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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.”

Info for New Listeners

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.

Classical Music for Kids

Bring your family and friends 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 our favorite heroes. This performance will be presented bilingually in English and Spanish.

Bring your family and friends 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.

A native of Aichi, Japan, Masaya Kamei—at the age of 20—has achieved major piano accolades in his home country. He was the first to be accepted to the Toho Gakuen College Music Department a year early (in 2019). At the same time, he was the first to win both of Japan’s largest national competitions, the Music Competition of Japan Piano Division and the PTNA Piano Competition Special Grade, in a single year. Other awards include the Masuzawa, Nomura, Iguchi, Kawai, Miyake, and Steinway Prizes; the Argerich Arts Promotion Foundation Award; and the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Award.

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