Van Cliburn Foundation, Inc.
Contacts:
Patrick Bibb, pbibb@cliburn.org,
817.738.6536
Lauren Kwedar, lkwedar@phprinc.com,
800.776.9720
FORT WORTH, Texas, August 9, 2012- The 2012-2013 Cliburn
Concerts season opens with ideal 50th Anniversary fanfare on
Thursday evening, September 6, 2012, beginning with a program that
features four Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold
medalists and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Miguel
Harth-Bedoya, conductor, and ending with a Fort Worth-style
celebration.
The 50th Anniversary Gold Medalists Concert begins at 7:30 p.m.
at Bass Performance Hall, with popular pianists Ralph Votapek
(1962), André-Michel Schub (1981), Alexander Kobrin (2005), and
Haochen Zhang (2009). These four gold medalists span the
half-century of the competition's history. They will join the Fort
Worth Symphony to perform a specially-crafted program of concerti:
Bach Concerto for Four Pianos in A Minor, BWV 1065; Poulenc
Concerto in D Minor for Two Pianos and Orchestra; and Mendelssohn
Concerto No. 2 in A-flat Major for Two Pianos and Orchestra.
Tickets are on sale now
online and through the Bass
Performance Hall Box Office at 817.212.4280.
Ralph Votapek's remarkable career began with prestigious early
triumphs. The winner of the Naumburg Award and first prize winner
in the First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, he has
gone on to make hundreds of appearances with major orchestras
worldwide. Featured 16 times as the Chicago Symphony's guest
soloist and frequently playing with the Boston Pops, he has
concertized with The Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic,
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, and San Francisco
Symphony. Mr. Votapek has made a special commitment to Latin
America, where he has toured every other year for more than 42
years, performing in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Asunción,
Montevideo, São Paolo, Lima, Caracas, Santiago, and numerous
smaller cities. Mr. Votapek has shared his compelling style with
audiences for five decades, and embodies the best in piano
traditions.
André-Michel Schub, also winner of the Naumberg International
Piano Competition and recipient of the Avery Fisher Recital Award,
was gold medalist of the Sixth Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition. He has repeatedly performed with the world's most
prestigious orchestras, among them the Boston Symphony, The
Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Los
Angeles and the New York Philharmonics, Detroit Symphony, Royal
Concertgebouw and Bournemouth Symphony. Described as
"…pianistically flawless…a formidable pianist with a fierce
integrity" by Harold Schonberg ofThe New York Times, Mr. Schub's
annual schedule always includes recitals in major concert halls as
well as appearances at the foremost music festivals.
Winner of the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition, Alexander Kobrin has also won top prizes at the
Neuhaus, Busoni, Hamamatsu, Glasgow, Caltanissetta, and the Warsaw
Chopin International Competitions. Praised for his brilliant
technique and musicality, Kobrin solidified an impressive
reputation with an outstanding first tour of the United States
following his Cliburn victory. Performances included recitals
for Washington Performing Arts Society, and debuts at La Roque
d'Antheron, Ravinia Festival, Beethoven Easter Festival, Hannover
Prize Winners Series, Turner Sims, and at the renowned
Klavier-Festival Ruhr.
Haochen Zhang, gold medalist at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition, has captivated audiences in the
United States, Europe, and Asia with a unique combination of
musical sensitivity, imagination, and virtuosity. His return to
Fort Worth as part of the 2010-2011 Cliburn Concerts series was
praised by theDallas Morning Newsas "…the kind of program you'd
expect from a seasoned master, served up with dazzling virtuosity
where wanted and astonishing sophistication elsewhere." His
performance that year was regarded among the top 10 of 2010 by both
theDallas Morning NewsandFort Worth Star-Telegram.
Single ticket prices for the 50th Anniversary Gold Medalists
Concert include a special celebration afterward for all ticket
buyers. Tickets are available
online, over the phone at 817.212.4280 or in person at Bass
Performance Hall Box Office, 525 Commerce Street in downtown Fort
Worth. Student tickets are $10.00 in person with a valid student ID
at the Box Office beginning one hour prior to the concert. Group
discounts are available for parties of 10 or more through groupsales@cliburn.org.
