In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Cleveland International Piano Competition (CIPC), Piano Cleveland has placed six golden pianos in prominent—and sometimes unexpected—locations throughout the city. The golden pianos are part of the “50 Days of CIPC,” a lead-up to the competition’s signature Final Concerto Round with The Cleveland Orchestra. This initiative, generously sponsored by KeyBank, will feature weekly pop-up concerts at each of the piano locations.

“We did similar piano placement projects in both 2013 and again during the pandemic in 2021,” says Marissa Moore, Executive Director of Piano Cleveland. “Both times we placed these pianos in nontraditional spaces, we saw the transformative power of music. We’re thrilled to once again bring piano music out of the concert hall and into the city.” 

As part of the installation, Piano Cleveland is hosting 30-45 minute pop-up concerts with local pianists at each site. When the pianos are not being used for scheduled performances, Piano Cleveland encourages pianists of all levels to play. “These instruments are meant to be played,” says Moore. “We are encouraging people to post videos of themselves performing using the hashtag #PianosInTheCity.” 

Locations for the golden pianos with public performance times are: 

• Cleveland City Hall, Thursdays and Fridays at noon 
• Playhouse Square’s Connor Palace, Fridays at 6 PM
• Tower City (outside The Eatery), Thursday, July 18 at noon
• Market Hall at Van Aken District, Sundays at 9 AM
• Pivot Center, Sundays starting July 14 at 1 PM
• Cleveland Public Library Main Branch, Saturdays at noon

(Several locations such as City Hall and Tower City are booking additional performances.)