Cleveland, Ohio – The Cleveland International Piano Competition has invited 49 pianists from 22 countries to compete here from July 30 through August 10 at the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) and Severance Hall.

The 10-day event features three rounds of solo performances at CIM, during which the field of candidates is steadily reduced to a final four. The four finalists will perform concertos with The Cleveland Orchestra under the direction of Jahja Ling at Severance Hall to determine the winner.

Applicants must be between the ages of 17 and 32. Among the 50 pianists selected, the youngest contestant is 17, the oldest is 32. Twenty are women and 30 are men. Korea has the most contestants (7), followed by the United States, China and Japan (6 each) and Russia (5). Two countries, Moldova and Egypt, are represented for the first time.

Each pianist submitted a detailed application form and a video or compact disc recording. The recordings were heard in an anonymous review by the four members of the Selection Jury and the applications were reviewed by Karen Knowlton, the Competition’s executive director. Invitations were extended based on the combined review of written applications and recordings.

The Selection Jury was chaired by Paul Schenly, artistic director of the Competition and head of the piano department at CIM. “I am amazed at the high quality and diversity of talent,” Schenly said. “We are very grateful that dedication, hard work, and a love of music has made this high level of pianistic talent a renewable resource around the world. As a result of this wonderful artistry, we look forward to a very exciting competition in 2003.”

The other members of the Selection Jury were Daniel Shapiro and Kathryn Brown, both of whom are faculty members at CIM; and Timothy Ehlen, who is Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Illinois.

The performances of the Competition are open to the public.