Clayton Stephenson - Preliminary Round Recital - 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Preliminary Round Recital
June 3, 2022
Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU
CLAYTON STEPHENSON
United States I Age 23
HAYDN Sonata in D Major, Hob. XVI:37
HOUGH Fanfare Toccata 9:25
STRAVINSKY-AGOSTI Suite from The Firebird 14:45
STRAUSS-GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphosis on Die Fledermaus 27:15
Growing up in New York City, Clayton Stevenson found musical inspiration in community programs. As he describes it, the “3rd Street Music School jump-started my music education; the Young People’s Choir taught me phrasing and voicing; the Juilliard Outreach Music Advancement Program introduced me to formal and rigorous piano training, which enabled me to get into Juilliard Pre-College; the Morningside Music Bridge validated my talent and elevated my self-confidence; and the Boy’s Club of New York exposed me to jazz; and the Lang Lang Foundation brought me to stages worldwide and transformed me from a piano student to a young artist.”
Clayton now studies in the Harvard-NEC Dual Degree Program, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard and a master’s degree in piano performance at the New England Conservatory under Wha Kyung Byun. And his accolades along the way have been bountiful: 2021 Gilmore Young Artist; 2017 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts; Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award; Gheens Young Artist; Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation; and a jury discretionary award at the 2015 Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival.
Highlights of Clayton’s burgeoning career include recitals at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, Kissinger Sommer Festival in Bad Kissinger, BeethovenFest in Bonn, Stars and Rising Stars in Munich, Swiss Alps Classics at Switzerland, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. He has been featured on NPR, WUOL, and WQXR, and appeared in the “GRAMMY® Salute to Classical Music” Concert at Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium.
He has performed as a guest artist with orchestras including the Calgary Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, Louisville Symphony, Augusta Symphony, Colour of Music Festival, and Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestras. On the 69th U.N. Day, Clayton played with the International Youth Orchestra at the United Nations General Assembly Hall.
Ah, I remember this guy from the Lang Lang masterclass video where he played Mephisto Valse iirc. Very well played!
Dadadadada……
You're right! I remember now!
Omg hes old now
This pianist should be on top!
He has a combination of artistry, technique and personality.
Such daring repertoire choices with the Stravinsky-Agosti and Godowsky - I love it! He best make the next round…
Y'all!! I don't think you guys know how meaningful it is to have someone who's Black (technically 50%) not just competing in this competition, but in the Classical music genre in generally. Clayton, you play so well! I wish nothing but the best for you not just in this competition, but for your career as a pianist. YOU GOT THIS!! Peace and Love. xoxox
Yes, we do realize it. This is not a rare occurrence. And there are countless black people in classical music.
very talented young man.
If only music could rule the world fans, we are working in progress, keep up never stop believe in guys, you are doing a great job
He is phenomenal.
World-class playing. Period! Phrasing, technique, musicality - breathtaking. Can't wait to hear more of him.
He's really good! So refreshing to hear!
Amazing pianist! I am impressed beyond words, Clayton!
Bravo!Thanks for Stravinsky (Saint Petersburg Russia)
Surprising accuracy and mastery of character. He was totally at home in everything he did!
Wow this young man is phenomenal
Clayton, your play is like a breath of fresh air. Truly amazing performance, great choices of repertoire, hope to see you as a finalist!!
What an amazing performance of the godowsky...bravo!!
He's my pick to win.
A magnificent pianist; brings to mind Jorge Bolet, Richter , Trifinov, Lugansky. These are intrepid pianists.
Such joy and pleasure in his playing! I’m rooting for him.
It's always nice to see a musician of color performing in a major competition!
Truly amazing and thrilling performance, indeed👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
The Strauss-Godowsky is such an effective way to end a concert!
This guy is coming to my area soon sounds great might go check him out
Igor Stravinsky is amazing
Very nice performance of Haydn Sonata Hob.37
So wonderful! I like this guy. bravo！
Bravo.
Wow
Awesome 👏👏👏👏
I have heard Lang Lang doing it, not well, the Mephisto. This guy's D major Haydn is very good. Maybe a lighter touch, a la Catherine Collard, but has authority.
Bravo 👏🏽
Man, I came into this competition fully expecting to back Kate Liu to the very end but this guy might be my bias wrecker. I loved his almost jazzier take on the Hough Toccata. I really, really don't like the Agosti adaptation of the Firebird but he played it incredibly well. His Haydn was fantastic but the Godowsky-Strauss was the real highlight. Effortless playing with the music always taking center stage.
Well written. I agree about the Firebird arrangement, but I only have an issue with the ending.. Why not just have the final chords without those RH arpeggios in between?
Please turn up the sound. I can't hear this performance very well.
Splendidly!
Giuseppe Albanese's recording of the Stravinsky on Deutsche Grammophon is so outstanding. God awful ending to the arrangement though- and played awkwardly here.
