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2025 Competitors

In this concert, 4 of 28 competitors will each perform a 40-minute recital, including the worldwide debut of the 2025 Cliburn commissioned work composed by Competition juror Gabriela Montero.

In this concert, 3 of 6 competitors will each perform concertos with Marin Alsop and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, immediately followed by the Competition Awards Ceremony.

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French pianist Philippe Bianconi has been described as an artist whose playing is “always close to the soul of the music, filling the space with poetry and life,” (Washington Post) and who offers “an extraordinary exhibition of musicianship, technical control and good taste” (The London Times). Having appeared as a soloist with the world’s finest orchestras, Mr. Bianconi recently concluded his tenure as director of the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau, a post he held between 2013–2017 that cemented his reputation as one of the most distinguished artists of his generation. He continues to teach at the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau and joined the faculty of École Normale de Musique de Paris in fall 2018.

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.”

In this concert, 3 of 6 competitors will each perform concertos with Marin Alsop and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

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.

Young Professionals Events

In this concert, 4 of 12 competitors will each perform a Mozart concerto with Carlos Miguel Prieto and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.