The Cliburn Report 10: Luftpause

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[I will be covering the final round of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in June for 88.1 KDHX. Meanwhile I’m picking the best of the current press coverage for you dining and dancing pleasure.]

Well, the twelve semifinalists (pictured) have been chosen. Starting on June 1st, each will play one solo recital and one performance of a piano quintet with the Brentano String Quartet. The Cliburn folks have thoughtfully provided a complete schedule of the semifinal round along with a list of what each of the semifinalists will play.

Meanwhile, it seems that I missed a couple of important blogs in my last roundup. Allow me to correct that error now.

For some reason, I completely overlooked the Cliburn’s own competition blog. Since it’s a more or less official outlet, I have the sense (skimming a number of the posts) that “never is heard a discouraging word”, but even so it offers an interesting perspective. More of the posts are by Mike Winter, but there are also some contributions from “visiting German journalist” Christoph Hiller.

The Brentano String Quartet

TheaterJones, meanwhile, provides coverage that goes beyond Gregory Isaacs’s reviews of the recitals. Contributor Jan Farrington has been providing the blog equivalent of sports “color commentary” with backstage interviews, a look at the skilled Steinway piano technician team, and even an amusing look at competitors’ hair. You can see their complete Cliburn coverage here.