by Daniel Hathaway
When Roberto Plano won gold in the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2001, the contest hadn’t yet established a chamber music requirement in addition to solo recitals and a concerto. Plano more than made up for that in his most recent return to Cleveland. On Saturday evening, June 8, he joined the Omni Quartet to end his CIPC Concert Series recital in CIM’s Kulas Hall with a stunning performance of Brahms’ f-minor Piano Trio. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Italian-born pianist Roberto Plano, who won first prize in the 2001 Cleveland International Piano Competition, will play the next recital in CIPC’s Concert Series on Saturday, June 8 at 8:00 pm in Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
In addition to playing solo repertoire by Respighi, Liszt, Tárrega, Villa-Lobos, and Ginastera, Plano will join the Omni Quartet (Cleveland Orchestra musicians Amy Lee, Alicia Koelz, Joanna Zakany, and Charles Bernard) to close the evening with Brahms’ f-minor Piano Quintet. Tickets are available online.
by Mike Telin
If you’ve ever wondered what the Cleveland International Piano Competition does during the gap years between its signature event, the answer is a lot. Last spring CIPC hosted its Young Artist Competition, and from January through May will present five free concerts at the Beachwood Community Center. And on Saturday, January 19 the Competition will kick off the 2019 Concert Series with an 8:00 pm recital by Jeremy Denk at the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Mixon Hall.
Denk, an Oberlin alum and winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, will perform Beethoven’s Five Variations on “Rule Britannia” in D and An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98/S. 469 (transc. Liszt), Adams’ I Still Play, Bizet’s Variations chromatiques, Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses in d, Op. 54, and Schumann’s Fantasy in C, Op. 1. Tickets are available online.
“We’re very happy Jeremy is coming,” CIPC President & CEO Yaron Kohlberg said during a telephone conversation. “He’s one of the major pianists in the United States right now. He’ll be presenting a wonderful program and I look forward to a beautiful concert.”
This Saturday’s concert also marks one of Kohlberg’s first public events since he began his tenure with the Competition this past fall. Kohlberg, the second prize winner at the 2007 CIPC, is uniquely qualified for the job. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
Italian pianist Roberto Plano, who won the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2001, returned to open the Tri-C Classical Piano Series in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Sunday afternoon, October 15. His arresting program of music by Liszt, Piazzolla, Villa-Lobos, and Ginastera culminated in the premiere of his own solo arrangement of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. [Read more…]
by Daniel Hathaway
After Roberto Plano won the Cleveland International Piano Competition in 2001, he returned to his native Italy to teach and concertize. On Sunday, October 15 at 2:00 pm, Plano will revisit Cleveland to open this year’s Tri-C Classical Piano Series in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art with a free concert of music by Liszt, Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, and Gershwin.
A year ago, Plano accepted a position at Boston University, and he and his wife and three daughters moved to the United States. In a telephone interview from Boston, Plano noted that the transition has been both difficult and rewarding. “I knew the United States very well, but I never lived here for more than a couple of weeks at a time,” he said.