FORT WORTH, Texas, June 7, 2025—After two and a half weeks of thrilling performances at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU and Bass Performance Hall, joined in the Final and Semifinal rounds by the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and conductors Marin Alsop and Carlos Miguel Prieto, the jury of the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (May 21–June 7, 2025) has announced the winners.
The 2025 Cliburn Competition broadcast received over 20 million views from a global audience in more than 145 countries.
The medalists of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
MEDALISTS
NANCY LEE AND PERRY R. BASS GOLD MEDAL
Aristo Sham 沈靖韜, Hong Kong China, 29
The gold medalist also receives a cash award of $100,000; the Van Cliburn Winner’s Cup; three years of individualized career management, including U.S. and international concert tours; a Platoon Records live album; a promotional package including press kits, videos, and website management; and performance attire provided by Neiman Marcus.
SILVER MEDAL
Vitaly Starikov Виталий Стариков, Israel/Russia, 30
The silver medalist also receives a cash award of $50,000; three years of individualized career management, including U.S. and international concert tours; a Platoon Records live album; and a promotional package including press kits, videos, and website management.
BRONZE MEDAL
Evren Ozel, United States, 26
The bronze medalist also receives a cash award of $25,000; three years of individualized career management, including U.S. and international concert tours; a Platoon Records live album; and a promotional package including press kits, videos, and website management.
OTHER AWARDS
The winner of the Beverley Taylor Smith Award for the Best Performance of a New Work, with a cash prize of $5,000, is Yangrui Cai 蔡阳睿, China, 24
Award made possible by a gift from Gordon William Smithᵈ*
The winner of the Best Performance of the Mozart Concerto Award, with a cash prize of $5,000, is Evren Ozel, United States, 26.
The winner of the John Giordano Jury Chairman Discretionary Award, with a cash prize of $4,000, is Mikhail Kambarov Михаил Камбаров, Russia, 24.
Award made possible by a gift from Mary D. and F. Howard Walshᵈ*
The winner of the Raymond E. Buck Jury Discretionary Award, with a cash prize of $4,000, is Jonas Aumiller, Germany, 26.
Award made possible by a gift from the Raymond E. Buck Foundation*
The winner of the Patricia and Neal Steffen Family Jury Discretionary Award, with a cash prize of $4,000, is Alice Burla, Canada, 28.
Award made possible by a gift from Patricia A. Steffen*
The Carla and Kelly Thompson Audience Award was determined by more than 9,000 votes. The Audience Award winner is Aristo Sham 沈靖韜, Hong Kong China, 29, who will receive a cash award of $2,500.
Award made possible by a gift from Carla and Kelly Thompson*
The remaining three finalists will each receive the Kleinheinz Family Finalist Award, with cash prizes of $10,000 each. They are Carter Johnson, Canada/United States, 28; Philipp Lynov Филипп Лынов, Russia, 26; and Angel Stanislav Wang, United States, 22.
Award made possible by a gift from Marsha H. and John B. Kleinheinz*
The semifinalists will receive cash awards of $5,000 each.
Award made possible by a gift from Charron and Peterᵈ Denker* and Louise Canafaxᵈ*
The quarterfinalists will receive cash awards of $2,500 each.
Preliminary Round competitors will receive cash awards of $1,000 each.
* Funded by a generous donation to the Cliburn Endowment.
ᵈ Deceased
ABOUT THE WINNERS
GOLD MEDALIST
Aristo Sham 沈靖韜
Hong Kong China, age 29
Aristo Sham’s mother taught piano in their Hong Kong home, so he says: “I was enveloped in the environment of the piano even before I was born.” His parents recall his immense curiosity towards the instrument when he was a toddler and started him in lessons (with another teacher) when he was 3. At the age of 10, he began competing and concertizing. But he also went to regular schools, never making the conscious decision of focusing solely on the piano or his other studies; this made the dual degree program at Harvard and the New England Conservatory a perfect fit when he went to college. He finished his Bachelor of Arts at Harvard in 2019 and master’s at NEC under Victor Rosenbaum in 2020. He then went to the Ingesund School of Music in Sweden to study with Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist before returning to the States to earn an artist diploma at The Juilliard School with Robert McDonald and Orli Shaham.
