 | |
| Founded | 1962 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Focus | Piano competition |
| Location | |
| Website | cliburn |
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]
Contents
The Van Cliburn Competition is held once every four years, with an edition currently being held in 2025. 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. [3] While Cliburn was alive, he did not serve as a judge in the competition, provide financial support, or work in its operations. [4] However, he attended performances by competitors regularly and greeted them afterwards on occasion. [5]
Contestants draw lots for their performing place in the competition. [6] The competition began on-line audio streaming of the performances in 1997. [5] In 2009, the competition webcast all of the performances live for the first time in its history. [7]
