Category: History
Contestant Experience
A month before the 1987 Casadesus Competition, Steve Glaser’s hand was injured in an accident. He told a reporter he was relieved. “‘Psychologically it’s released me from the pressure of […]
Continue ReadingThe Breakup, pt. 2
In the last blog post, you saw how things got rocky between the founders of the competition and the newly formed Friends of the Competition in the early 1990s. While […]
Continue ReadingThe Breakup, pt. 1
Karen Knowlton had been the primary organizer and executive director of the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition since the late 1980s. She was not a voting member of any board […]
Continue ReadingThe ‘93 Fiasco
By Suzanna Feldkamp “Competitions have always been wild and crazy things. This year’s Casadesus seemed to exist in outer space.” At least it did according to Donald Rosenberg, music critic […]
Continue ReadingThe Early Years
By Suzanna Feldkamp Two famous pianists sit in a cafe, sipping espresso and reminiscing. It’s 1974 in New York City. One, Grant Johannesen, then Music Director of the Cleveland Institute […]
Continue ReadingThe Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition
By Suzanna Feldkamp When William Eves showed up to his piano lesson at Fontainebleau a little worse for the wear, his teacher simply smiled and said, in his thick French accent, […]
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