Fort Worth, Texas, June 26, 2015—Jon Nakamatsu, chairman of the jury for the First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival (June 21–28, 2015), at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, announced the three pianists advancing to the Final Round.
The finalists are:
Alim Beisembayev, 17 (Kazakhstan)
Youlan Ji, 16 (China)
Arsenii Mun, 16 (Russia)
For downloadable press photos of the finalists and performance image shots, click here.
During Phase I of the Semifinal Round (June 25), each of the six competitors performed a 40-minute recital that had to include one work written after 1950. The remainder of the program was chosen by the pianist. Repertoire from the Preliminary and Quarterfinal Rounds could not be repeated.
In Phase II (June 26), each of the six pianists performed the first movement of the concerto submitted for the Final Round. Pianists Evan Mitchell and Natsuko Ejiri accompanied the semifinalists.
THE FINAL ROUND
On June 28, beginning at 3:00 p.m. CT, each of the three pianists will perform a full concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Maestra Mei-Ann Chen. The pianist was able to choose any work scored for symphony orchestra and piano. The choice was subject to approval by the Cliburn and conductor.
Performance order for the Final Round is determined programatically by the conductor and approved by the the Cliburn. Orchestra performances of the Final Round will be available online, and on demand for one year.
At the end of the Final Round performances, awards will be announced during the Awards Ceremony, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 28.
FINALISTS’ BIOS, ORDER OF PERFORMANCE, AND FINAL ROUND REPERTOIRE
Arsenii Mun
Grieg Concerto in A Minor, op. 16
Allegro molto moderato
Adagio
Allegro moderato molto e marcato
Youlan Ji
Chopin Concerto No. 2 in F Minor, op. 21
Maestoso
Larghetto
Allegro vivace
Alim Beisembayev
Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, op. 23
Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso – Allegro con spirito
Andantino semplice
Allegro con fuoco
ABOUT MEI-ANN CHEN, conductor
An innovative and passionate force both on and off the conductor’s podium, Mei-Ann Chen is one of America’s most dynamic young conductors. Music Director of the Memphis Symphony since 2010 and of the Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, she has infused both orchestras with energy, enthusiasm, and high-level music-making, galvanizing their audiences and communities alike. In recognition of these accomplishments, the League of American Orchestras granted her the prestigious Helen M. Thompson Award at its 2012 national conference in Dallas.
An innovative and passionate force both on and off the conductor’s podium, Mei-Ann Chen is one of America’s most dynamic young conductors. Music Director of the Memphis Symphony since 2010 and of the Chicago Sinfonietta since 2011, she has infused both orchestras with energy, enthusiasm, and high-level music-making, galvanizing their audiences and communities alike. In recognition of these accomplishments, the League of American Orchestras granted her the prestigious Helen M. Thompson Award at its 2012 national conference in Dallas.
A sought-after guest conductor, Ms. Chen’s reputation as a compelling communicator has resulted in growing popularity with orchestras both nationally and internationally. Among her North American credits are engagements with the Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Seattle, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras. Overseas, she has been engaged to guest-conduct the BBC Scottish Symphony, Bournemouth Symphony, Austria’s Gross OrchesterGraz, Brazil’s São Paulo Symphony, Finland’s Tampere Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic in the Concertgebouw, the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, and the Trondheim Symphony. U.S. summer music festival credits include the Aspen, Britt, Grand Teton, Wintergreen, the Chautauqua Institute, and Texas Music Festivals.
Ms. Chen’s skill on the podium and as a music educator has been recognized with several honors and awards. In 2005, she became the first woman to win Copenhagen’s esteemed Malko Competition. In 2002, she was unanimously selected as music director of the Portland Youth Philharmonic in Oregon, the oldest of its kind and a model for many youth orchestras in the United States. During her five-year tenure with the orchestra, she led its sold-out debut in Carnegie Hall, received an ASCAP award for innovative programming, and developed new and unique musicianship programs for the orchestra’s members. She was also the recipient of a Sunburst Award from Young Audiences for her contribution to music education.
ABOUT THE FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Since its beginnings in 1912, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has been an essential thread in the city’s cultural fabric and the very foundation of Fort Worth’s performing arts. Today, the FWSO is one of the most successful orchestras in the United States, performing an impressive 200 concerts each year for an audience of 250,000 adults and children from all walks of life. Now in its 15th season, Music Director Miguel Harth-Bedoya has transformed the FWSO into an ensemble that is recognized and admired the world over for its artistic excellence and commitment to community engagement.
As the principal resident company of the acoustically superb Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall, the orchestra performs a broad range of symphonic and pops concerts and is admired nationally for the strength and uniqueness of its collaborations with other organizations including the Fort Worth Opera, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the Children’s Education Program of Bass Performance Hall, and various local professional choruses. The orchestra’s annual summer music festival, Concerts in the Garden, has grown to be one of the largest and most successful summer outdoor festivals of its kind in Texas, attracting an annual audience of nearly 45,000.
