Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Encyclopedia
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas
and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation
. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn
, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition
four years prior with Tchaikovsky's
First Piano Concerto
and Rachmaninoff
's Piano Concerto No. 3
.
The Van Cliburn Competition is held every four years (the year after the United States Presidential elections; thus, the next competitions will be held in 2013, 2017 and so forth). The winners and runners-up receive substantial cash prizes, plus concert tours at world-famous venues where they perform pieces of their choice. Previously held at Texas Christian University
, the competition has been held at the Bass Performance Hall
since 2001.
Winners of the top prize awarded in the given year.
as gold medal winner. Since then, however, the jury in the competition "has more often resulted in odd picks", including Olga Kern
and Alexander Kobrin
, who respectively won in 2001 and 2005. Irvy contends that the recent picks chosen in 2009, gold medalists Haochen Zhang
and Nobuyuki Tsujii
, ignored Di Wu, "the most musically mature and sensitive pianist competing in the finals". Yeol Eum Son took second prize and the jury did not award a third place contestant. Irvy criticized that requiring every competitor in the 2009 competition to play chamber music with the "brash" and "imprecise" Takács Quartet
from Hungary
did "precious few favors" for quintet listeners. Since no third prize was awarded in the 2009 competition, an additional contestant was not given opportunity to make a CD recording sponsored by the competition. Finally, Irvy questions whether Van Cliburn himself, now 74, would have been able to win under the current rules and standards for selecting a winner. The Van Cliburn competition, according to Irvy, has turned into an opportunity for career-advancement.
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation
Van Cliburn Foundation
The Van Cliburn Foundation is host to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™, Musical Awakenings® education programs, and Cliburn Concerts.-Mission:...
. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition
International Tchaikovsky Competition
The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow, Russia for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 30 years of age, and singers between 19 and 32 years of age...
four years prior with Tchaikovsky's
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
First Piano Concerto
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Tchaikovsky)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 was composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between November 1874 and February 1875. It was revised in the summer of 1879 and again in December 1888. The first version received heavy criticism from Nikolai Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky's desired pianist....
and Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's Piano Concerto No. 3
Piano Concerto No. 3 (Rachmaninoff)
The Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, composed in 1909 by Sergei Rachmaninoff is famous for its technical and musical demands on the performer...
.
The Van Cliburn Competition is held every four years (the year after the United States Presidential elections; thus, the next competitions will be held in 2013, 2017 and so forth). The winners and runners-up receive substantial cash prizes, plus concert tours at world-famous venues where they perform pieces of their choice. Previously held at Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
, the competition has been held at the Bass Performance Hall
Bass Performance Hall
The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas is located in downtown Fort Worth near Sundance Square, occupies a whole city block, and was opened in 1998. It was built entirely with private funds and seats 2,056 people in a city with an estimated 2009 population of 720,250...
since 2001.
Top prize winners
The competition consists up to three full recital programs, new work performance, chamber music, and two concertos for each competitor.Winners of the top prize awarded in the given year.
- 2009 – Nobuyuki TsujiiNobuyuki TsujiiNobuyuki Tsujii is a Japanese pianist and composer who shared the First Prize at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 in a tie with co-winner Haochen Zhang of China.-Background:...
and Haochen ZhangHaochen ZhangHaochen Zhang is a Chinese pianist from Shanghai, China.He, along with Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, was the Gold Medalist / First Prize winner of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009. He has studied under Gary Graffman, also the teacher of Lang Lang and Yuja...
(tie) - 2005Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionThe Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas from May 20 to June 5, 2005. It was won by Russian pianist Alexander Kobrin, while Joyce Yang and Sa Chen were awarded the Silver and Bronze Medals.-Jurors:...
– Alexander KobrinAlexander KobrinAlexander Kobrin is a Russian pianist.At age five, he enrolled in the Gnessin Special School of Music in Moscow where his primary teacher was Tatiana Zelikman... - 2001Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionThe Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas from May 25 to June 10, 2001.Olga Kern and Stanislav Ioudenitch won the competition ex-aequo, while Maxim Philippov and Antonio Pompa-Baldi shared the Silver Medal...
– Stanislav IoudenitchStanislav IoudenitchStanislav Ioudenitch , is a pianist from the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. He was a Gold Medalist at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001, tying for first place with Olga Kern...
and Olga KernOlga KernOlga Kern is a Russian classical pianist. Born as Olga Pushechnikova to a family of musicians with ties to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, she later adopted her mother's maiden name professionally...
(tie) - 1997 – Jon NakamatsuJon NakamatsuJon Yasuhiro Nakamatsu is a Japanese American classical pianist who still resides in San Jose but mostly performs away from home. He is the son of David Y. Nakamatsu and Karen F. Maeda Nakamatsu .In June 1997 Nakamatsu won the Gold Medal at the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition...
- 1993 – Simone PedroniSimone PedroniSimone Pedroni is an Italian pianist born in Novara, Italy.Pedroni graduated from Milan's Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in 1990. In 1995, he received his Master degree at Accademia Pianistica "Incontri col Maestro" in Imola, Italy, where he studied with Lazar Berman, Franco Scala and Piero...
- 1989 – Alexei SultanovAlexei SultanovAlexei Sultanov was a Russian-American classical pianist of Uzbek origin.His father was a cellist, his mother was a violinist, and his grandmother was a well-known Uzbek actress. At the age of 6, he began piano lessons in Tashkent with Tamara Popovich...
