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
STRAVINSKY–AGOSTI Suite from The Firebird
STRAUSS–GODOWSKY Symphonic Metamorphosis on Die Fledermaus
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.
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28 Responses
Looking at the score for a major competition?!
I see Lang pang’s facial expression in his face. Well done~
Clayton, your play is like a breath of fresh air. Truly amazing performance, great choices of repertoire, hope to see you as a finalist!!
World-class playing. Period! Phrasing, technique, musicality – breathtaking. Can't wait to hear more of him.
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
It's always nice to see a musician of color performing in a major competition!
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.
While his technique is faultless, I can't help but feel he makes everything sound like modern music. There is a generalized sound world he applies to everything. The Haydn did not transport me to the 18th century, the Stravinsky didn't take me to the heady early 20th century, the Strauss didn't take me the ballrooms during the Waltz era. The Hough was of course perfectly on point.
very talented young man.
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.
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.
Bravo 👏🏽
He is phenomenal.
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
Surprising accuracy and mastery of character. He was totally at home in everything he did!
Truly amazing and thrilling performance, indeed👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Splendidly!
Compared to competitors of the Chopin competition, the competitors of this competition plays significantly less wrong notes. Quite surprising
Igor Stravinsky is amazing
Very nice performance of Haydn Sonata Hob.37
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.
Such joy and pleasure in his playing! I’m rooting for him.
Such daring repertoire choices with the Stravinsky-Agosti and Godowsky – I love it! He best make the next round…
So wonderful! I like this guy. bravo！
Wow! Love your page! Let’s connect?
Awesome 👏👏👏👏
A magnificent pianist; brings to mind Jorge Bolet, Richter , Trifinov, Lugansky. These are intrepid pianists.
Ah, I remember this guy from the Lang Lang masterclass video where he played Mephisto Valse iirc. Very well played!