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PianoDays @CLE: The Concert Truck is coming your way 

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by Mike Telin

When award-winning pianists Nick Luby and Susan Zhang were searching for a way to use their musical training to give back to the community, an interesting question arose: does a mobile concert hall exist?

Enter The Concert Truck, a 16-foot box truck that transforms into a fully functioning mobile concert hall complete with lights, sound system, and piano. Anywhere that Luby and Zhang can park the truck can turn into a concert venue.

As part of Piano Cleveland’s PianoDays @CLE, the Concert Truck will be coming your way. [Read more…]

PianoDays @CLE: the chemistry of Duo Amal

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by Mike Telin

One can never predict where life will take you, but wherever it does, friendships, artistic and personal, endure. If in doubt, just ask pianists Yaron Kohlberg and Bishara Haroni.

Kohlberg, the second prize winner at the 2007 Cleveland International Piano Competition, and Bishara Haroni first came together for a peace concert at the Oslo Opera House in 2011. After that, the two pianists chose to redirect their professional energies away from solo careers in favor of pursuing their career paths as a duo piano team — and Duo Amal was born.

On Sunday, July 24 at 2:00 pm, Duo Amal will kick off Piano Cleveland’s inaugural PianoDays @CLE in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art with a program featuring music by Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Milhaud, Elgar, Rachmaninoff, and Schubert. Read a Festival preview here and purchase tickets here.

[Read more…]

Piano Cleveland launches PianoDays @CLE

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by Mike Telin 

What is PianoDays @CLE? “It’s a festival that celebrates the piano in all of its forms,” Piano Cleveland president Yaron Kohlberg said during a recent Zoom conversation. “We want piano lovers from around the city and the region to be able to enjoy not only traditional classical performances but also performances that offer something for everybody.”

While Piano Cleveland’s signature event is the Cleveland International Piano Competition, Kohlberg said that it is important for them to engage with their audience while attracting new people to that event and to classical music. “It’s our role to tackle these things and to influence people — we are responsible for the future.”

To get people in the piano mood, there will be two Forte Friday events — the first on July 15 at 6:30 pm at Crocker Park and the second on July 22 at 5:30 at the Van Aken District. “Last year we saw that the pop-up events like these were a great way to attract new audiences and to generate excitement for our big performances,” Kohlberg said, adding that like last year, these will also feature music of many genres and styles.

[Read more…]

Piano Cleveland presents: Prelude to Piano Days 2022 Listening Series

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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…]

Piano Cleveland to debut video contest PianoFlicks

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by Mike Telin

If you ask a musician what new skill they learned during the past eighteen months, more often than not, the answer is video editing. And, in a relatively short amount of time, many became quite good at it.   

“Everyone we knew learned how to video-edit,” Marissa Glynias Moore, executive director at Piano Cleveland, said via Zoom. “So we thought, what would be a cool way for us to tap into that creativity?”

On Wednesday, October 27 at 7:00 pm, Piano Cleveland will debut PianoFlicks, a new video contest showcasing pianists as they creatively re-imagine how classical music is presented and enjoyed by audiences. Throughout the broadcast — which will air on the Piano Cleveland website — viewers will have the opportunity to cast their vote for the Audience Prize. They can also cast their votes over the course of the next week — details below. All participants will receive prize money for their participation in the contest.  

“Everything we do is about making classical music more accessible, not only for the audience, but for young pianists as well — making yourself and what you do accessible is an important part of being an artist in today’s world,” Moore said.

[Read more…]

The Cleveland International Piano Competition:
Week Two and beyond

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by Mike Telin

After a three-day break, Competition first-round performances will continue on Thursday, July 15 at 7:00 pm. Audiences can also experience that evening’s session by attending the Watch Party at the Beachwood Community Center. Pack a picnic and bring your chairs to watch performances under the stars and on the big screen. Click here to register for the free event.

