The Future Looks Grand for Cleveland

The Cleveland International Piano Competition, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year under the slogan “The Future is Grand”, has presented a number of innovative and diverse ideas in its 2024 edition. For example, participants were not only playing “against” each other, they were asked to also perform together in a spectacular “Grand Piano Playoff”, where the 16 competitors performed in pairs, playing new arrangements of pop songs well known to the audience. 

“People really love the idea that we’re teaming pianists up to play popular music,” explained Yaron Kohlberg, President of Piano Cleveland. “This not only makes the opening ceremony more interesting and exciting, it also helps introduce the contestants to the audience, who can then vote for their favourite pair and continue to follow them throughout the competition.”

Later in the competition, “salon performances” at the historic Glidden House provided an opportunity to play in an intimate, chamber-music like setting while speaking about their goals and artistic vision to the jury and audience. And apart from the official competition rounds, which offered maximum repertoire flexibility, the competition offered performance opportunities like the “Concert Truck”, workshops in programming and audience engagement, and courses in branding, social media marketing, and fundraising. Lastly, prizes included not only (substantial) monetary awards, but also residencies at local universities as well as mentorship opportunities.

Looking back at the 2024 Cleveland competition, many of the new features have worked well. Of course, few competitions can show off with an orchestra as spectacular as the Cleveland Orchestra, and the four finalists made for a truly exciting last round (Zijian Wei, 25, won First Prize with a lively Rachmaninoff No. 3). But the competition's efforts to attract and engage new audiences, to present young artists in new and attractive settings, and to expand the boundaries of the traditional piano competition repertoire, have definitely paid off, and the future looks bright- and grand!

©︎ WFIMC 2024