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2007 FINALISTS RETURN TO CLEVELAND THIS FALL!

Yaron Kohlberg, second prize winner, and Ran Dank, fourth prize winner at the 2007 Competition, will return to Cleveland for the traditional Viva Piano! series.

Mr. Dank will appear in the hugely popular Pro-Am Recitals where, after a solo performance, he will play duets and duos with skilled Competition staff and volunteers.  These highly entertaining duets are a perennial favorite with Competition supporters.  The Pro-Am will be held on Saturday, September 27 and Sunday, September 28 at the historic Bratenahl home of Board Member Dr. Jim Gibbs.  Both events include dinner and begin at 5:30 p.m.

"PIANIST GHINDIN'S RECITAL CONFIRMS HIS STATUS AS A PRIZE WINNER"

Wednesday, May 28, 2008, Donald Rosenberg, Plain Dealer Music Critic

(If you missed this recital or would like to hear it again, you may download it at www.instantencore.com/clevelandpiano.)

On Friday, May 23 Alexander Ghindin, first prize winner at the 2007 Competition returned to Cleveland to perform at the Cleveland Institute of Music's Mixon Hall.  Following are excerpts from Plain Dealer Music Critic Don Rosenberg's review:

"The history of musical competitions shows that only a handful of top-prize winners go on to major concert careers. Whether Alexander Ghindin thrives as a result of his victory at the 2007 Cleveland International Piano Competition remains to be seen.

But Ghindin's first recital here since taking first prize in August confirmed that he is no pianistic fluke. He was poetic and charismatic in "From Russia With Love," his program Friday at the Cleveland Institute of Music's Mixon Hall. The advertising turned out to be truthful: The repertoire remained firmly entrenched in the pianist's homeland, and he played as if he adored each of the gazillion notes his fingers projected.

Ghindin's creative compatriots helped him bring out qualities his competition performances had only suggested. The night's main pieces were big, descriptive works by Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky, though the capacity crowd lured the pianist back for four encores (all by Russians, of course)."

For the full review, click here.

PEPPER PIKE STUDENT WINS TOP HONORS
IN PIANO/OHIO FINALS


From left: Alexandre Moutouzkine, Vassily Primakov, Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Chu-Fang Huang, Kei Niedra, Jianni Wu, Margret Erlendsdottir, David Mamedov, Yue Qi, John Rady, and Dr. John Flower

Margret Erlendsdottir, a freshman at Hawken School and a resident of Pepper Pike, was judged the winner of PIANO/OHIO, a piano competition for high school students sponsored by the Cleveland International Piano Competition.  The competition was held Saturday, April 26 at Cleveland State University’s Drinko Hall and broadcast on WCLV 104.9 FM.

Miss Erlendsdottir studies with Olga Radosavljevich at the Cleveland Institute of Music.  She was a featured artist at the opening concert at CIM’s Mixon Hall this past year, and the second place winner of the Ohio Music Teacher’s Association Competition in 2002.  In addition to her studies on the piano, she also plays the violin. 

As the winner of the PIANO/OHIO competition, Miss Erlendsdottir received a cash award of $1000.  She, along with the second and third prize winners, also received an invitation to serve on the Junior Jury at the 2009 Cleveland International Piano Competition.

In addition to Miss Erlendsdottir, the winners were:

SECOND PRIZE
Cash award of $750

Kei Niedra (18), North Ridgeville.  Mr. Niedra is a senior at Lake Ridge Academy and auditioned in Columbus.  He studies with Haewon Song at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. 

THIRD PRIZE
Cash award of $500

David Mamedov (14), Mason.  Mr. Mamedov is a freshman at Mason High School and auditioned in Cincinnati.  He studies with Luba Fedorov and Maxim Mogilevsky.

FINALISTS
Cash awards of $250

Yue Qi (17), Shaker Heights.  Miss Qi is a senior at Shaker Heights High School and auditioned in Akron.  She studies with Lucia Markovich. 

John Rady (16), Strongsville.  Mr. Rady is a sophomore at Strongsville High School and auditioned in Columbus.  He studies with Gerardo Teissonnière at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Jianni  Wu (15), Hudson.  Ms. Wu is a sophomore at Hudson High School and auditioned in Akron.  She studies with Gerardo Teissonnière at the Cleveland Institute of Music.

A field of 25 students participated in qualifying rounds held at Steinway piano dealer locations in Akron/Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati.  Six were selected to advance to Saturday’s final round.

All students were required to prepare 20 minutes of music to be played from memory.  They were permitted to select works from a broad range of composers that included Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, and Bartok.

The final round of PIANO/OHIO was judged by an esteemed panel of laureates from the Cleveland International Piano Competition, including:

• Ms. Chu-Fang Huang, China, first prize winner, 2005
• Mr. Alexandre Moutouzkine, Russia, third prize winner, 2007
• Mr. Antonio Pompa-Baldi, Italy, first prize winner, 1999
• Mr. Vassily Primakov, Russia, second prize winner, 1999
• Dr. John Flower, Chairman of the Education Committee at the Cleveland International Piano Competition, served as the non-voting chairman of the jury.

The performances of all six finalists are available for download free of charge at www.instantencore.com/clevelandpiano