by Daniel Hathaway
For the second recital in its 2017 Concert Series, the Cleveland International Piano Competition presented Marc-André Hamelin at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Tuesday evening, March 21. The Montréal-born pianist gave outstanding performances of works by Haydn, Feinberg, Beethoven, Scriabin, and Chopin that could teach future competition contestants a lot about how to prick up the ears of juries and audiences. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Montréal-born pianist Marc-André Hamelin will play a recital on the Cleveland International Piano Competition Concert Series at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Tuesday, March 21 at 8:00 pm. His first local recital since 2010 includes sonatas by Haydn, Beethoven, Scriabin, and Chopin, in addition to works by a lesser-known Russian composer, Samuel Feinberg.
I reached the affable pianist-composer by telephone at his home in Boston to ask about his current activities, and to collect some insights into his Cleveland program.
Daniel Hathaway: You’re having a very busy year that includes an extensive tour with Leif-Ove Andsnes, serving on the jury of the Van Cliburn Competition — for which you’ve written a required piece — and performances of one of your compositions with the Pacifica Quartet. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
“It’s all about keeping the fun going,” executive director Pierre van der Westhuizen said in a recent telephone conversation about the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s 2017 concert series — one of several piano-centric activities the organization is planning between now and the next competition in 2020.
Now that CIPC is on a four-year cycle, the Concert Series will take place every other year (in 2017 and 2019), with a Young Artists Competition in between (2018).
The 2017 Concert Series will feature the Westhuizen Duo (Pierre and Sofié van der Westhuizen) on February 10 at the Shaker Heights Country Club, Marc-André Hamelin on March 21 in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art, and 2016 CIPC Gold Medalist Nikita Mndoyants on April 30 at the Maltz Performing Arts Center. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Clevelanders and classical music fans near and far already know Zsolt Bognár as a talented concert pianist who specializes in Germanic, Russian, and Romantic repertoire. But there’s more. He’s a writer, a speaker, and a skilled interviewer. His speaking engagements have included two TEDMED talks and guest appearances on National Public Radio programs dealing with a variety of subjects. And he’s recently become the Charlie Rose of the classical music world as host of the Elyria Pictures film series “Living the Classical Life.”
As part of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s 2016 Festival, Bognár will emcee three morning sessions this week in the Lecture Hall at the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
“This summer is going to be a full-immersion experience for our audiences,” Pierre van der Westhuizen (left), President and CEO of the Cleveland International Piano Competition, exclaimed during a recent telephone conversation. “They can attend something in the morning, afternoon, and evening, with lunch and dinner in between.”
When the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition and Festival gets underway on July 24 at the Cleveland Museum of Art, patrons will discover that CIPC is a true destination event. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
A full evening devoted to the music of Joseph Haydn is sure to be filled with sophisticated musical rhetoric, and at least a good handful of surprises. Last Thursday evening at Severance Hall, visiting British conductor Matthew Halls and The Cleveland Orchestra dug deeply into the fabric of an overture and a symphony, and with the help of the fastidiously exciting pianist Marc-André Hamelin, into one of the Austrian master’s piano concertos. Though the fourth work was obviously not by Haydn, its performance by duo hornists Richard King and Jesse McCormick would have deeply impressed whoever actually wrote it. [Read more…]
by Mike Telin
It’s all about “the Father of the Symphony” this week at Severance Hall when British conductor Matthew Halls leads The Cleveland Orchestra in three all-Haydn programs that include the Overture to L’isola disabitata, the Concerto for Two Horns, featuring TCO horn players Richard King and Jesse McCormick, and the Symphony No. 101 (“The Clock”). Check our Concert Listings page for dates and times.
All three programs also include Haydn’s Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major featuring Marc-André Hamelin as soloist. “I’m looking forward to the concerts very much because this is my debut with The Cleveland Orchestra,” the friendly Hamelin said during a telephone conversation from his home in Boston. [Read more…]