Latest news with #VanCliburn
South China Morning Post
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham wins 2025 Van Cliburn competition
Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham Ching-tao, 29, won the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in the US state of Texas earlier this month. He is the first pianist from Hong Kong to win this award. This achievement sets him on the path to global fame. The announcement of his victory earlier this month followed two-and-a-half weeks of eager waiting. Live streams of the contest's four tough rounds, with 28 competitors from 15 countries, received a combined 20 million views from 145 countries. Sham's name was read out by jury chairman Paul Lewis to loud cheers in the packed Bass Performance Hall. The winner stepped on stage wearing a bow tie and a smile to receive his medal and trophy. Sham started playing the piano at the age of three with his piano teacher mother at home in Hong Kong. He began competing internationally at the age of 10 while attending Diocesan Boys' School. He studied under Shirley Ip and Professor Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He was featured by British broadcaster Channel 4 in its 2009 documentary The World's Greatest Musical Prodigies.
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Keys to success: the 2025 Van Cliburn piano competition, the instrument's Olympics
A distinctive line drawing of a grand piano adorns a clock face in Sundance Square. At night, it beams like a Tracey Emin installation, presiding over Fort Worth's downtown district. At the intersection leading to Bass Performance Hall the crosswalk has been replaced with an oversized keyboard, and, inside the cavernous venue, sartorial style favours black and white stripes. A pop-up gift shop in the lobby boasts an array of musical-themed memorabilia; there's the line drawing on a bubble-gum pink T-shirt, an enormous travel mug, a steak-branding fork. The theme-park feel is confirmed by a white Steinway emblazoned with Mickey Mouse – a limited hand-painted Disney edition (price on request). Welcome to piano city, smiles the sign. Every four years, piano lovers from across the world gather in this Texas enclave for the Van Cliburn international piano competition – the instrument's Olympics. It's not just about the financial reward (the gold medallist receives $100,000 (£74,000); silver $50,000; bronze $25,000, plus there's other discretionary awards): participation potentially catapults an early-career pianist into the industry's orbit. In 2022, at the postponed 2021 instalment, a then unknown Yunchan Lim took gold. Earlier this year I witnessed crowds of fans waiting to present the now 21-year-old with stuffed animals after a spectacular concert in Lucerne, where he played alongside Martha Argerich. Lim's Van Cliburn performance of Rachmaninov's third piano concerto is now the most-watched version of that concerto online, with more than 17m views. If Bass Performance Hall's painted skylight and elaborate candelabras recall a European opera house, the dazzling white balconies are all-American. Conductor Marin Alsop pulls the reins on the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Cliburn's house band. It's finals week: six pianists (from the 28 chosen to compete in the competition) perform over four nights. Every performance is livestreamed – this year's simulcast had 20m views across 145 countries – and, for the first time, is available via Apple Music Classical, along with curated playlists. A new Cliburn Keys View offers the option to watch a hands-only perspective, where disembodied lower arms deploy impeccable technique. While instructive, to do so misses the interplay between soloist and ensemble. Most major international piano competitions require their finalists to perform one concerto. There's usually a standard list of repertoire – inevitably Tchaikovsky 1 – and the concert is make or break. The Cliburn finalists (an all-male group; only four women competed in Fort Worth, two of whom made it as far as the semi-finals) play two concertos, one from a designated selection, the other can be anything. Alsop deserves her own gold medal for her openness to the challenge, which this year included the quirky choice of Bartok 2. After one concerto I stepped into a lift alongside Alsop who looked thoughtful and exhausted. Most orchestral seasons feature Rachmaninov 3, Beethoven 4 and Prokofiev 2 over the course of a few months. Alsop had done them all in one evening. The Cliburn judges heard 55 hours of music over the course of the event, as 28 pianists became 12, and then six. British pianist Paul Lewis, head of the jury, described the process as 'overwhelmingly intense'. From 2015-18 Lewis was chair of the Leeds international piano competition, the UK counterpart that feels positively quaint in comparison. Keir Starmer publicly wished participants luck ahead of last year's Leeds competition; Trump is unlikely to congratulate this year's Cliburn laureates who include competitors from Russia, Hong Kong, the US, Israel and combinations thereof. He's missing a trick: the Cliburn has always had political clout. Founder and Texan native Harvey Lavan 'Van' Cliburn charmed audiences at the 1958 inaugural International Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, winning gold at the height of the cold war and returning to that most hallowed of US celebrations, a ticker-tape parade. While some of his recordings are historic gems (his 1958 recording with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra and Kiril Kondrashin was broadcast with choreographed fireworks at the city's afterparty), Cliburn's main legacy is the quadrennial contest that takes his name. Set up in 1962, its importance for cultural unification was immediately confirmed. There are no public guidelines on judging, what one judge wants from their Brahms 2, say, might vary wildly from another. Aristo Sham's Mendelssohn 1 frothed; Philipp Lynov's Liszt 2 bubbled. 'Why aren't you standing up?' one lady scolded the press line, as each participant received rapturous applause and we struggled to scribble. 