Ticket subscription packages are also available. Complete
information about tickets, dates, prices, and ordering can be found
at Cliburn.org.
After the opener, the season, designed to commemorate five
decades of transcendent music making, will also welcome back 1966
Gold Medalist and preeminent pianist Radu Lupu, perennial
Cliburn Concerts favorite and rock star violinist Joshua Bell,
and elegant 2009 Cliburn Silver Medalist Yeol eum Son.
Audiences will also enjoy the Brentano String Quartet in
concert before they make their competition debut to accompany the
Semifinal Round of the Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition in May 2013. For details visit Cliburn.org.
Season concerts take place in two landmark venues in Fort Worth:
Bass Performance Hall and the
Modern Art Museum of Fort
Worth. Cliburn Concerts, an annual series that promotes
great music and world-class artists, are presented by the Cliburn
for audiences in Texas and visitors to the area.
Cliburn at the Bass performances begin at 7:30 p.m. at
4th and Calhoun Streets in downtown Fort
Worth.
- Thursday, September 6, 2012: 50th Anniversary
Gold Medalists Concert
- Tuesday, November 13, 2012: Brentano String Quartet
- Monday, January 28, 2013: Radu Lupu, piano
- Monday, February 18, 2013: Joshua Bell, violin
- Tuesday, March 12, 2013: Yeol eum Son, piano
Cliburn at the Modernperformances begin at 2:00 p.m. at 3200
Darnell Street in Fort Worth's Cultural District.
- Saturday, October 13, 2012: Derek Bermel, composer
- Saturday, January 19, 2013: John Bucchino, composer
- Saturday, April 6, 2013: Christopher Theofanidis, composer
ABOUT THE VAN CLIBURN FOUNDATION
The Cliburn disseminates classical music worldwide and nurtures
and launches young artists' careers through the quadrennial Van
Cliburn International Piano Competition and ensuing three-year
international concert tours of its medalists as well as
award-winning documentaries, radio broadcasts, and a live webcast
that extends outreach to listeners across the globe.
The Fourteenth Van Cliburn
International Piano Competition will take place May 24-June 9,
2013, at Fort Worth's Bass Performance Hall and will welcome 30 of
the world's finest young pianists to Texas. Continuing its
longstanding commitment to new music, the Cliburn has selected
composer Christopher Theofanidis to write the commissioned work
that will be performed by all competitors during the Semifinal
Round. Additionally, the Competition has been dedicated to
showcasing both the extraordinary talent of its competitors in
recital performance as well as their ability to collaborate with
other musicians. The Fourteenth Competition will mark the first
Cliburn appearance by the world-renowned Brentano String Quartet
performing a piano quintet with each of the 12 semifinalists. The
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, which has appeared at every Cliburn
Competition, will perform two concerti with each of the six
finalists, under the baton of Maestro Leonard Slatkin for the first
time. Maestro John Giordano will serve as chairman of the jury for
his eleventh Competition since assuming the post in 1973.
For audiences in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the Van
Cliburn Foundation promotes great music and world-class artists
through the annual Cliburn Concerts series. It reaches 33,000
elementary school students annually with the education programs of
Musical Awakenings®. In 1999, it established the International
Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™, whichThe Boston
Globeproclaimed "a celebration of music, and the people who have to
make music, no matter what." The sixth Amateur Competition was held
May 23-29, 2011, at Ed Landreth Auditorium on the campus of TCU.
Official Sponsors of the Van Cliburn Foundation include Amon G.
Carter Foundation; Ann L. & Carol Green Rhodes Charitable
Trust, Bank of America, Trustee; Arts Council of Fort Worth &
Tarrant County; BNSF Railway Foundation; Crystelle Waggoner
Charitable Trust, Bank of America, Trustee; ExxonMobil; Sid W.
Richardson Foundation; The Burnett Foundation; and XTO Energy
Inc. Exclusive print media sponsor isStar-Telegram.
Exclusive radio station is WRR 101.1 FM. Official Airline is
American Airlines.
Visit Cliburn.org to learn more about the Cliburn during its
50th Anniversary year in 2012 and beyond.
High-resolution images available; please contact
Patrick Bibb
###
