CIPC hosted its annual Encore! gala benefit on October 12, 2019, in the beautifully appointed Founders Ballroom of the InterContinental Hotel Cleveland. More than 275 guests gathered for dinner, drinks, raffle, and musical performances from past medalists Arianna Körting (2012), Jiayan Sun (2013), and Konstantin Soukhovetski (2003). CIPC President Yaron Kohlberg and master of ceremonies Zsolt Bognar started the evening with a special thank-you to Linda and James Venner for their incredible support of CIPC. This was followed by solo performances by Körting, Sun, and Soukhovestski. One of the most moving aspects of the night was hearing each of these artists talk about what competing in and winning the Cleveland International Piano Competition has meant to them professionally and personally.
After the solo performances, attendees enjoyed a collective performance by all three medalists joined by CIPC President Yaron Kohlberg (himself a medalist in 2007). And no event titled “Encore” would be complete without an encore. Emcee Bognar joined the medalists for a spectacular ten-hands, four-piano rendition of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy.
Scroll down for photos and video clips from Encore!
Enjoy!