The 2025 Van Cliburn Competition Began Wednesday in Fort Worth. The competition brings the best piano players from around the world to the city.
The Cliburn says 340 pianists from 45 countries applied. The competition is open to people ages 18 to 30, and 28 were selected. Preliminary Round Concerts start Wednesday at TCU.
"We're about to embark on the time period in Fort Worth when we call ourselves, 'Piano Town,'" Mayor Mattie Parker said during a city council meeting this week.
"Every four years, I want this town to be Piano Town," Cliburn Chief Executive Jacques Marquis said in an interview after the meeting. "We've had the proclamation from the city, and this is great."
Tuesday, competitors went through orientation, taking a group picture and being fitted for belts and cowboy boots.
"It's nice. It's nice when wherever you go, there's a local touch," says Aristo Sham who is originally from Hong Kong. "It's something you always carry with you and remember."
"Being in Fort Worth, it really means a lot. This is one of the biggest piano competitions in the world," says Russian competitor Vitaly Starikov. "I love Texas. But it's quite hot."
Each competitor is staying with a host family.
"The way we introduce them to Texas, in my opinion, is just by being friendly and being Texans," one man hosting a family with his wife says.
They say Cliburn participants do not have time to visit tourist attractions, so they try to limit distractions to let them focus.
"I see our responsibility to make their experience as pleasant and unstressful away from the performance as possible so they can dedicate to being excellent on stage," he says.
They say previous competitors who have stayed with them have come back to visit.
"Our competitor from the previous competition was back here in February just to introduce family to Texas," his wife says. "We had the opportunity then to show them around, show them the longhorns and have fun."
Preliminary rounds and quarterfinals take place at the Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU. Marquis, the Cliburn's chief executive, says the Cliburn puts Fort Worth on the world stage but can also introduce people who live in Texas to classical music.
"That was the dream of Van Cliburn to introduce everybody to great music," he says.
Each performance is streamed live at cliburn.org and https://www.youtube.com/@TheCliburn. They can also be viewed on demand.
The Cliburn Semifinal and Final Rounds will take place at Bass Performance Hall. The Award Ceremony is scheduled June 7.
The Finals and Award Ceremony will also be shown on the Sundance Square Plaza June 7. Marquis says a public area where people can watch for free can also add to goal of introducing the music to people who may not seek it out on their own.
"If you cross Sundance Square, and someone's playing the piano, you'll say, 'Oh, this is fun," he says. "Then suddenly, you go to a free concert at the library. After that, you move to a concert with your family."
A celebration and fireworks show are also scheduled June 7 in Sundance Square.
The schedule and more information about the International Van Cliburn Piano Competition is available at https://cliburn.org/.