'Y'all have a favourite?' one Texan asked me in the loos, where I photographed the doors decorated with a stave. I did, but mine was different to hers. Carter Johnson, the 28-year-old Canadian-American threw a curveball with the Ravel left-hand concerto, a work composed for Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right arm in the first world war. It's a brooding piece demanding technical wizardry (British left-hand pianist Nicholas McCarthy plays it at this year's Proms opening weekend); Johnson danced and pedalled with elegance. Vitaly Starikov employed some quirky tempi in the Schumann; Evren Ozel's Tchaikovsky 1 was almost as muscular and thrilling as Cliburn's own historic performance. At this level, differentiation is down to matters of taste. Unusually – judging at this level can require UN levels of diplomatic negotiation to reach a consensus, depending on individual rules – the announcement came on time, with all finalists and jury members present. (There are sometimes resignations: in 1980 Argerich left the International Chopin piano competition in protest at the elimination of Ivo Pogorelić in the third round; and there are sometimes huffs: one young pianist refused to participate in the celebratory performance at the conclusion of last year's Hamamatsu international piano competition in Japan.) And, all prizes were awarded (the Tchaikovsky competition regularly withholds gold if a clear hierarchy of winners cannot be agreed, with joint silver given instead). Sham took the top spot, becoming the first pianist from Hong Kong to win in the Cliburn's history. The unassuming polymath – Sham is a former child star (featured on Channel 4's 2009 documentary The World's Greatest Musical Prodigies) who studied economics at Harvard and music at Juilliard – was a surprise choice to the press, but not to Cliburn viewers – he won the Audience award by more than 9,000 votes. Starikov won silver and Ozel placed third, also winning the Mozart Concerto award. I was disappointed not to see Lynov's talents recognised – he was too; it was some time before he appeared at the reception, but crucially, he attended. Talk was all about the verdicts; everyone had a different top three. After the huge success of Lim, the pressure to find the Next Big Pianist was palpable. But Lim is exceptional; competitions spit up dozens of superb musicians and only one in a generation will have his distinctive touch. The latest clutch of piano olympians gathered at a small table, looking as if they wished it was a piano stool. Journalists asked the necessary inane questions and received the necessary inane answers (Q: how does it feel? A: good). At one point Starikov, fatigued or bored, passed on the microphone to Ozel. All three wore shiny medals and consulted unseen bank accounts, blinking into bright futures. Listen to live performances from this year's Cliburn competition on Apple Music Classical: watch all the finals round concerto performances at
South China Morning Post
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Thank you, Hong Kong, says pianist Aristo Sham after historic Van Cliburn competition win
Aristo Sham Ching-tao, the first pianist from Hong Kong to win the gold medal in the Van Cliburn Piano Competition, has expressed his gratitude for the overwhelming support he received from the city following his victory in one of the world's toughest and most prestigious music competitions. Speaking from New York, Sham said: 'I am overwhelmed by the support in Hong Kong since the news of my win . I really did not expect that.' Born in Hong Kong, he left to study overseas at the age of 14, but remains closely connected to the city despite spending much of his time abroad. 'Nowadays, I am mostly based in New York and spend time in Sweden, where I studied with a professor since 2017, and come back to Hong Kong three to four times a year because my parents are [t]here,' he said at a news conference. Aristo Sham speaking in an online news conference on June 12, 2025. Photo: The Cliburn Sham said he had a tough time during the Covid-19 pandemic when concerts were cancelled and he had visa issues because of to different countries' border restrictions. He credits his decision to study at The Juilliard School in New York 2023 for the career restart that made him feel he was ready for the Van Cliburn competition.
South China Morning Post
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong pianist hits right note for home-grown talent
Talent is a precious commodity in the search for drivers of economic growth, and Hong Kong is at the forefront when it comes to competing for the gifted. Its talent admission schemes attract tens of thousands of new residents on initial visas. As well as being a magnet for talents, it is nice for the city to be seen to nurture those of its own. Advertisement An example is Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham Ching-tao, who has just won the 2025 edition of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, putting him on track for global stardom. Sham, 29, is the first pianist from the city to win the event, named after a famous American pianist and held once every four years in Fort Worth in the US state of Texas. Sham started on the piano at three with his mother, a piano teacher, at home in Hong Kong and began competing internationally at 10 while attending Diocesan Boys' School and studying at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. One thing that sets him apart as a talent is that he chose subjects other than music when he studied at London's Harrow School, before moving to the United States, where he graduated from Harvard University with an economics degree and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory. Advertisement Sham already tours extensively, playing with the London Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic and the English Chamber Orchestra among others. One of his teachers at the arts academy, Professor Eleanor Wong, said his achievement would inspire the next generation of young musicians from the city.
South China Morning Post
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham wins prestigious Van Cliburn international competition
Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham Ching-tao has won the 2025 edition of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, putting him on track for global stardom. Sham, 29, is the first pianist from Hong Kong to win the competition, held in Fort Worth in the US state of Texas. The announcement on June 7 of his victory followed two-and-a-half weeks of intense anticipation as music lovers around the world followed live streams of the contest's four gruelling rounds, which began on May 21 with 28 competitors from 15 countries. After Sham's name was read out by jury chairman Paul Lewis to loud cheers in the packed Bass Performance Hall, the winner stepped onto the stage wearing a bow tie and a huge smile to receive his gold medal and trophy. Aristo Sham, of Hong Kong (right), the overall winner, bronze medal winner Evren Ozel, of the United States (left), and Vitaly Starikov, of Israel and Russia, who came second, during the awards ceremony of the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition at Bass Hall in Fort Worth, Texas, US. Photo: Brandon Wade The silver medal went to Vitaly Starikov of Israel and Russia, and the bronze to Evren Ozel of the United States. Sham started on the piano at the age of three with his piano teacher mother at home in Hong Kong and began competing internationally at the age of 10 while attending the Diocesan Boys' School and studying under Shirley Ip and Professor Eleanor Wong at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
