by Daniel Hathaway
The motto of Piano Cleveland’s Piano Days, “Celebrate piano in all its forms,” included ticketed events as well as many free “Community” performances and happenings.
At noon on Tuesday, July 29, what was described as a sound installation brought Japanese pianist Kotaro Fukuma back to Cleveland, where he had taken first prize in the 2003 Cleveland International Piano Competition, to play an hour-long pop-up concert of Japanese music in the atrium of the Cleveland Museum of Art. (Fukuma also performed a more formal program in CIM’a Mixon Hall later in the week).
The Ames Family Atrium is a wonderful venue for a community concert. Rafael Vinoly’s great enclosed space that connects the old and new parts of the museum invites informal gatherings as well as structured events, and whatever happens there inevitably attracts an audience of passersby as well as planned attendees. [Read more…]
Right after Kotaro Fukuma became the First Prize winner of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, the then 20-year-old pianist went through a rollercoaster of emotions.
As the hosts of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, Piano Cleveland spends plenty of time promoting traditional classical repertoire. But their other programming, like the summer festival Piano Days, focus on celebrating the instrument in all its forms.