I see Lang pang’s facial expression in his face. Well done~
Compared to competitors of the Chopin competition, the competitors of this competition plays significantly less wrong notes. Quite surprising
👏👏👏
Yeah from what I’ve noticed the Cliburn seems to be the most demanding competition for pianists besides maybe the Tchaikovsky Competiton. Three solo recitals and three concertos is an incredible amount of repertoire to have ready at once!
The point of this major competition is not to look for regular talents which are many but for extraordinarily gifted artists. If anyone finds a gem of a pianist from this competition, pls name him/her.
Hi fellow pianist here - your comment is suspicious on several levels. ANY middle of the road pianist can hear this man is extraordinary talented, yet you came and tried to blast him as if to say he shouldn’t even be here. I wonder why? Hmmm 🤔 I’ll let others connect the dots.
@@dmp7252 Sorry about being curt but am I here to please your opinion or to express my opinion?
@@i-told-you-sodear1526 - no worries. Go right ahead. That's what this forum is for, for people to express their opinions. You are more than welcome to put your own foot in your mouth. It appears you have a problem with all the pianist in the competition, but you picked this one in particular to post this comment. I just can't put my finger on why. Maybe others reading this might help me connect the dots. But, sure, write away. The mere thought that you would categorize this man as a "regular" talent simply mystifies me. That's all.
@@dmp7252 There are different levels of musical maturity. I feel one way, and you feel at your own level. Don't let me spoil your party. Sure, everyone of those 30 contestant invited to the competition is a winner of sorts. None are losers. So go ahead and fawn over this pianist. I'm just here to pick out 1-3 truly exceptional pianists who may or may not pass this panel of judges....as I often am in disagreement with many top piano competitions awards, including the Chopin competition. Also, be careful of crazy judges, for example, whenever Phillip Entremont is in as a judge, you might as well dump the whole competition out.
@@i-told-you-sodear1526 - let's just cut to the chase. With your "knowledge" about mature artists, why would you post what you wrote on this page? You could have unleashed your complaints in an article or an editorial. But no, you wrote some passive-aggressive, snarky comment, which was purposely thinly-veiled, under the video of this man who is out here busting his you know what, giving more than intelligent readings of these works, all so you can call him "regular." Let's not play games, I know what you meant when you said "regular." Regular pianists don't play this type of repertoire, much less back to back, this well, under this level of scrutiny, and have people in the audience standing halfway through the recital! The audience members are far from your average concertgoers. Many are steeped in musical knowledge and know a good performance when they see one. Which brings me back to my original point, why did you post what you did here? I suspect it's not about musical maturity at all. Newsflash: you're not fooling anyone.
Just wondering - do competitors get to play whatever they want or are there only certain pieces that can be played? Seems like we hear a tiny (repeated) group of pieces, especially considering the enormous number that exist.
They have repertoire requirements, although contestants have lots of freedom of choice to play what they want. But yeah, some pieces are popular to play in competitions.
For this round, the only required piece is the commissioned Hough Toccata. The rest of the program is free choice with only a time limit to meet. Sadly there's a lot of mainstream pieces that get overplayed. I would really like to see young musicians branching out into the more obscure or underappreciated repertoire.
@@cjames0723 What about some of the Etude Tableaux OP 39 or Chopin Etudes or Brahms Paganini Variations, etc
Liszt
By now, after the semifinal recital, he is the clear winner. He just needs to close his mouth. It could make or break him, with some of the jury. It's just not a very attractive thing to see for an entire recital. I'm surprised no teacher or friend ever told him about the habit.
And so whoever wins basically gets church recitals and a few orchestral appearances with C and D list orchestras. But the cash is good, I suppose.
Wow, so cynical!
I don’t care where he ends up playing. Let me know. I’d pay to here him live. Absolutely!
@darren motise, complete nonsense. More than just a few church recitals; they get to perform with top-rated orchestras such as London, Philadelphia, NY Phil, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. They get to perform at top venues.
More than just a few church recitals. Anybody can give a church recital.
@@newcenturypianists3195 - Hey, I would like to think that I'm more than just "anybody." I performed at two churches. And I must say, those people truly know the spirit of forgiveness. I was terrible. Ha! But I know what you mean. These people commenting here are clowns. They don't realize the Van Cliburn is one of the major international competitions, and the caliber of musicians is literally through the roof.
@@newcenturypianists3195 Are you sure about that? I strongly recommend you take a look at the 2017 Gold Medalist's concert schedule given him by the Cliburn. I didn't spew nonsense. I wish I had. They give church recitals and concerto performances with "small town" orchestras. As hard as that is to believe, it's sadly true. The winner NEVER gets a gig with the orchestras you mention as a booking from the Cliburn, at least not in 2017. And the engagements for the Silver medalist are equally lackluster. In fact, I first heard Kenny Broberg give a recital at a church in Coral Gables, Florida, right after he won the silver in 2017. I was at the competition as well.
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