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.)
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. 
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).
Elliot Wuu (15, USA), Leonid Nediak (11, Canada), and Jae Hong Park (15, South Korea) have advanced to the final round in the Junior Division of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artists Competition. They will play concerto movements with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thursday, May 21 at 7:30, along with the three finalists in the Senior Division, who will be named after the two semi-final rounds on Tuesday, May 19 (see the 
