A New Day for Cincinnati's World Piano Competition
The World Piano Competition, for 57 years a preserve
of its own under founder/executive director Gloria Ackerman, has entered into a
collaboration with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the University of
Cincinnati College--Conservatory of Music.
The Cincinnati-based event, whose future seemed uncertain with Ackerman’s retirement last fall, will have its base of operations at CCM, whose piano faculty will reconstitute its jury system and provide a locus for its events, including Corbett Auditorium, where the finals will be held, beginning in July of this year.
Finalists in the Artists Division of the Competition will perform with the CSO led by associate conductor Robert Trevino July 13 in Corbett Auditorium. The winner’s prize package will include a recording, to be produced by CCM’s electronic media division and released on the CSO’s house label, Fanfare Cincinnati, for worldwide release by Naxos Records.
“Our association with the CSO and CCM is really a game-changer for the competition,” said Mark Ernster, the organization’s interim executive director, who has served in that capacity since Ackerman’s retirement.
As conceived by Ackerman, the World Piano Competition comprises two divisions, one for artists ages 18-32 and one for young artists up to age 17. Judges routinely traveled to Cincinnati to participate in the Competition, and events were held in a variety of venues, including hotel ballrooms and more recently, Jarson-Kaplan Theater at the Aronoff Center for the Performing Arts. Pianists competing in the Artists Division performed with an orchestra of free-lancers and a conductor hired for the occasion. In its glory days, the Competition was patronized by piano greats such as Andre Watts and Arthur Rubenstein.
Prize packages include cash and for the winner of the Artist Division, a debut recital in Alice Tully Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center. In recent years, Young Artists have participated in a group recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall. The Competition’s mother organization, the American Music Scholarship Association founded by Ackerman, sponsored events during the year in Cincinnati, including dinner recitals by Artist Division finalists and concerts by Young Artists through its Bach/Beethoven/Brahms program for school children.
Said CSO president Trey Devey, “With this important collaboration and the unique assets of these three partners, the World Piano Competition is poised to join the ranks of the world’s most respected piano competitions.”
The CSO will provide administrative support through ticketing, data systems, stage management and the CSO music library.
The CSO’s participation as the official orchestra for the Competition was made possible by support from Anne and George H. Musekamp, Sue and Bill Friedlander, Christine and Tom Neyer Sr., Trish and Rick Bryan and Vicky and Rick Reynolds.
Members of the CCM faculty, led by associate professor of piano/artist-in-residence Awadagin Pratt, have developed repertoire lists and refined the Competition rules. In addition to Corbett Auditorium, CCM will provide practice, rehearsal and Competition venues and pianos, along with tuning, technical and logistical support.
Organizationally, the Competition has created and begun implementing a multi-year strategic plan and recruited new board members. It will move into office space at Music Hall and has developed a new logo and a redesigned web site.
Pianists from all over the world compete annually in the World Piano Competition for cash prizes and performance opportunities. Dates for the 2013 event have been set. The Artist Division will take place July 8-13, with the finalists concert July 13 at Corbett Auditorium. Dates for the Young Artist division are July 22-27. Online registration is open at www.cincinnatiwpc.org
Tickets for Competition performances are available beginning March 4 at the Music Hall Box Office, or by calling (513) 381-3300. Ticket prices begin at $15 for the Artist Division and $10 for the Young Artist Division.