The 2009 Van Cliburn Piano Competition Winners
Tsujii from Japan, Zhang from China, Son from Korea Earn Top Prizes
Jun 20, 2009
Like the Olympics, every 4 years the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition attracts the best and the brightest from around the world. Except these competitors don't run marathons or throw javelins: instead, they muster all their skills in order to capture one of the most prestigious prizes on the classical piano circuit.
The 2009 competition whittled a pool of 29 pianists down to 6 finalists, who will all receive three years of managed concert tours (over $1 million value in total). These top 6 finalists then participated in 5 days of concerts, as each contestant performed one fifty-minute solo recital and two concerts with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, under Maestro James Conlon's direction.
The 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Winners, Prizes and Perks
On Sunday, June 7, the winners were announced in a two-way tie for gold: Mr. Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20, from Japan and Mr. Haochen Zhang, 19, from China each received The Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal.
These two winners also receive a $20,000 cash prize and a silver trophy cup as part of their top honors from the competition. Yeol Eum Son, 23, from Korea won the Silver Medal, which also garners a $20,000 cash prize. All three pianists were awarded a record deal as part of their prizes, as well.
Because the Van Cliburn contest is one of the biggest events in Fort Worth, Texas, just getting admitted into the competition is a huge boost to a young pianist's career. Competitors are paraded before the world's attention through television, radio, and Internet media coverage, in addition to appearances on commercial recordings and DVDs.
In the midst of this flurry of media coverage, the competition encourages audience participation. However, the final vote is determined by the expert judges, and sometimes the judges and audience differ in opinion, as this year's popular vote demonstrated: The 27-year-old Italian Mariangela Vacatello captured the audience vote, but didn't place in the top prizes. The Japanese pianist Tsujii, blind since birth, managed to please both judges and audience, winning both the 2nd highest audience vote and the judge's top award.
History of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Nearly 50 Years of Piano Heroism
The first Van Cliburn International Piano Competition took place in 1962, and Ralph Votapek from the USA won the very first gold medal prize. Since that date, the competition has occurred every 4 years and is gearing up to celebrate its 50th anniversary soon, already soliciting stories from past participants and audience members.
The competition memorializes the achievements of pianist Harvey Van Cliburn who made national news when he won the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow at the age of 23. The year was 1958, with Cold War tensions running high, and the musician became a national icon overnight.
He was treated to a ticker tape parade in New York City upon his return to the States, becoming the first and only classical musician to ever receive such an honor in that city. Fittingly, Van Cliburn later participated in further Cold War history in 1987, when he performed for Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in the White House during the visit that many would call "the day the Cold War was lost."
For those who missed the traditional media coverage this year, cliburn.tv also offers archived video footage on the web.
Sources
The Van Cliburn Piano Competition website.
Huizenga, Tom. "Cliburn Competition Awards Two Gold Medals." June 7, 2009. NPR Music News.
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