January 26, 2022

Applications are now open for the Third Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival, taking place June 8–17, 2023, in Dallas, Texas. Talented pianists age 13 to 17 are encouraged to apply by January 10, 2023; 24 will be accepted as competitors in the internationally renowned event, and another 14 will be selected as non-competing festival participants. All applicants must have been born on or after June 17, 2005, and before June 8, 2010. Complete details and the application can be found at cliburn.org/2023-junior-competition/application.

The first three Competition rounds, as well as all festival events, will be hosted on the campus of SMU, where participants will also reside throughout their time in Dallas. For the Final Round, three young pianists will perform full concertos with the renowned Dallas Symphony Orchestra at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

Janina Fialkowska, Canadian virtuoso pianist, educator, and artistic director, will serve as jury chairman. For over 40 years, she has enchanted audiences and critics around the world. She has been praised for her musical integrity, her refreshing natural approach, and her unique piano sound, thus becoming “one of the Grandes Dames of piano playing” (Frankfurter Allgemeine). Janina previously served on the Screening Jury for the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. For more information and hi-res photos, visit fialkowska.com.

ABOUT THE CLIBURN JUNIOR

The Junior Competition and Festival was established in 2015 as another means for the Cliburn to use its standing and expertise to encourage tomorrow’s great artists, to provide a valuable forum for them to express themselves, and to give them an entrance to the next step of their journeys. Key ingredients were top international jurors, the media and webcast, Final Round performances with orchestra, and the festival atmosphere, which included performance experience and artistic workshops—all put into place to make the program significantly useful for students with aspirations of being professional musicians.

The Second Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival was held in Dallas, Texas, May 31–June 8, 2019, and drew 230 applications from 32 countries. Over 20 journalists, including several from Europe, covered the event in person, writing over 120 stories about the Competition and the 23 pianists who participated. Live and on demand webcast views have topped 620,000 for over 3.8 million minutes watched by viewers in 120 countries.

2023 CLIBURN JUNIOR SCHEDULE

  • Preliminary Round: 24 pianists each perform a 20-minute recital, to include a Bach Prelude and Fugue and one fast, virtuosic etude
  • Quarterfinal Round: 14 pianists each perform a 30-minute recital, to include one movement of a sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven
  • Semifinal Round: 6 pianists each perform in two phases:
    • A 40-minute recital, to include one work by a living composer and a substantial work of at least 16 minutes and one slow, lyrical work
    • One movement of their selected concerto (chosen from a provided list) with piano accompaniment
  • Final Round: 3 pianists perform a full concerto with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

For full competition rules and repertoire requirements and lists, visit cliburn.org/2023-junior-competition/application.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE 2023 CLIBURN JUNIOR