by Daniel Hathaway
Given relatively spacious blank canvases to work with, Friday evening’s pianists took different approaches to curating and performing their 40-minute solo programs in the Second Session of the Semifinal Round in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
22-year-old Jiarui Cheng, born in Nanjing, China and now pursuing a degree with Kathryn Brown at the Cleveland Institute of Music after studies at the Shanghai Conservatory’s Middle School, crafted an engaging playlist with a built-in crescendo of musical intensity.
He began by quietly capturing our attention with an introspective Scarlatti Sonata, then took us on an eventful boat ride via a Chopin Barcarolle, and ended (almost — there was more to come) with Rachmaninoff’s kaleidoscopic Corelli Variations. [Read more…]
Following the Sixth Session of the Second Round on Sunday afternoon, July 25, PianoCleveland announced the names of the eight pianists who will advance to the Semifinals of the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition. Having reached this point through videos recorded at locations around the globe, they will now be performing live in Cleveland.
It was a nice change of pace when Zhi Chao Juli Jia (29, China) opened her second round program with Rameau’s Les Tendres Plaintes. Her lovely performance of the short work was light and full of sensitive ornamentation. The pianist brought clean scales and articulations along with dynamic contrasts and well-shaped phrases to Beethoven’s Sonata No. 18 in E-flat, Op. 31, No. 3. The recurring theme in the scherzo was playful and the Menuetto graceful — the concluding Presto full of fire.
Lucas Thomazinho (25, Brazil) began the second session of the first round with Czerny’s Variations on a Theme by Rode, Op. 33 (“La Ricordanza”), where he impressed with beautiful dynamic contrasts. He played with a fluidity that served him well over the five variations, shifting gracefully between the gentler moments to quick and light passages.