FIRST VAN CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION
SEPTEMBER 24–OCTOBER 7, 1962
ED LANDRETH AUDITORIUM AT TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
FORT WORTH, TEXAS, USA
Leopold Mannes, jury chairman
AWARDS AND PRIZES
Best Performance of Commissioned Work: Arthur C. Fennimore ($500 gold watch)
Best Performance of Chamber Music: Ralph Votapek and Hiroko Nakamura ($300 each)
WINNERS’ UPDATES
RALPH VOTAPEK The Cliburn’s first gold medalist continues to enjoy a robust concert and recording career 60 years after win. He recently finished his 27th tour of Argentina, ending at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and released his ninth recording for the Blue Griffin label. He previously has made hundreds of appearances with major American orchestras and is now professor emeritus at Michigan State University.
NIKOLAI PETROV The 1962 silver medalist went on to win silver at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and maintained an active performance career in across North and South America, Europe, and Russia, in addition to teaching at the Moscow Conservatory. He passed away in Moscow in 2011.
MIKHAIL VOSKRESENSKY The bronze medal winner is professor and chair of the piano faculty at the Moscow Conservatory; his students have won over 100 international competition prizes. With a career that spanned Australia, Europe, Asia, and North and South Americas, he has released over 50 recordings, including, most recently, box sets of the complete Mozart sonatas and concertos.
CÉCILE OUSSET The French pianist, who was particularly known for her collaborations with conductors Kurt Masur and Simon Rattle, retired from a very active performance and recording career in 2006. She has continued to be in-demand as a teacher, giving masterclasses around the world, and serving as a juror for major competitions. In 2011, she was made Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite. She served on the Cliburn jury in 1993 and 1997.
MARILYN NEELEY The American pianist’s busy performance career is highlighted with an Emmy Award in 1970 with her husband, Robert Gerle, for their performances of Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano. She went on to serve as dean of the Catholic University of American in Washington, D.C. Ms. Neeley passed away in 2007 at age 69.
SERGIO VARELLA-CID The sixth-prize winner was based out of London for most of his early career, performing throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. He moved to Brazil in the late 1970s, where he lived the remainder of his life.
JURY
Leopold Mannes, chairman (United States)
Yara Bernette (Brazil)
Jorge Bolet (United States)
Angelo Eagon (United States)
Rudolph Ganz (United States)
Don Luis Herrera de la Fuente (Mexico)
Motonari Iguchi (Japan)
Milton Katims (United States)
Lili Kraus (United Kingdom)
Lev Oborin (Russia)
Leonard Pennario (United States)
Serge Saxe, local chairman (United States)
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Conductor: Milton Katims
String Quartet: University String Quartet-in-Residence, Southern Methodist University
Orchestra: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Commissioned Work: Lee Hoiby, Capriccio on Five Notes