Oberlin, OH, July 27, 2010

by Daniel Hathaway

The plan was to advance ten young pianists into the concerto round of the Cooper Competition, but apparently the judges found the talent pool so deep that eleven players were actually scheduled into today’s pair of sessions in Warner Concert Hall at the Oberlin Conservatory. Good thing Warner Hall isn’t a cruise ship — it would have been listing seriously to the port side as nearly the whole audience of contestants, parents, friends and onlookers clustered on the keyboard side of the hall to get a good look at the twenty-two hands that would be performing today.

Afternoon Session

Considering only the five who performed during the 2:30 slot, there’s no lack of digital prowess among the 13-18 year old set. Concerto movements by Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Ravel, Mozart and Rachmaninoff received masterful performances by ten young performers with “orchestral” support ably supplied by second pianists James Howsmon, Yury Shadrin and Chien-Lin Lu. [Read more…]

Oberlin, OH, July 27, 2010

Eleven young pianists have advanced to the Concerto Round of the Cooper International Piano Competition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Today’s concerto round with piano accompaniment will begin at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm in Warner Concert Hall. ClevelandClassical.com will post reports following each session. Here is the schedule with approximate starting times:

2:30 – John Chen (16, Virginia, USA) – Tchaikovsky #1, first movement.
3:00 – George Li (14, Massachusetts, USA) – Chopin #1, first movement.
3:20 – Su Yeon Kim (16, Korea) – Ravel in G, first movement.
3:35 – Bolai Cao (13, China) – Mozart K. 466, first movement.
4:50 – Fantee Jones (16, California, USA) – Rachmaninoff #2, third movement.

7:30 – Leonardo Colafelice (14, Italy) – Rachmaninoff #3, first movement.
8:00 – Sahun Hong (16, Texas, USA) – Beethoven #3, third movement.
8:15 – Yon-Joon Yoon (17, Maryland, USA) – Tchaikovsky #1, first movement.
8:45 – Kate Liu (16, Illinois, USA) – Prokofiev #3, third movement.
9:00 – Tristan Teo (13, Canada) – Beethoven #3, third movement.
9:15 – Anna Han (14, Arizona, USA) – Rachmaninoff #3, first movement.

Oberlin, OH, July 26, 2010

Twenty-two young pianists will advance today to the second round of the Cooper International Piano Competition at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Here is the roster in alphabetical order.

Bolai Cao (13, China)
John Chen (16, Virginia, USA)
Leonardo Colafelice (14, Italy)
Anna Han (14, Arizona, USA)
Sahun Hong (16, Texas, USA)
Xuesha Hu (17, China)
Fantee Jones (16, California, USA)
Paul Juhn (18, Illinois, USA)
Sun Hwa Kim (18, Korea)
Su Yeon Kim (16, Korea)
Connie Kim-Sheng (18, California, USA)
Jee Min Lee (13, Korea)
Seung-Hyun Lee (16, Korea)
George Li (14, Massachusetts, USA)
Hanbo Liu (18, New Jersey, USA)
Kate Liu (16, Illinois, USA)
Scott MacIsaac (18, Canada)
Tristan Teo (13, Canada)
Chelsea Wang (16, Iowa, USA)
Ming Xie (16, China)
Yon-Joon Yoon (17, Maryland, USA)
Fifi Zhang (17, Virginia, USA)