phrases. She showed expert control of pitch and vibrato and her double stops and high triplets were ravishing. Perhaps the final Allegro was a bit aggressive, but her playing was confident and musical.

Zhu Ke: Paganini Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6 — Mr. Ke (17, from China) chose a real 19th century showpiece full of violinistic fireworks (plus a few cheesy slides) and played it with ease and room-filling tone. In his lyrical second movement, he got inside the music and made interesting changes of vibrato. There as a lot to admire about this performance, including a splendid cadenza, well-chosen tempos and superb spiccatos. [Read more…]

Cooper International Violin Competition: Ten Advance

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Violin

by Daniel Hathaway

Oberlin, OH — August 16, 2011

Ten competitors have advanced to the Concerto Round and will play today at 1:00 and 7:00 pm in Warner Concert Hall. Here are their names and the works they will play:

Alexandra Switala: PROKOFIEV Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 63

Zhu Ke: PAGANINI Concerto No. 1 in D Major, Op. 6

Sirena Huang: MENDELSSOHN Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64

Mayumi Kanagawa: BRAHMS Concerto in D Major, Op. 99

Laura Park: J. SIBELIUS Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47

Brandon Garbot: SIBELIUS Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47

Gergana Haralampieva: DVORAK Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53

Stephen Kim: SIBELIUS Concerto in D Minor, Op. 47

Kelly Talim: SHOSTAKOVICH Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 77

Ania Filochowska: WIENIAWSKI Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 22

ClevelandClassical will report here after each session today.

Cooper International Violin Competition begins in Oberlin

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Interviewees

Twenty-four 13-18 year old violinists arrived in Oberlin on Thursday, August 11 to compete in the first Cooper International Violin Competition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Semifinal rounds on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, August 13-15 will reduce the field to ten players for the Concerto Round on Tuesday, August 16, and six players will be selected for the Recital Finals Round on August 17 at 7. Three finalists will perform with The Cleveland Orchestra under Jahja Ling in Severance Hall on Friday, August 18 at 8. The August 17 and 18 events will be broadcast live over WCLV, 104.9 FM.

ClevelandClassical interviewed the four families pictured above. Read the article here. We will begin our coverage with the Concerto Round on August 16.

The competitors (in alphabetical order):

Ms. Jennifer Cha (15, South Kores) Teacher: Desiree Ruhstrat
Ms. Ania Filochowsk (17, Poland) Teacher: Aaron Rosand
Mr. Brandon Garbot (17, Portland, OR) Teacher: William Preucil
Ms. Gergana Haralampieva (17, Bulgaria) Teacher: Paul Biss
Ms. Sirena Huang (17, South Korea) Teachers: Stephen Clapp, Sylvia Rosenberg
Ms. Alice Ivy-Pemberton (14, New York, NY) Teacher: Nurit Pacht
Ms. Mayumi Kanagawa (16, Japan) Teacher: Robert Lipsett
Ms. Gallia Kastner (14, Arlington Heights, IL) Teachers: Almita and Ronald Vamos
Mr. Zhu Ke (17, China) Teacher: Tong Weidong
Mr. Stephen Kim (15, Cupertino, CA) Teacher: Bettina Mussumeli
Ms. Youjin Lee (16, Los Angeles, CA) Teacher: Danielle Belen
Mr. Ryan Murphy (19, Park Ridge, IL) Teachers: Paul Biss, Miriam Fried
Mr. Chansik Park (15, South Korea) Teacher: Isadora Schwarzberg
Ms. Laura Park, (17, Des Plaines, IL) Teachers: Almita and Ronald Vamos, Marko Dreher
Ms. Marie Rossano (17, Bellevue, WA) Teacher: Simon James
Mr. Zachary Spontak (18, Fairbanks, AK) Teachers: Almita and Ronald Vamos
Ms. Alexandra Switala (17, Grapevine, TX ) Teachers: Almita and Ronald Vamos
Ms. Kelly Talim (15, Japan) Mr. Cyrus Forough
Mr. Jieming Tang (13, China) Teacher: Paul Kantor
Mr. Qui Tian (17, China) Teacher: Zhao Wei
Mr. Eric Tsai (14, Birmingham, AL) TeacherJeffery Z. Flaniken
Ms. Agnes Wun-ching Tse (14, China) Teacher: Beedarn Chao
Ms. Madeleine Vaillancourt (16, Setauket, NY) Teacher: Nurit Pacht
Ms. Hee-Soo Yoon, (16, Canada), Teacher: Lawrie Hill

Cleveland International Piano Competition: Award Ceremony and Winners Recital

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By Daniel Hathaway

Cleveland, OH — August 8, 2011

Winners

L-R: Kyu Yeon Kim, Eric Zuber, Alexey Chernov, Alexander Schimpf. Photo by Roger Mastroianni

The Cleveland International Piano Competition awarded $116,000 in prizes and another $26,000 in consolation prizes during the final event of the 2011 Competition in Severance Hall on Sunday afternoon, August 7.

After remarks from host Robert Conrad of WCLV, Dr. James Gibbs, President of the Piano International Association of Northeast Ohio, Karen Knowlton, Executive Director of CIPC, and a nod from jury chair Peter Frankl, who declined to speak (Conrad passed along Frankl’s opinion that he’d talked enough in the last ten days!), the following special prizes were awarded: [Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition: The Final Rounds with The Cleveland Orchestra

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By Daniel Hathaway

Cleveland, OH — August 7, 2011

Schimpf

Alexander Schimpf playing Beethoven's 4th Concerto. Photo by Rober Mastroianni

By the time the Severance Hall concerto finals began on Friday evening, the four finalists in the Cleveland International Piano Competition had each played two hours’ worth of solo repertory in the previous three rounds. Now we had the opportunity to hear how well they played with others, the others of course being The Cleveland Orchestra under the Competition’s new conductor, Christopher Wilkins. There was a lot of cash attached to the outcomes, but winning the opportunity to perform with an orchestra of this stature was a prize all to itself.

Maestro Wilkins might have had to prepare four different concertos, had the results of the semifinals been different, but two finalists chose Brahms’ first concerto. 25-year old Korean pianist Kyu Yeong Kim opened with that work on Friday, while 28-year old Russian pianist Alexey Chernov played it during the first half of Saturday evening’s round. It’s a work with a tortured history, having started out to be Brahms’ first symphony, was then reworked into a piece for two pianos and finally (with new second and third movements) into a concerto for piano and orchestra. Even in its final shape, it shows signs of the composer’s inexperience as an orchestrator.
[Read more…]

Cleveland International Piano Competition: The Winners

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Cleveland, OH — August 6, 2011

The winners of the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition were announced tonight following the second concerto round with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall:

First Prize: Alexander Schimpf (right, 29, Germany)

Second Prize: Alexey Chernov (second from right, 28, Russia)

Third Prize: Eric Zuber (second from left, 26, USA)

Fourth Prize: Kyu Yeon Kim (left, 26, Korea)

The prize ceremony (including the awarding of other prizes and a winners’ recital) will be held on Sunday, August 7 at 3 pm at Severance Hall (live broadcast over WCLV, 104.9 FM).

Our review of the concerto round will be posted here on Sunday afternoon.

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