Check out the 2025 Cliburn medalists’ 2025–2026 tour dates for Aristo Sham, Vitaly Starikov, and Evren Ozel

A collection of Classical-era piano performances from Cliburn Competitions.

Taking a simple theme and writing variations on it is like catnip for composers. Almost no composer can resist the chance to display compositional chops, and these magnificent sets are written with maximum enjoyment (for pianist and listener) in mind.

These five gold medalists run the gamut in terms of personality and performance style. That no two of them sound alike is one of the Cliburn's proudest claims, and their artistic voices paved the way to even brighter futures.

Dance rhythms have always fascinated composers. J.S. Bach and his peers composed whole suites of music based on country dances. Chopin found inspiration in that realm and went into the countryside write his mazurkas. Ravel, Debussy, and Sibelius reframed the rhythms of dance through a more modern sensibility, and Stravinsky wrote music for dance his whole life!

The world’s critics have called performances by this year’s Cliburn Concerts artists “deeply resonant,” “probing,” and “captivating”—filled with “kinetic, forward-looking music,” “inspired musicianship—and more than a few surprises.” Come hear for yourself this season, with six gorgeously intimate performances in the Piano Pavilion of the Kimbell Art Museum and four captivating casual Cliburn Sessions concerts at Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall in the heart of the Fort Worth Stockyards.