- 1985 – José FeghaliJosé FeghaliJosé Feghali is a Brazilian pianist, currently an Artist-in-Residence at TCU's school of music in piano. He was the Gold Medalist winner of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1985.- Education :...
- 1981 – Andre-Michel SchubAndre-Michel Schub-Biography:Schub came to New York City with his family, when he was eight months old. He began his piano studies with his mother when he was four, and later continued his work with Jascha Zayde. He attended Princeton University, and then transferred to the Curtis Institute of Music, where he...
- 1977 – Steven De Groote
- 1973 – Vladimir ViardoVladimir ViardoVladimir Viardo, born in 1949 at Krasnia Polana in the Caucasus, USSR, is a Russian pianist.Viardo studied with Irina Naumova at the Gnessin State Musical College and later studied with Lev Naumov at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he remained as a student for six years. Naumov would...
- 1969 – Cristina OrtizCristina Ortiz-Biography:Born in Bahia, Brazil, Cristina Ortiz began her studies in her home country before moving to France with Magda Tagliaferro. Soon after finishing her studies in Paris, she won the first prize of the third edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition...
- 1966Second Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionThe Second Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas from September 26 to October 9, 1966.Romanian pianist Radu Lupu won the competition, while Barry Lee Snyder and Blanca Uribe earned the Silver and Bronze Medals.-Jurors:...
– Radu LupuRadu LupuRadu Lupu is a Romanian concert pianist. He has won a number of the most prestigious awards in classical piano, including first prizes in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition.... - 1962First Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionThe First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was the inaugural edition of the competition. It took place in Fort Worth, Texas from September 24 to October 7, 1962...
– Ralph VotapekRalph VotapekRalph Votapek is an American pianist notable for winning the First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1962....
Criticism
One newspaper columnist, Benjamin Irvy, has written in the Wall Street Journal that the Van Cliburn competition was a well run piano competition when it started in 1962. In 1966 it selected the talented Radu LupuRadu Lupu
Radu Lupu is a Romanian concert pianist. He has won a number of the most prestigious awards in classical piano, including first prizes in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition....
as gold medal winner. Since then, however, the jury in the competition "has more often resulted in odd picks", including Olga Kern
Olga Kern
Olga Kern is a Russian classical pianist. Born as Olga Pushechnikova to a family of musicians with ties to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, she later adopted her mother's maiden name professionally...
and Alexander Kobrin
Alexander Kobrin
Alexander Kobrin is a Russian pianist.At age five, he enrolled in the Gnessin Special School of Music in Moscow where his primary teacher was Tatiana Zelikman...
, who respectively won in 2001 and 2005. Irvy contends that the recent picks chosen in 2009, gold medalists Haochen Zhang
Haochen Zhang
Haochen Zhang is a Chinese pianist from Shanghai, China.He, along with Japanese pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, was the Gold Medalist / First Prize winner of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009. He has studied under Gary Graffman, also the teacher of Lang Lang and Yuja...
and Nobuyuki Tsujii
Nobuyuki Tsujii
Nobuyuki Tsujii is a Japanese pianist and composer who shared the First Prize at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2009 in a tie with co-winner Haochen Zhang of China.-Background:...
, ignored Di Wu, "the most musically mature and sensitive pianist competing in the finals". Yeol Eum Son took second prize and the jury did not award a third place contestant. Irvy criticized that requiring every competitor in the 2009 competition to play chamber music with the "brash" and "imprecise" Takács Quartet
Takács Quartet
The Takács Quartet is a string quartet, founded in Hungary, and now based in Boulder, Colorado, United States.- History :In 1975, four students at the Music Academy in Budapest, Gabor Takács-Nagy , Károly Schranz , Gabor Ormai , and András Fejér formed The Takács Quartet...
from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
did "precious few favors" for quintet listeners. Since no third prize was awarded in the 2009 competition, an additional contestant was not given opportunity to make a CD recording sponsored by the competition. Finally, Irvy questions whether Van Cliburn himself, now 74, would have been able to win under the current rules and standards for selecting a winner. The Van Cliburn competition, according to Irvy, has turned into an opportunity for career-advancement.
See also
- Van Cliburn FoundationVan Cliburn FoundationThe Van Cliburn Foundation is host to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™, Musical Awakenings® education programs, and Cliburn Concerts.-Mission:...
- First Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionFirst Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionThe First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was the inaugural edition of the competition. It took place in Fort Worth, Texas from September 24 to October 7, 1962...
- Second Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionSecond Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionThe Second Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas from September 26 to October 9, 1966.Romanian pianist Radu Lupu won the competition, while Barry Lee Snyder and Blanca Uribe earned the Silver and Bronze Medals.-Jurors:...
- Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionEleventh Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionThe Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in Fort Worth, Texas from May 25 to June 10, 2001.Olga Kern and Stanislav Ioudenitch won the competition ex-aequo, while Maxim Philippov and Antonio Pompa-Baldi shared the Silver Medal...
- Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
- List of classical music competitions
- World Federation of International Music CompetitionsWorld Federation of International Music CompetitionsThe World Federation of International Music Competitions is an organization based in Geneva, Switzerland that maintains a network of the internationally recognized organisations that aim to discover the most promising young talents in classical music through public competition...
External links
- The Van Cliburn Foundation – History and information on the competition.
- Directory of International Piano Competitions
- Piano Competitions & Music Competitions at Bakitone International