Search

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 2025 Cliburn Competition will be broadcast live on Cliburn.org and the Cliburn’s YouTube channel, May 21–June 7.

Today, the Cliburn launches a new boutique management firm: the Cliburn Agency. The full-service firm offers comprehensive general management, concert booking, project management, and publicity and branding services to a select group of rising and established instrumentalists—piano and beyond—whose high artistic caliber is matched by a vision for moving the field of classical music forward.

Videos from the 2025 Cliburn Preliminary Round Day 1

A guide for concert-goers to the Cliburn's 2025–2026 Season

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.

Let your imagination go wild as playful musicians impersonate the animal kingdom—from a stately lion and an energetic kangaroo to crazy donkeys and much more. All of this in the frolicsome setting of the Fort Worth Zoo, whose Animal Ambassadors will make special appearances throughout! Join us this fall as two pianos bring Saint-Saëns’ humorous suite, The Carnival of the Animals, to life like never before.

Lewis Warren, Jr. is an award-winning pianist, arranger, composer, and improviser based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He started piano lessons at 8 years old and has since won competitions, recorded albums, and performed on television. His flexible music skills and powerful ability to connect with diverse audiences have been hallmarks of his career.

Info for Arts Presenters

The Cliburn initiated Adopt-A-Competitor in 1997, in collaboration with Fort Worth ISD, to give children a direct link to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Competitors volunteered to present concerts to local elementary school students, answer questions, and take pictures. Students then tracked their competitor’s progress throughout the Competition. Since the program’s inception, North Texas kids have met and learned about 66 Cliburn competitors, including five medalists.