Cleveland — May 21
Paul Schenly, chairman of the Jury, announced the winners of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artist Competition following the final round on Thursday evening with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra in Gartner Auditorium of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
First Prize, Senior Division ($25,000): Yuanfan Yang, 18, U.K. (right in photo, with executive director Pierre van der Westhuizen). Second Prize, Senior Division ($10,000): Jiacheng Xiong, 18, China. Third Prize, Senior Division ($5,000): Chaeyoung Park, 17, South Korea. First Prize, Junior Division ($10,000): Jae Hong Park, 15, South Korea (left in photo). Second Prize, Junior Division ($5,000): Leonid Nediak, 12, Canada. Third Prize, Junior Division ($2,500): Elliot Wuu, 15, USA. Mozart Prize ($500): Eiliot Wuu. Bach Prize ($500): William Yang, 13, USA. Audience Prize ($1,500): Leonid Nediak. (Photo: Jon Theobald.)
After playing two rounds with no eliminations, the original pool of 24 young pianists in the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artists Competition was trimmed to 12. The semifinal round pared that number down to six finalists — three each in the Senior and Junior divisions. The final round with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra, played in front of a sold-out house in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thursday evening, May 21, would determine who would win first, second and third prizes in each division, as well as who would be awarded the Mozart, Bach and Audience prizes. 
There was plenty of piano music to be heard at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory during the ten days of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s recent Young Artists Competition, but in addition to the performances by the twenty-five contestants, ages 12-18, four seasoned recitalists were invited to play solo programs as well. Mariam Batsashvili knows her way around international competitions, while Vassily Primakov, Sean Chen and Alexander Schimpf are veterans of CIPC itself. 
Following Tuesday’s semifinal round, CIPC executive director Pierre van der Westhuizen announced the names of three pianists in the Senior Division who would advance to the final round: Jiachen Xiong (18, China), Yuafan Yang (18, U.K.), and Chaeyoung Park (17, South Korea).
The six Senior Division semifinalists in the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artist Competition filled Gamble Auditorium at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory with thousands of well-played notes on Tuesday afternoon and evening, May 19 — and undoubtedly presented difficult choices for the jury. That panel of judges would trim the field down to three Senior Division finalists for the final round with the Canton Symphony Orchestra at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thursday (the three Junior Division finalists were named on Monday evening). 
Elliot Wuu (15, USA), Leonid Nediak (11, Canada), and Jae Hong Park (15, South Korea) have advanced to the final round in the Junior Division of the Cleveland International Piano Competition’s Young Artists Competition. They will play concerto movements with Gerhardt Zimmermann and the Canton Symphony Orchestra in Gartner Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Art on Thursday, May 21 at 7:30, along with the three finalists in the Senior Division, who will be named after the two semi-final rounds on Tuesday, May 19 (see the