“How difficult jury duty must have been at the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition,” writes Zachary Lewis in Sunday’s (8/7) Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH). “After four almost equally strong showings in the chamber music phase, the jury then encountered a concerto phase every bit as closely contested… Moments after the last performance with the Cleveland Orchestra Saturday night at Severance Hall, the body made its ruling, awarding the $75,000 first prize to Nikita Mndoyants of Russia; the $25,000 second prize to Leonardo Colafelice of Italy; the $15,000 third prize to Dinara Klinton of Ukraine; and the $10,000 fourth prize to Russia’s Georgy Tchaidze…. In addition to cash, Mndoyants also clinched three years of management services, a recording project and a New York recital debut…. While all four artists were compelling, with attentive support from guest conductor Bramwell Tovey, Mndoyants’ performance Friday of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 did indeed stand out [offering] pure elegance and no small measures of personality and sparkle…. The real poetry was in the Andante. Rarely, in a lifetime of Beethoven concerts, has the protagonist in the slow movement of the fourth sounded so lonesome, so adrift and full of yearning.”
Posted August 8, 2016
