The Final Countdown – The Cliburn 2022
The final round of the postponed Van Cliburn Competition 2021 kicks off today. The six finalists perform two concertos each with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Marin Alsop.
Yunchan Lim, an 18-year-old pianist from South Korea, won the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition on June 18 in Fort Worth.
Second place went to Anna Geniushene, 31, of Russia; and third place went to Dmytro Choni, 28, of Urkraine. Read more about the results at culturemap.com >>
UPDATE 19 SEPTEMBER 2022:
The Youtube video of Yunchan Lim: Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3 (with Marin Alsop and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra) trended in the top 24 videos globally with over 7M views. Read more at ludwig-van.com >>
Winning the first Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War in 1958 brought Van Cliburn unprecedented celebrity for an American concert pianist. Cliburn’s international victory instilled a fresh sense of artistic pride in many Americans, while opening the door to a new era of cultural relations between East and West.
The competition has moved into the 21st century. Building on a rich tradition that began with its 1962 origins in honor of Van Cliburn and his vision for using music to serve audiences and break down boundaries, the Cliburn seeks, with each edition, to achieve the highest artistic standards while utilizing contemporary tools to advance its reach.
The world’s top 18- to 30-year-old pianists compete for gold in front of a live audience in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as a global online viewership of over 10 million.
The medal winners receive something greater than mere monetary prizes. As in competitions past, the three medalists also receive a comprehensive and personalized career management package, to include three years of concert bookings, artistic planning mentorship, traditional and social media training, logistics support, and tax and financial planning guidance, as well as commercial recording releases and a complete promotional package.
The Cliburn Competition is one of the few musical events in the world to arrange for competitors to stay with host families, often resulting in close, long-term relationships: this has resulted in southern hospitality becoming a singular trademark of the Cliburn Competition.
This year, the Van Cliburn has dispensed with its chamber music requirement. Some would have liked to see it kept with an expanded repertoire, but there’s no guarantee that all the contestants wouldn’t have chosen the same Schumann and Dvořák piano quintets as always. Instead, the semi-finalists give a one-hour recital and play a Mozart concerto, a requirement that was part of the final round in 2017.
The CEO of the Cliburn Foundation, Jacques Marquis, said then that he is a big fan of classical concertos. Particularly with Mozart, where there is no place to hide. Beethoven concertos were judged to be romantic rather than classical, so they were limited to the more bombastic final rounds where two concertos are performed by each competitor.
The Finalists
Hailing from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, South Korea and the United States, the six competitors, were whittled down from 30 pianists chosen to compete in the competition’s live rounds via a Semi-Final which included a 60-minute recital and a Mozart piano concerto.
Dmytro Choni, Ukraine, 28
Anna Geniushene, Russia, 31
Uladzislau Khandohi, Belarus, 20
Yunchan Lim, South Korea, 18
Ilya Shmukler, Russia, 27
Clayton Stephenson, United States, 23
Live Webcast:
The fully produced webcast will broadcast all 28 Competition performances live – as well as offer insightful commentary and behind-the-scenes access emulating a news- or sportscast – across multiple platforms. Viewers around the world can watch the entire Competition live and on demand at Cliburn.org, cliburn.medici.tv, and youtube.com/thecliburn.
New this year: the Cliburn will be available in 4K HDR and surround sound. Viewers can subscribe at hyfi.live/vancliburn to experience the next best thing to being in the concert hall. The public can vote for its favorite competitor to receive the Carla and Kelly Thompson Audience Award presented by medici.tv, with a cash prize of $2,500 and special recognition at the Awards Ceremony on June 18. Vote once a day for your favorite candidate. Voting closes on June 18, 2022 at 6:10 PM CT.
https://cliburn.org/2022-webcast
Competition video archive:
https://youtube.com/c/TheCliburn
News articles and resources:
Star Telegram: Meet the 2022 Van Cliburn competitors
NY Times: Russian and Ukrainian Pianists Meet in Texas at Cliburn Competition
Gramophone: Jed Distler’s Cliburn Blog
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