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After more than 25 years, the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition has been retired.

Learn more about the flagship Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, as well as the Junior and Amateur Competition.

The Cliburn is pleased to announce the new Gold Medal Patron premium subscription packages for the seventeenth edition of its flagship Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, taking place May 21–June 7, 2025, at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU and Bass Performance Hall, in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

The Cliburn was founded in 1962, and has flourished since on the shoulders of a community of supporters—committed individuals, corporations, foundations, and arts, service, and educational organizations. The dedication of your time and resources fulfills the Cliburn’s mission of providing life-changing opportunities for young pianists, participatory music education for public elementary school children, and access to excellent art for lovers of music. In essence, continuing Van Cliburn’s vision of sharing classical music with the largest possible audience.

When he was 3 years old, Moscow native Ilya Shmukler’s mother found him jumping on the bed and beautifully singing Robertino Loreti’s “Jamaica;” she immediately recognized his musical talent and started him in lessons. It was important to his non-musician parents that he be raised as a well-rounded person, so his early years were also spent with school, table tennis, and ballroom dancing. But at 10, he says his life changed after applying for and winning his first music competition and attending the subsequent international summer academy: “There I discovered a true musical life, and I fell in love with it, inspiring me to commit my life to music.”

The Screening Auditions for the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition will take place March 16–22, 2025, at PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. These recitals are free and open to the public.

This year’s Competition sees the launch of exclusive live recordings available in Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, alongside Cliburn-curated playlists, and a live album release for each 2025 medalist, via record label Platoon.

All tickets are now on sale for the seventeenth edition of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, taking place May 21–June 7, 2025, at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU and Bass Performance Hall, in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

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.

Cliburn Sessions just celebrated 10 years of presenting excellent classical artists in a relaxed performing environment, where they are free to be casual, to blend genres, and to interact with the audience.