
The Cliburn
The Cliburn
Anna Geniushene
The quadrennial event officially known as the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is already in the prepping stages for its 17th year next summer. Taking place from May 21 to June 7, here in Cowtown, the Cliburn Competition announced it already has 340 pianist applications from 45 countries to sift through. The largest number of applicants, according to a release, hail from China, the U.S., South Korea, and Italy.
It’s from this pool that 84 pianists will be picked to participate in live Screening Auditions, taking place at PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU on March 16 –22. These free auditions are open to the public, with a schedule of pianists to be announced on Jan. 8, 2025.
Considered by The New York Times to be "one of the most prestigious contests in classical music,” the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition supports and launches the careers of emerging artists, ages 18–30. Winners of this competition receive cash prizes worth up to $265,000, comprehensive career management, artistic support, and bolstered publicity efforts for the three years following their win.
Started in 1962, this competition honors Van Cliburn’s vision of using music to break down any boundaries holding exceptional pianists back from expressing themselves in front of a large audience. Celebrating almost two decades of competition, the Cliburn highlights its enduring commitment to artistic excellence, the discovery of new artists, and the advancement of classical piano music throughout the world.
The Cliburn also shares the transformative powers of music with a wide global audience, through a range of platforms including social media. In fact, 2022’s competition became one of the most-watched classical events in history, with more than 60 million views on Cliburn channels across 177 countries.

The Cliburn
The Cliburn
Ziyu Liu
This competition also features many acclaimed artistic collaborators, and an international jury “comprised of some of the finest performing conductors, musicians, and pianists of our time.”
Created for a younger crowd of pianists, the Cliburn also produces the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival (fourth edition, June 2027) for exceptional 13- to 17-year-old pianists. Then there’s the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition (ninth edition, June 2028) which has been created for outstanding non-professional pianists ages 35 and older.
“The applications are in, and now the carefully orchestrated process begins to select the 30 pianists who will join the ranks of Cliburn competitors next May,” said Cliburn president and CEO Jacques Marquis. “We send our thanks and best wishes to each of the 340 applicants. The future of classical music is bright—and each of these artists is proof of that.”
The Audition Schedule

Richard Rodriguez
The Cliburn
June 18, 2022. The winners of the Sixteenth Cliburn International Piano Competition from left are Bronze Medalist Dmytro Choni from Ukraine, Silver Medalist Anna Geniushene from Russia, Gold medalist Yunchan Lim from South Korea. The final concerts were held in Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas.
October 2024–January 2025: nine-member Video Screening Jury reviews all applications and selects approximately 150 pianists to advance to consideration for the Screening Auditions. From those, the five-member Screening Jury selects up to 84 pianists they would like to hear perform during the live Screening Auditions.
January 28, 2025: Screening Auditions pianists and schedule are announced.
March 16–22, 2025: Screening Auditions (PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU)
Up to 84 applicants perform 25-minute recitals. Pianist travel and lodging are provided at no cost. Attendance is free and open to the public.
April 9, 2025: Announcement of 30 competitors selected to compete in the Competition.
May 18, 2025: Competitors return to Fort Worth for orientation and piano selection.
May 21–23, 2025: Preliminary Round—30 competitors (Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU)
30 competitors perform a 40-minute recital to include the commissioned work of 4-6 minutes in length, composed by Gabriela Montero.
May 24–25, 2025: Quarterfinal Round—18 competitors (Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU)
18 competitors perform a 40-minute recital.
May 28–June 1, 2025: Semifinal Round—12 competitors (Bass Performance Hall)
12 competitors in two phases:
1) Each competitor will perform a 60-minute recital.
2) Each competitor will perform a Mozart concerto with Carlos Miguel Prieto and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, selected from a list.
June 3–7, 2025: Final Round—6 competitors (Bass Performance Hall)
6 competitors perform two concertos with Marin Alsop and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra:
1) Each competitor will perform one concerto selected from a list.
2) Each competitor will perform one concerto of the competitor’s choosing.
June 7, 2025: Awards Ceremony (Bass Performance Hall)—announcement of gold, silver, bronze medalists + special awards; cash prizes total $265,000; medalists also win career management packages worth a total of over $1 million.
COMPETITION JURY
Paul Lewis, jury chairman (Ireland/United Kingdom)
Rico Gulda (Austria)
Mari Kodama (Japan/United States)
Anne-Marie McDermott (United States)
Gabriela Montero (Venezuela/United States)
Jon Nakamatsu (United States)
Lise de la Salle (France)
Yevgeny Sudbin (United Kingdom)
Wu Han (China Taiwan/United States)
SCREENING JURY
Philippe Bianconi (France)
Gloria Chien (China Taiwan/United States)
Alexander Kobrin (United States)
Momo Kodama (Japan)
Roberto Plano (Italy)
VIDEO SCREENING JURY
Lucille Chung (South Korea/Canada)
Jane Coop (Canada)
Alessandro Deljavan (Italy)
Valery Kuleshov (United States/Russia)
Anton Nel (United States)
Orli Shaham (Israel/United States)
Katia Skanavi (Greece/Russia)
Erik T. Tawaststjerna (Finland)
Amy Yang (China/United States)
Visit cliburn.org/2025-competition-jury for more information about each jury.