Cleveland Piano Archives - Cleveland Classical

Piano Cleveland: CIPC for Young Artists Chamber Music Final Round (July 13)

July 15, 2023 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

The six pianists who advanced to the final round of Piano Cleveland’s International Competition for Young Artists cleared the first hurdle on their way to winning first, second, and third place prizes with performances in the Chamber Music Round on Thursday evening in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Demonstrating how well they can play with others, the finalists performed single movements of piano trios with members of The Cleveland Orchestra, collaborations that couldn’t help but inspire them to new heights.

For this round, the Juniors enjoyed the expertise of violinist Yun-Ting Lee and cellist Martha Baldwin, cello, while the Seniors joined forces with violinist Jessica Lee and cellist Dane Johansen. I attended via the live webcast. [Read more…]

Virtu(al)oso Piano Competition: Final Rounds (August 7 & 8)

August 9, 2020 by Daniel Hathaway

by Daniel Hathaway

The pianists who remained on the bench after the rather brutal cut on Wednesday evening in Cleveland Piano’s Virtu(al)oso Competition (the field was reduced from 30 to 6) played virtual 30- to 35-minute programs in the Final Round on Friday and Saturday, pre-recorded at international Steinway locations at the same time as their First Round performances. Here are some impressions.

Friday, August 7 — Session 1

Tamila Salimdjanova (28, Uzbekistan) brought two works to the session: Debussy’s Estampes and Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 7. She gave the three-movement Debussy (“Pagodes,” “La soirée dans Grenade” and “Jardins sous la pluie”) a fluent performance, but the scenes offer more color possibilities than she exploited, and an abundance of dynamic details that went overlooked. Salimdjanova played the Prokofiev masterfully, but the outer movements needed more sheer brutality to reflect the Sonata’s Stalinist context and to offset the sentimental slow movement. [Read more…]

Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts return with plenty of festive cheer (Dec. 11)

by Stephanie Manning

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — If the twinkling lights, leafy green garlands and festive poinsettias didn’t already clue you in, the holidays have arrived at Severance Music Center. ‘Tis the season for annual traditions — including The Cleveland Orchestra’s holiday concerts, which began on Wednesday evening.

Running through December 22, the programs feature plenty of seasonal classics plus some potential new favorites. The first performance proved that this mix is a delightful recipe for festive cheer.

“Look at you all, out on a school night!” conductor Sarah Hicks proclaimed joyfully from the podium. Just as many concertgoers donned red outfits to get into the spirit, Mandel Concert Hall was also decked out with decorations and stage lighting effects.

[Read on…]

Oberlin Conservatory convincingly tells Omar’s story (Dec. 8)

by Stephanie Manning

The Cleveland premiere of Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Pultizer Prize-winning opera Omar on December 8 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center proved that concert productions of opera can succeed without sets, elaborate costumes and extensive staging. Indeed, the Oberlin Conservatory presentation offered more than enough to keep the audience in the crowded house enthralled.

The Opera, which was also presented at Oberlin’s Finney Chapel two days earlier, is based on the 1831 autobiography of Muslim scholar Omar ibn Said, the only such work written by an enslaved person during their enslavement, and the only such document written in Arabic.

Rhiannon Giddens’ brilliant libretto chronicles the life of ibn Said, beginning in present-day Senegal and following him through his capture, journey via the Middle Passage, and enslavement in North and South Carolina. [Read on…]

Kirill Gerstein is captivating on piano as Cleveland Orchestra recital series continues (Dec. 4)

by Daniel Hathaway

This article was originally published on Cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — There’s no dearth of first-class piano performances to enjoy in Northeast Ohio, but Kirill Gerstein’s contribution to the collective wealth Wednesday night was extraordinary both in concept and execution.

Playing as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s ongoing recital series at Severance Music Center, Gerstein wove an overarching narrative from the 21 little masked ball portraits in Robert Schumann’s “Carnaval.” Then he helped composer Francisco Coll blow up the idea of the waltz in two striking, brand new pieces written for Gerstein and joined Maurice Ravel in redefining that most civilized of dances in a cataclysmic performance of “La valse.”

[Read on…]

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