Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

The Cliburn
Founded1962; 62 years ago (1962)
TypeNon-governmental organization
FocusPiano competition
Location
Websitecliburn.org

The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (The Cliburn) is an American piano competition by The Cliburn, first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Initially held at Texas Christian University, the competition has been held at the Bass Performance Hall since 2001. The competition is named in honour of Van Cliburn, who won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition, in 1958.[1][2]

The Van Cliburn Competition is held once every four years, in the year of United States presidential inaugurations.[3] The winners and runners-up receive substantial cash prizes, plus concert tours at world-famous venues where they are able to perform pieces of their choice.[4] While Cliburn was alive, he did not serve as a judge in the competition, provide financial support, or work in its operations.[5] However, he attended performances by competitors regularly and greeted them afterwards on occasion.[6]

Contestants draw lots for their performing place in the competition.[7] The competition began on-line audio streaming of the performances in 1997.[6] In 2009, the competition webcast all of the performances live for the first time in its history.[8]

  1. ^ Anthony Tommasini (February 27, 2013). "Van Cliburn, Cold War Musical Envoy, Dies at 78". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  2. ^ "1962 Cliburn Competition – The Cliburn". www.cliburn.org. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  3. ^ Future competitions are scheduled thus for 2025, 2029, and so forth.
  4. ^ Bernard Holland (June 13, 1989). "After the Cliburn: A Career Still to Be Built". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  5. ^ Bernard Holland (March 27, 1989). "Van Cliburn: Man Behind the Contest". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  6. ^ a b Christopher Kelly (May 18, 2013). "With Cliburn Gone, Competition Tries to Adjust". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  7. ^ Bernard Holland (May 27, 2013). "Tensions on Eve of Cliburn Contest". New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  8. ^ Benjamin Ivry (June 10, 2009). "What Was the Jury Thinking?". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 3, 2010.