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2025 Competition Rounds and Repertoire

Pianist Anne-Marie McDermott is a consummate artist who balances a versatile career as a soloist and collaborator. She performs over 100 concerts a year in a combination of solo recitals, concerti and chamber music. Her repertoire choices are eclectic, spanning from Bach and Haydn to Prokofiev and Scriabin to Kernis, Hartke, Tower and Wuorinen.

Now in his third decade of touring worldwide, American pianist Jon Nakamatsu continues to draw critical and public acclaim for his intensity, elegance, and electrifying solo, concerto, and chamber music performances. Catapulted to international attention in 1997 as the gold medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—the only American to achieve this distinction since 1981—he subsequently developed a multi-faceted career that encompasses recording, education, arts administration, and public speaking, in addition to his vast concert schedule.

With more than 15 years of award-winning Naïve recordings and international concert appearances, Lise de la Salle has established herself as a musician of real sensibility and maturity. Her playing inspired a Washington Post critic to write, “For much of the concert, the audience had to remember to breathe… the exhilaration didn’t let up for a second until her hands came off the keyboard.”

Mari Kodama is consistently praised for her virtuosity in a wide range of repertoire, including orchestral, chamber, and solo works by composers of all periods. She is also known for her natural musicality, tonal expressiveness with a clear form, and as a benchmark Beethoven interpreter.

One of the foremost conductors of our time, Marin Alsop represents a powerful and inspiring voice. The first woman to serve as the head of a major orchestra in the United States, South America, Austria, and Britain, she is internationally recognized for her innovative approach to programming and audience development, her deep commitment to education, and her advocacy for music’s importance in the world.

Paul Lewis, chairman of the 2025 Cliburn jury, is one of the foremost interpreters of the Central European piano repertoire, his performances and recordings of Beethoven and Schubert receiving universal critical acclaim. He was awarded CBE in 2016 for his services to music, and the sincerity and depth of his musical approach have won him fans around the world.

Gabriela Montero’s visionary interpretations and unique compositional gifts have garnered her critical acclaim and a devoted following on the world stage. Anthony Tommasini remarked in The New York Times that “Montero’s playing had everything: crackling rhythmic brio, subtle shadings, steely power…soulful lyricism…unsentimental expressivity.”

Till Fellner’s international career began in 1993 with the first prize at the renowned Concours Clara Haskil in Vevey, Switzerland. Since then, he has been a sought-after guest at the major orchestras and the music centers of Europe, the United States, and Japan, as well as at numerous festivals. He currently teaches in Zurich and Graz.

Pianist Wu Han, recipient of Musical America’s Musician of the Year Award, the highest honor bestowed by the organization, enjoys a multi-faceted musical life that encompasses performing, recording, and artistic direction at the highest levels.