by Mike Telin
Piano Cleveland has a lot in store for Northeast Ohio this summer. But before PianoDays@CLE kicks off on July 24, why not take a deep dive into how to listen to piano music by enrolling in the Prelude to Piano Days 2022 Listening Series? During the three sessions you’ll discover how two pianists work together, what it means to immerse yourself in the work of a single composer, and what exactly is involved in improvisation. Click here for more information.
“We call this ‘education for adults,’” Piano Cleveland president Yaron Kohlberg said during a Zoom conversation. “It’s all part of our mission to make piano music as accessible as possible. And to help everybody, regardless of their knowledge of piano music, find something to connect with.”
Following the success of last year’s listening series which touched on the basics, Kohlberg said that this year the series will go one step further. “Everything that is being presented during the listening series will be heard during the summer performances. So there is a direct connection.” [Read more…]
Why put international piano competition finalists through a chamber music test between their solo and concerto rounds? Because there’s no better indicator of musicianship than one’s ability to function in a team. And since pianists tend to spend long hours all by themselves in practice rooms, collaborating in chamber music with other musicians is a healthy, socializing activity that can produce wonderful results. (Photo: Yaron Kohlberg welcomes the audience on August 3.)
Following the conclusion of the Semifinal rounds on Sunday afternoon, August 1, Piano Cleveland announced that Byeol Kim (South Korea), Yedam Kim (South Korea), Lovre Marušić (Croatia), and Martín García García (Spain) would advance to the Finals of the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition.
Following the fourth session of the Semifinal Round at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday afternoon, the jury named the four finalists in the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition. They will play chamber music with the Escher String Quartet on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Art Museum and concertos with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra on Friday and Saturday at Severance Hall according to the following schedule:
The playlists of the last two contestants in the Semifinal Round of the Cleveland International Piano Competition on Sunday afternoon at the Cleveland Museum of Art represented two markedly different approaches to programming.
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.
Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner (24, United States) kicked off the final session of Round 2 with a mesmerizing performance of Beethoven’s Sonata in c, Op. 111. Throughout the daunting work, Sanchez-Werner produced an unblemished sound that highlighted the work’s many dynamic contrasts and sudden shifts in mood. The opening theme of the second movement was beautiful. Moving seamlessly from one variation to the next, his playing was both intimate and full-bodied.