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Stephen Montoya
Cliburn President and CEO Jacques Marquis
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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
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Stephen Montoya
It begins with a single note.
Before the curtain rises, before the spotlight glides over the polished Steinway, before a single chord sounds, Fort Worth transforms. Not Cowtown. Not Panther City. For the next three weeks, by official city proclamation, it’s “Pianotown.”
On May 20, one day before the first contestant took the stage at Bass Performance Hall, the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition unofficially began with a ritual that was part orientation, part celebration, and all Fort Worth. Inside the sleek Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU, 28 of the world’s most promising young pianists gathered for a group photo, received a Texas-sized welcome from the Cliburn staff, and were fitted for something distinctly local: a custom pair of Justin Boots.
Because in Fort Worth, you don’t just walk into greatness — you two-step.
Cliburn president and CEO Jacques Marquis was the first to address the group, many of whom arrived with host families in tow. “Winning a competition is not the end — it’s the beginning,” he told them, pacing the stage like a coach before the big game. “It’s the beginning of the work, the beginning of developing a network. Nothing will fall into your lap.”
He reminded them that the Cliburn isn’t just a competition. It’s a career-launching platform — one with a global audience. In 2022, the livestreamed event garnered over 60 million views across 177 countries, making it one of the most-watched classical music events in history. The 2025 edition is poised to surpass it.
Running from May 21 to June 7, this year’s competition brings nearly 30 pianists from across the globe to Fort Worth for what The New York Times once called “a cross between the Miss America Pageant, the Olympic Games, and the Pulitzer Prize.” They’ll perform solo recitals, chamber music, and concertos with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. At stake: $265,000 in cash prizes — including $100,000 for the gold medalist — and three years of career management, international bookings, and professional media support. In total, the prize package exceeds $2 million.
But the numbers only tell part of the story. The rest is found in the quiet moments — the warm-up rooms, the late-night practice sessions, the hushed breaths before the downbeat. It’s in the hearts of young musicians who’ve poured their lives into this singular pursuit. It’s in the jury, too — a group of nine esteemed artists, chaired by British pianist Paul Lewis, who Marquis says were chosen not just for their credentials, but for their open minds and love of young talent.
“For me, the best juror is someone who can say, ‘I wouldn’t play like that, but I like the proposal, I like the voice, I like the idea,’” he said. “Then play with your heart. Play with your voice. Play with what you believe.”
The Cliburn
May 20, 2025. The 2025 Van Cliburn International Competition class photo during competitor orientation for the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in the Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas USA. (Photo by Ralph Lauer)
The Cliburn’s communications director, Maggie Estes, took the stage next, offering contestants a roadmap through the weeks ahead: press interviews, broadcast requirements, and media etiquette. “You’re now a representative of the Cliburn,” she told them. “Everyone here is here to support you — including the media.”
That support extends to the Cliburn’s famously generous host families, who provide housing, home-cooked meals, and often lifelong connections. (“Just don’t help yourself to their best Scotch,” Marquis joked.) The relationship between contestant and host can become something sacred. In the years to come, it’s not uncommon for returning pianists to stay with the same families, forming bonds that transcend language, culture, and time.
Of course, it all comes down to the music. And Fort Worth has long been the setting for unforgettable performances. In 2022, an 18-year-old Korean pianist named Yunchan Lim delivered a jaw-dropping rendition of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto that instantly went viral. Lim became the youngest gold medalist in Cliburn history — and a global sensation.
He was just the latest in a lineage of stars forged in Fort Worth: Olga Kern, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Beatrice Rana, Vadym Kholodenko. For more than 60 years, the Cliburn has done more than elevate classical music — it’s made legends.
But before any of that happens, there's this: a quiet hall, a pair of boots, and a room full of young artists who still believe that music can change the world.
And in 2025, it all begins again — right here in “Piano Town.”
