Cleveland, OH — Friday, July 27
Leonardo Colafelice with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra (photo: Roger Mastroianni)
Following the Final Round with Jahja Ling and The Cleveland Orchestra tonight in Severance Hall, competition sponsors Thomas and Evon Cooper awarded the top prizes in the Oberlin Cooper International Piano Competition.
FIRST PRIZE: Leonardo Colafelice, 16, Altamura, Bari, Italy — Rachmaninov: Concerto No. 3
SECOND PRIZE: Xiaoyu Liu, 15, Montréal, Québec, Canada — Rachmaninov: Concerto No. 2
THIRD PRIZE: Micah McLaurin, 17, Charleston, SC — Chopin: Concerto No. 2
The performances were broadcast live over WCLV, 104.9 FM.
5 comments
July 28, 2012 at 7:26 pm
Roger Goins
It appeared to me that the order of the winners was predetermined by the particular concerto performed. Rachmaninov Concerto no. 3 appeared to be the most challenging of the three concertos played magnificently by Leonardo. The rest was an easy guess.
July 28, 2012 at 11:47 pm
Rick
Not always the case. I remember a few years ago at the Cleveland International Piano Competition where it was a very moving and light touch of an expert playing of the second movement of the Mozart C Major concerto that ultimately captured the hearts and minds of the judges over a more technically challenging Prokofiev performance. It is the performers deep understanding of the music and how his instrument integrates with the orchestra that is the hallmark of a fine performance. Leonardo’s technical prowess in the Rach 3 was superb, but even more was his ability to fuse and synthesize with the orchestra in a difficult concerto which is often characterized as a shouting match between piano and orchestra.
July 30, 2012 at 1:25 pm
Sara
I am glad to see Leonardo winning so many prizes! He is an excellent musician and fully deserves this top prize!
August 1, 2012 at 9:36 am
Chuck
The concert was actually kind of boring. The Canadian boy was very good, but the American boy – how did he get into the final round? His music was dead, not lively at all!
August 6, 2012 at 8:22 pm
Sara
I agree. Annie Zhou gave a much better performance of the Chopin concerto.