The winner of the 2016 Cleveland International Piano Competition will receive the most substantial prize package in the event’s history, thanks to the generosity of committed patrons and the increasing global awareness of CIPC.
To begin, the first prize cash award, known as the Mixon First Prize in honor of its donors, Mal and Barbara Mixon, has been increased from $50,000 to $75,000. The Mixons have been providing the first prize cash award since 2005, and it is among the most generous of any piano competition in the world.
In addition to some 50 concert engagements in the U.S., the winner has been invited to perform in a number of prestigious European venues, including the Salle Cortot (Paris), the Barletta Piano Festival (Italy), the Armonie della Sera Piano Festival (Italy), the Duszniki Festival (Poland), and the Vilnius Piano Festival (Lithuania).
This past winter, CIPC became the first U.S. competition to join the Steinway Prizewinner Concert Network, a collaboration of piano competitions, concert organizers, festivals, and radio stations that introduce select young pianists to international audiences. As a result of this new partnership, the 2016 winner has been engaged for recitals at the famed Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels on January 25, 2017 and the Philharmonie Luxembourg on January 26, 2017.
Last, but not least, the winner also will undertake a tour of South Africa, which will be organized by Bryan Wallick/Schalk Visser Concert Productions.
“The addition of these prestigious engagements is outstanding news for our winners, who will now receive the immediate benefit of top-notch international as well as American introductions,” said CIPC President and CEO Pierre van der Westhuizen. “It also speaks very highly of the talents of our past winners, whose amazing skills have helped to build the reputation of the CIPC around the world.”