Our History

In 1974, a small group of local classical music patrons founded an international piano competition in Cleveland. Their goal was threefold: to honor the memory of the great French pianist Robert Casadesus; acknowledge Casadesus’ longstanding friendship and musical collaboration with the Cleveland Orchestra; and help launch the careers of promising young pianists. Over the past fifty years, the Cleveland International Piano Competition (CIPC) has grown to include a Final Concerto Round with The Cleveland Orchestra in Severance Hall and one of the competition world’s largest cash prizes of $75,000, as well as a robust Artist Development program, which provides competition laureates with performance, recording, and teaching opportunities. In 2015, the organization began hosting the Cleveland International Piano Competition and Institute for Young Artists, instantly earning acclaim as an identifier of the piano world’s youngest rising stars. 

In 2020, the organization rebranded itself as Piano Cleveland and expanded the scope of its mission to include more free community programming, educational initiatives, and a piano donation program. Today, Piano Cleveland operates on a triennial cycle featuring the CIPC, CIPC for Young Artists, and its community-based concert series, Piano Days. Year in and year out, the organization continues to partner with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District to offer keyboard instruction and other enrichment programs with community partners. Piano Cleveland also hosts free concerts around town as part of the Piano Cleveland Live music series, which often features competition laureates in non-traditional classical music venues.