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Cooper International Piano Competition: Three to Play with The Cleveland Orchestra

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from an Oberlin Conservatory news report
by Shelly Rasmussen

The three days of semi-final performances that have taken place in Warner Concert Hall culminated Wednesday evening in the selection of three pianists chosen to move on to the Concerto Finals at Severance Hall on Friday evening. (Photo with the jury by Adan Caldera Quintero.)

Pyotr Akulov, (16), of Moscow, Russia, Sophia Shuya Liu, (14), of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and Taige Wang, (13), of New York, New York, United States have advanced to the Concerto Finals.

On Friday, each finalist will perform with the Cleveland Orchestra, under the direction of David Robertson. The Concerto Finals will also be available via livestream. The concert will feature Liu performing Saint-Saëns’ Concerto No. 2 in g, Op. 22, Wang performing Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, and Akulov performing Liszt’s Concerto No. 1 in E-flat, S. 124. [Read more…]

Piano Cleveland: CIPC for Young Artists Concerto Final Round (July 15)

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by Daniel Hathaway

The last hurdle to be cleared on the way to the awarding of prizes in Piano Cleveland’s Competition for Young Artists brought the finalists to the stage of Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Saturday, July 15 to play concerto movements with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, led by Steven Byess.

Six items were on the docket: the three Junior Division players chose the opening movements of concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, and Grieg, while the three Seniors each chose Chopin, with only one repetition. Piano Cleveland president Yaron Kohlberg emceed the proceedings. I watched the well-produced webcast.

Concertos, which occupy a singular position in the orchestral ecosystem, are often performed with only a read-through beforehand, which means that both the soloist and the orchestra have to show up well-prepared. But anything can happen in the heat of battle — and adjustments have to be made on the spot with intelligence and sensitivity. [Read more…]

Piano Cleveland: CIPC for Young Artists Prizes awarded after final round (July 15)

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After the final concerto round with Steven Byess and the Canton Symphony in Gartner Auditorium of the Cleveland Museum of Art on Saturday evening, July 15, Piano Cleveland president Yaron Kolhberg announced the prize winners of the 2023 Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists.

Senior Division Prize Winners

First Prize ($10,000): Saehyun Kim (16, South Korea)
Second Prize ($5,000): Yanyan Bao (16, China)
Third Prize ($2,500): Ryan Wang (15, Canada) [Read more…]

Piano Cleveland: CIPC for Young Artists Chamber Music Final Round (July 13)

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by Daniel Hathaway

The six pianists who advanced to the final round of Piano Cleveland’s International Competition for Young Artists cleared the first hurdle on their way to winning first, second, and third place prizes with performances in the Chamber Music Round on Thursday evening in Mixon Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Demonstrating how well they can play with others, the finalists performed single movements of piano trios with members of The Cleveland Orchestra, collaborations that couldn’t help but inspire them to new heights.

For this round, the Juniors enjoyed the expertise of violinist Yun-Ting Lee and cellist Martha Baldwin, cello, while the Seniors joined forces with violinist Jessica Lee and cellist Dane Johansen. I attended via the live webcast. [Read more…]

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