The Cleveland International Piano Competition is an American piano competition that takes place biennially in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
, Ohio. The initial Competition in 1975 and the nine others that followed were sponsored jointly by the Robert Casadesus Society and the
Cleveland Institute of Music
The Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM) is a private music conservatory in Cleveland, Ohio. The school was founded in 1920 by a group of supporters led by Martha Bell Sanders and Mary Hutchens Smith, with Ernest Bloch serving as its first dire ...
to honor the memory of
French pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
Robert Casadesus
Robert Marcel Casadesus (; 7 April 1899 – 19 September 1972) was a renowned 20th-century France, French pianist and composer. He was the most prominent member of a Casadesus, distinguished musical family, being the nephew of Henri Casadesus an ...
. As a result, the Competition was then called the Casadesus International Piano Competition. In 1994, a new organization was formed: the Piano International Association of Northern Ohio (PIANO). Prize winners of the Cleveland International Piano Competition have included renowned artists like
Nicholas Angelich,
Sergei Babayan,
Angela Hewitt,
Daejin Kim,
Antonio Pompa-Baldi,
Jean-Yves Thibaudet,
Kotaro Fukuma and among others.
The first Competition with the new name of "Cleveland" took place in August 1995. The 2001 Competition finals were held at
Severance Hall
Severance Hall, also known as Severance Music Center, is a concert hall in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Cleveland Orchestra. Opened in 1931 to give the orchestra a permanent home, the building is n ...
with the Cleveland Competition Orchestra conducted by
Jahja Ling
Jahja Ling () is a conductor, music director and pianist. From 2004 to 2017, he was the music director and conductor at the San Diego Symphony. Following his retirement in 2017, he plans to do guest conducting, as well as teaching and volunt ...
. The success of this venture led to negotiations in 2003 with the Musical Arts Association resulting in the engagement of the
Cleveland Orchestra to play for the four finalists at
Severance Hall
Severance Hall, also known as Severance Music Center, is a concert hall in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Cleveland Orchestra. Opened in 1931 to give the orchestra a permanent home, the building is n ...
.
The Cleveland International Piano Competition is a member of the
World Federation of International Music Competitions.
Past prize winners
See also
*
List of classical music competitions
References
External links
Cleveland International Piano Competition Piano Competitions & Music Competitions at Bakitone International
{{Authority control
Music of Cleveland
Recurring events established in 1975
Piano competitions in the United States
1975 establishments in Ohio
Festivals in Cleveland