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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.

Known for his charisma and expressive interpretations, Mexican conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto has established himself not just as a major figure in the orchestra world but also as an influential cultural leader, educator, and a champion of new music. In a significant career development, he will start his tenure as Music Director of the North Carolina Symphony at the beginning of the 2023–24 season.

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.

The Cliburn advances classical piano music throughout the world. Its international competitions, education programs, and concert series embody an enduring commitment to artistic excellence and the discovery of new artists. Established in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1962, the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition remains the most visible expression of that mission and is, as always, committed to its original ideals of supporting and launching the careers of emerging artists, age 18–30. It shares the transformative powers of music with a wide global audience, through fully produced webcasts and by providing comprehensive career management and concert bookings to its winners.

Bring your family, friends, and pets (on a leash) for a free interactive, educational concert! In this season of Cliburn Kids on the Road, our artists present “What Makes a Hero?,” a program that celebrates music with your favorite heroes. This performance will be presented bilingually in English and Spanish.

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.

Videos from the 2025 Cliburn Preliminary Round Day 1

In Honggi Kim’s childhood home in Wonju, his sister played an electric keyboard; his parents then encouraged him to start learning the instrument after he played the same pieces she did, on his own, by ear. During his middle school years at art school in Seoul, he also studied composition, which he credits with deepening his understanding of music and its logic, so that he could develop his own interpretations.

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.”

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