2016 Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition
Preliminary Round
Van Cliburn Recital Hall

Yasuo Kurimoto, M.D., 55
Ophthalmologist
Kobe, Japan
Japan

Dr. Yasuo Kurimoto says he has wanted to participate in the Cliburn Amateur Competition for 10 years, and his interest in the competition’s namesake goes back further: “Van Cliburn has been my hero since I was a child.” He took private piano lessons, but pursued medicine as a career, receiving his medical degree in 1986, and a Ph.D. in 1995 from Kyoto University. Currently, he is the director of the department of ophthalmology at Kobe City General Hospital. Dr. Kurimoto has found success competing in amateur contests around the world. In 2001, he was a semifinalist in the first Boston International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs; a semifinalist in 2002 at the Paris Concours des Grands Amateurs de Piano; first-prize winner at the 14th Osaka International Music Competition and first-prize winner at the International (Tokyo) Amateur Piano Competition in 2014. An opera buff who also enjoys skiing and wine, he looks forward to meeting piano-lovers from around the world in Fort Worth.

Program:
GRANADOS, Allegro de concierto, op. 46