Final Four to Perform with The Cleveland Orchestra

April 22, 2005 – Cleveland, Ohio
The Cleveland International Piano Competition has invited 35 pianists from 17 countries to compete here from July 27 through August 7 at The Cleveland Play House and Severance Hall.  Among those selected, the youngest two are 19 and the oldest is 29.  China has the most contestants (8), followed by the United States with five.  Serbia is represented for the first time.

Since 2003 the Competition’s four finalists have performed their concerto rounds with The Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall.  It is the only piano competition in the world that has an orchestra of this world-class stature for its final rounds.  The consequence has been far-reaching in the international music community, for potential candidates, and for the fortunate audiences in Cleveland.

The Competition presents a first prize of $50,000 – the largest cash award offered by any international piano competition in the world.  The award is known as the Mixon First Prize in honor of its sponsors, Mr. and Mrs. A. Malachi Mixon.

The first prize winner also is provided with a series of engagements under the auspices of the Competition, two years of management service, an internationally-distributed compact disc recording on the Naxos label, and a New York recital debut at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center.

The Competition is held biennially over a ten-day period that begins with the candidates performing solo recitals for the audience as well as an esteemed international panel of judges.  From July 27 through August 2 these solo rounds will be held twice daily at The Cleveland Play House. Candidates are eliminated by vote of the jury until four finalists remain.  These talented individuals perform concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra to determine the winner.  The final rounds are held over a two-night period (two candidates per night), August 5 and 6, at Severance Hall.  The winner is announced following the final performance on August 6.

The jury is comprised of 8 judges, each of whom is internationally respected in the field of teaching, performing, and/or composing classical music.

According to Karen Knowlton, Executive Director of the Competition, major competitions have an important role to play in the musical world.  “In addition to providing exposure which helps young musicians build their careers, competitions are a wonderful vehicle for building public enthusiasm for classical music and for developing international friendship and good will through music,” Knowlton said.

Tickets range in price from $10 to $75.  Tickets for the rounds played at The Cleveland Play House can be purchased at the Play House ticket office at 216-795-7000.  Tickets for the rounds played at Severance Hall can be purchased at the Severance Hall ticket office at 216-231-1111.

2005 CONTESTANTS

AUSTRALIA

Mr. David Fung, 21

BULGARIA

Mr. Pavlin Nechev, 25

Mr. Viktor Valkov, 24

CHINA

Ms. Jie Chen, 19

Ms. Chu-Fang Huang, 23

Ms. Rui Shi, 21

Mr. Xun Wang, 25

Ms. Di Wu, 20

Mr. Hong Xu, 22

Ms. Chen Xin Xu, 23

Mr. Xiang Zou, 25

FRANCE

Mr. Jonathan Benichou, 23

Ms. Sarah Lavaud, 23

GERMANY

Ms. Miao Huang, 21

HUNGARY

Mr. Marouan Benabdallah, 22

ISRAEL

Mr. Michael Namirovsky, 24

ITALY

Mr. Alessandro Taverna, 21

JAPAN

Mr. Masataka Goto, 20

Mr. Takashi Yamamoto, 22

KOREA

Ms. YeolEum Son, 19

Mr. Yung Wook Yoo, 27

LATVIA

Ms. Lauma Skride, 23

LITHUANIA

Mr. Andrius Zlabys, 28

RUSSIA

Mr. Alexey Chernov, 22

Mr. Stanislav Khristenko, 21

Mr. Sergey Kuznetsov, 27

Mr. Rem Urasin, 29

SERBIA

Mr. Mladen Colic, 22

SWEDEN

Mr. Martin Sturfält, 26

UKRAINE

Mr. Alexander Romanovsky, 20

USA

Mr. Ning An, 28

Ms. Inna Faliks, 26

Ms. Grace Fong, 26

Mr. Christopher Guzman, 24
Mr. Spencer Myer, 26