from an Oberlin Conservatory news report
by Shelly Rasmussen
The three days of semi-final performances that have taken place in Warner Concert Hall culminated Wednesday evening in the selection of three pianists chosen to move on to the Concerto Finals at Severance Hall on Friday evening. (Photo with the jury by Adan Caldera Quintero.)
Pyotr Akulov, (16), of Moscow, Russia, Sophia Shuya Liu, (14), of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Taige Wang, (13), of New York, New York, United States have advanced to the Concerto Finals.
On Friday, each finalist will perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, under the direction of David Robertson. The Concerto Finals will also be available via livestream. The concert will feature Liu performing Saint-Saëns’ Concerto No. 2 in g, Op. 22, Wang performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, and Akulov performing Liszt’s Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, S. 124.
Also honored at the announcement of the three finalists were Yanyan Bao (16 years) of Zhuhai, Guangdong, China; Andrew Sijie LI, (15), of Boston, Massachusetts, Canada, and Hong Kong; and Seoeun Lee, (14), of Suwon, Gyeonggi, South Korea, who earned fourth through sixth place, respectively. Each takes home a prize of $1,500. Filip Trifu, (18), of Vienna, Austria, placed seventh and received a prize of $500.
The 2023 Audience Prize was awarded to Pyotr Akulov and comes with a prize of $500.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com August 3, 2023
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