New at this year’s competition is the Trivia Night/Watch Party on Thursday, July 22 at 7:00 pm at the The Music Box Supper Club. Hosts Yaron Kohlberg and Zsolt Bognár (pictured) have created questions that are designed to engage every level of piano and classical music enthusiast. Teams can be up to six people, so bring your friends (or make new ones) and enjoy great music and a chance to win a Cleveland musical prize package.

The ticketed event will include the buffet-style menu on the Music Box’s website. The first drink is on CIPC, but after that, for the rest of the evening you can purchase your favorite beverage at the cash bar. Click here to purchase tickets online or call 216.242.1250. [Read more…]

The Cleveland International Piano Competition Returns This Week With Virtual 1st & 2nd Rounds

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by Mike Telin

The moment has arrived. After a year-long postponement, Piano Cleveland’s signature event — the Cleveland International Piano Competition (CIPC) — will take place from July 7 through August 11. The 2021 competition will be hybrid, including pre-recorded First and Second Rounds with Semi-Final and Final Rounds taking place in Cleveland.

This year twenty-six contestants between the ages of 20-32 and representing twelve countries, will compete for an opportunity to perform with The Cleveland Orchestra and to win the Mixon First Prize of $75,000, a New York performance debut, management services, and a recording on the Steinway & Sons label.

On July 7 at 7:00 pm, The Virtual Opening Ceremony will introduce the 26 contestants. The evening, hosted by CIPC artist director Yaron Kohlberg and Living the Classical Life‘s Zsolt Bognar, will also feature a special performance by 2016 Mixon First Prize winner Nikita Mndoyants (pictured below).

This time around, the Opening Ceremony, as well as the first and second rounds, will be made available free-of-charge and broadcast from Piano Cleveland’s website and YouTube channel. Semi-Final and Final Rounds are ticketed and feature virtual and in-person options. Click here for details. [Read more…]

Piano Cleveland announces plans for 2021 International Piano Competition

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by Mike Telin

Piano Cleveland has announced that after a year-long postponement due to the challenges presented by the pandemic, the organization’s signature event — the Cleveland International Piano Competition (CIPC) — will take place from July 8 through August 11, 2021. (Above: Nikita Mndoyants, 2016 first place winner, with Bramwell Tovey.)

The competition has been reimagined as a hybrid event with pre-recorded First and Second Rounds — Semi-Final and Final Rounds will take place in Cleveland. Twenty-eight contestants who were chosen for the 2020 competition will compete for an opportunity to perform with The Cleveland Orchestra and to win the Mixon First Prize of $75,000, a New York performance debut, management services, and a recording on the Steinway & Sons label. Click here for a full competition schedule and here for ticket information.

Creating the plan — a logistical jigsaw puzzle 

Piano Cleveland president Yaron Kohlberg said in a Zoom conversation that all the decisions during the planning process were made with the best interests of the contestants in mind. [Read more…]

Piano Cleveland Virtu(al)oso: Questions for the six finalists

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by Daniel Hathaway

On Friday evening, August 7 at 7:00, the first three of six finalists in Piano Cleveland’s Virtu(al)oso online competition will be heard playing 30-35 minute programs previously video recorded at Steinway locations in the U.S. and abroad. The remaining three finalists will go online on Saturday, August 8.

We caught up with all of them either by email or Skype to ask versions of these questions:

1) Waiting is always a part of competitions, but this one is unusual. How did it feel to have so long to wait between recording your program and having it streamed in the First Round.

2) Did you listen to yourself in the first round? What was that like?

3) Do you plan to listen to yourself in the final round?

4) What’s your favorite piece in your final round program, and why?

5) Based on your experience with Virtu(al)oso, if the pandemic continues well into the future, would you consider entering a virtual competition again? [Read more…]

Six Virtu(al)oso finalists named, to play on Friday & Saturday

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by Daniel Hathaway

On Wednesday evening, Piano Cleveland’s Virtu(al)oso jury named the six pianists who will play 30- to 35-minute programs in the final round of the 2020 online competition. The sessions will be streamed on Friday and Saturday at 7:00 pm. Click here for their bios and programs.

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