by Neil McCalmont
The opening sessions of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s first round proved to be a thrilling start on Monday, July 25 at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Gartner Auditorium. Eleven fine contestants showcased their virtuosity and poesy before eight jurors — all of whom are renowned pianists in their own right. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
It’s the time of year when lots of young people have been eagerly watching their mailboxes — or inboxes — to see whether they’ve been admitted to the college of their choice.
This year, the same has been true for the nearly 330 pianists, ages 18-30, who applied to compete in the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition, to be held from July 24 through August 7. Of those hopefuls, 35 recently received the “fat” letter inviting them to Cleveland — an acceptance rate of 10.6%, which is roughly equivalent to that of last year’s admissions to Dartmouth, Duke, or Vanderbilt.
The successful candidates emerged a few weeks ago after a marathon, three-day session of video viewing by a selection jury made up of Kathryn Brown and Paul Schenly (Cleveland Institute of Music), Lei Weng (University of Colorado), Caroline Oltmanns (Youngstown State University), and CIPC president and CEO Pierre van der Westhuizen. The 35 who were invited have now formally accepted. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
On the Ides of February, when the mercury is hovering low, and your vehicle is encrusted in road salt, there’s no more pleasant pastime than thinking ahead to the lazy, hazy days of summer. The Cleveland Orchestra is thinking ahead too: details of their Blossom Festival concerts, their third season of Summers@Severance performances, their collaboration with the Cleveland International Piano Competition, and their August European Festival Tour have recently been released. Here’s what’s going to happen.
by Daniel Hathaway
On Saturday, February 13 at Chagrin Valley Little Theatre, Canadian pianist Dmitri Levkovich will make his fourth appearance with Steven Eva and the Chagrin Studio Orchestra since winning second prize in the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition. The 7:30 pm concert, a benefit evening for the orchestra, will feature Levkovich in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s third concerto.
Since 2009, Levkovich has been busy performing in Europe, competing in competitions, and winning a prestigious German piano award (details of his activities can be seen on his website). We caught up with the 35-year-old pianist at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he was busy practicing for his appearance this weekend.
DH: This will be your fourth appearance with Steve Eva and the Chagrin Studio Orchestra.
DL: The first time was right after the piano competition. Steve wanted me to play Rachmaninoff 2, the same concerto I did with The Cleveland Orchestra. The second time was the Paganini Rhapsody, and then we did a set of concertos: Rachmaninoff 4, and Prokofiev 1. Now it’s Rach 3. We just rehearsed for the first time yesterday, and everything looks good. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
“Chopin and singing are perfect companions,” French pianist François Dumont said by telephone from his home in Lyon, “because Chopin’s music is like a singing piano. In fact, Chopin would tell his students that you have to sing if you want to play the piano. During concerts he would often include a singer performing Italian opera.” On Thursday, October 1 at 8:00 pm in Harkness Chapel, François Dumont and Irish soprano Helen Kearns will present a concert titled From Dublin to Lyon. The program will include four Chopin Ballades and arias from The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Rigoletto, and other romantic operas and operettas. The concert is part of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s PianoPalooza series.
Dumont, who is a 2013 CIPC laureate, explained that Kearns will begin the program with some songs from her native country. “It will be quite interesting, because the songs all have a ballad or narrative element to them. The Chopin ballades are all very narrative as well, and we think the combination will make for an interesting program.” Dumont and Kearns will conclude the evening’s performance with some popular operetta arias. “We think of it as a program with many contrasting moods, including the ballade mood, the mood of the Irish ballads, and the bel canto mood.” [Read more…]
Cleveland — May 21
Paul Schenly, chairman of the Jury, announced the winners of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artist Competition following the final round on Thursday evening with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra in Gartner Auditorium of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
First Prize, Senior Division ($25,000): Yuanfan Yang, 18, U.K. (right in photo, with executive director Pierre van der Westhuizen). Second Prize, Senior Division ($10,000): Jiacheng Xiong, 18, China. Third Prize, Senior Division ($5,000): Chaeyoung Park, 17, South Korea. First Prize, Junior Division ($10,000): Jae Hong Park, 15, South Korea (left in photo). Second Prize, Junior Division ($5,000): Leonid Nediak, 12, Canada. Third Prize, Junior Division ($2,500): Elliot Wuu, 15, USA. Mozart Prize ($500): Eiliot Wuu. Bach Prize ($500): William Yang, 13, USA. Audience Prize ($1,500): Leonid Nediak. (Photo: Jon Theobald.)
by Daniel Hathaway
After playing two rounds with no eliminations, the original pool of 24 young pianists in the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artists Competition was trimmed to 12. The semifinal round pared that number down to six finalists — three each in the Senior and Junior divisions. The final round with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra, played in front of a sold-out house in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thursday evening, May 21, would determine who would win first, second and third prizes in each division, as well as who would be awarded the Mozart, Bach and Audience prizes. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
There was plenty of piano music to be heard at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory during the ten days of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s recent Young Artists Competition, but in addition to the performances by the twenty-five contestants, ages 12-18, four seasoned recitalists were invited to play solo programs as well. Mariam Batsashvili knows her way around international competitions, while Vassily Primakov, Sean Chen and Alexander Schimpf are veterans of CIPC itself. [Read more…]
Berea — May 19
Following Tuesday’s semifinal round, CIPC executive director Pierre van der Westhuizen announced the names of three pianists in the Senior Division who would advance to the final round: Jiachen Xiong (18, China), Yuafan Yang (18, U.K.), and Chaeyoung Park (17, South Korea).
The six Junior and Senior Division competitors who will play concerto movements with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra on Thursday evening, May 21 at 7:30 pm in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art are pictured above (L-R) and listed below in performance order with their repertoire. The finals will be broadcast live on WCLV, 104.9 FM and wclv.com.
Elliot Wuu (15, USA), Beethoven’s Concerto No. 1, first movement; Jiacheng Xiong (18, China), Chopin’s Concerto No. 2, first movement; Leonid Nediak (12, Canada), Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3, first movement; Chaeyoung Park (17, South Korea), Beethoven’s Concerto No. 1, first movement; Jae Hong Park (15, South Korea), Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3, first movement; Yuanfan Yang (18, U.K.), Grieg’s Concerto, first movement.
by Daniel Hathaway
The six Senior Division semifinalists in the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artist Competition filled Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory with thousands of well-played notes on Tuesday afternoon and evening, May 19 — and undoubtedly presented difficult choices for the jury. That panel of judges would trim the field down to three Senior Division finalists for the final round with the Canton Symphony Orchestra at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thursday (the three Junior Division finalists were named on Monday evening). [Read more…]