The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra is also a national leader in music education. Adventures in Music, the orchestra’s education and outreach program, inspires, educates and entertains more than 65,000 children through more than 100 engaging programs each year in Fort Worth and across the state of Texas.
ABOUT THE FIRST CLIBURN INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR PIANO COMPETITION AND FESTIVAL
The First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival for 13 to 17-year-old pianists, takes place June 21–28, 2015, in Ed Landreth Auditorium and PepsiCo Hall on the campus of TCU, and welcomes 23 of the world's finest young pianists to Texas. The competitors hail from all over the world, representing 13 countries: the United States (9), China (5), Canada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Tajikistan. A selection committee chose the competitors from an impressive applicant pool of 160 young pianists, through online applications and video submissions of 15 to 20 minutes. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra will perform with each of three finalists under the baton of dynamic conductor Mei-Ann Chen. Competition performances will be open to the public, and will also be webcast live at Cliburn.org. For a complete listing, biographies, and repertoire, please visit http://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/competitors/.
JURY: 1997 Cliburn Gold Medalist, in-demand touring artist, and esteemed adjudicator Jon Nakamatsu (United States) is serving as chairman of the jury. Other jury members include: Lydia Artymiw (United States), Christopher Elton (United Kingdom), Mari Kodam (Japan), John Kimura Parker (Canada), Orli Shaham (Israel/United States), and Blanca Uribe (Colombia).
TICKETS: Tickets are on sale now and all seating is general admission. Final Round tickets are $40. For additional information about and to purchase tickets for the First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition in Fort Worth, please visit http://www.cliburn.org/competitions/junior-competition/tickets/.
WEBCAST: Available at Cliburn.org, the webcast brings the Competition to life around the world in real time with hours of live broadcasts of performances, interview segments, and awards ceremonies over the 8-day period. All performances and videos are available live and on demand. Piano duo Anderson & Roe are serving as webcast hosts for the first time ever. They are providing competitor information and Competition commentary, and conducting interviews to provide behind-the-scenes insight.
ABOUT THE CLIBURN
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 1962, the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is widely-recognized as “one of the world’s highest-visibility classical-music contests” (Dallas Morning News) and remains committed to its original ideals of supporting and launching the careers of young pianists, age 18 to 30 (fifteenth edition: May 25–June 10, 2017). It shares the transformative powers of music with a wide global audience, through fully-produced webcasts and by providing commission-free, comprehensive career management and concert bookings to its winners. Rounding out its mission, the Cliburn also produces the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival for exceptional 13 to 17-year-old pianists (inaugural edition: June 21–28, 2015) and the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition for outstanding non-professional pianists age 35 and older (seventh edition: June 19–25, 2016).
Over a four-year cycle, the Cliburn contributes to North Texas’ cultural landscape with over 170 classical music performances for 150,000 attendees, through competitions, free community concerts, and its signature Cliburn Concerts series at Bass Performance Hall, the Kimbell Art Museum Piano Pavilion, and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. It presents 1,000 in-school, interactive music education programs for 200,000 area elementary students. During the same time period, it garners the world’s attention with over one million visits from 155 nations for live concert and competition webcasts; 300 concerts worldwide booked for competition winners; more than 5,000 news articles about the Cliburn and its winners; regular national radio broadcasts to 245 public radio stations; and a PBS documentary, Virtuosity, the story of the Fourteenth Cliburn Competition, which will air nationally on July 31, 2015, at 9 p.m. in a potential 105 million households.
Detailed information about the Cliburn and its programs is available at Cliburn.org.
Corporate and Foundation Sponsors of the First Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival are:
Alcon
BNSF Railway Foundation
Ann L. & Carol Green Rhodes Charitable Trust, Bank of America, Trustee
Fifth Avenue Foundation
Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau
Fort Worth Piano Teachers Forum
Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation
The Frill Foundation
GWR Foundation Fund of the Community Foundation of North Texas
The Garvey Texas Foundation
Jill and Charles Fischer Foundation
Martha V. Leonard Fund of the Community Foundation of North Texas
Mercedes T. Bass Charitable Corporation
National Endowment for the Arts
Northern Trust
Pier 1 Imports
Pinnacle Bank
Qurumbli Foundation
Texas Commission on the Arts
The Ryan Foundation
Tarrant Technology
William E. Scott Foundation
Exclusive Print Media Sponsor:
Star-Telegram
Official Piano:
Steinway & Sons – North Texas / Houston
Official Sponsors of the Cliburn:
Amon G. Carter Foundation
Ann L. & Carol Green Rhodes Charitable Trust, Bank of America, Trustee
Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County
BNSF Railway Foundation
Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust
ExxonMobil / XTO Energy
Jane and John Justin Foundation
Mercedes T. Bass Charitable Corporation
The Pangburn Foundation, J.P. Morgan, trustee
Sid W. Richardson Foundation
Steinway & Sons – North Texas / Houston
The Burnett Foundation
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