Aristo was featured in the documentary The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies on Channel 4 (UK) and has performed for royalty, including King Charles. He’s a laureate of international competitions, with first-prize wins at Ettlingen, Gina Bachauer, and Monte Carlo Music Masters, and is on the Young Concert Artists roster. He has concertized across Asia, Europe, and the United States, with major highlights including the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Edo de Waart, English Chamber Orchestra under the late Sir Raymond Leppard, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, and Minnesota Orchestra.
His interests remain varied as he pursues a career as a pianist and lists among them travel, aviation, gastronomy, oenology, and language. “I am incredibly fortunate to have enjoyed vast experiences in life and an extremely varied education, both in music and otherwise; I hope to draw from my expressive, emotional and intellectual capacity, to project an artistic voice and create unique experiences that resonate with our audiences of today.”
SILVER MEDALIST
Vitaly Starikov Виталий Стариков
Israel/Russia, age 30
Born into a family of musicians, Vitaly Starikov’s journey started when his parents enrolled him to sing in a children’s music group at age 3, and he went on to Ural Musical School for Gifted Children in his native Yekaterinburg at 7. He made his concerto debut at age 10 with the Ural State Russian Folk Orchestra, and his recital debut three years later, in the small hall of the Ural Special Music School. It was at 14 that he committed his life to music. His “dream came true” when he began studying with Vera Gornostayeva, one of the world’s most venerated teachers, at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. At that time, her student, Vadym Kholodenko, had just won the 2013 Cliburn Competition, which greatly inspired Vitaly: “and it was then that the thought was born to someday participate in this competition.” He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree at the Conservatory and then his master’s degree, under the tutelage of Eliso Virsaladze. He’s now at the Yale School of Music, pursuing an artist diploma under Boris Berman and is a laureate of the Queen Elisabeth and Sydney International Competitions.
Recital and chamber music appearances have taken him around the world, notably to Austria, Australia, Slovakia, Israel, Cyprus, Italy, France, Belgium, and Malaysia, with highlights including Sydney Opera House, Queen Elisabeth Hall, and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He has performed with the Antwerp and Belgian National Orchestras, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra, and St. Petersburg Symphony, and toured with the Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est. He holds a strong commitment to new music and has won accolades for his performances of it, including at the Queen Elisabeth (Belgium), Jaen (Spain), and Taneyev (Russia) international competitions. “I want to present works that reflect not only tradition but also contemporary life, offering new perspectives on familiar music and introducing lesser-known pieces to wider audiences.”
BRONZE MEDALIST
Evren Ozel
United States, age 26
Evren Ozel’s start in piano was very simple: at the age of 3, he was asked if he wanted to take lessons, and he said yes. Right away, these lessons were his favorite part of the week. “If I got in trouble with my mom, the threat that would set me straight was the threat of taking me out of piano lessons.” After his first international piano competition when he was 14, he was inspired to pursue music professionally. “The colleagues I met who shared an interest in playing music, and the immense repertoire that I learned about over those two weeks helped me understand what an incredibly deep and enriching world that pianists live in.” He’s attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston since 2017, studying with Wha Kyung Byun and earning his bachelor’s, master’s, and artist diploma; he is now part of the NEC Institute for Concert Artists.
Evren is the recipient of 2023 Avery Fisher and 2022 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grants, and a laureate of the Cleveland, Dublin, and Cooper International Piano Competitions. He has been represented by Concert Artists Guild since 2021 as a winner of their Victor Elmaleh Competition. Since his debut with the Minnesota Orchestra at age 11, he has been a featured soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and Boston Pops Orchestra. He’s performed recitals at La Jolla Music Society, Capital Region Classical, Cal Performances, Schubert Club, Chopin Society of Minnesota, and The Gilmore. His first album of Mozart Concertos with the ORF Radio Symphony of Vienna and conductor Howard Griffiths will be released this year on Alpha Classics. An active chamber musician, he performs alongside artists including Stella Chen, Zlatomir Fung, Paul Huang, and Kim Kashkashian. He spent four summers at the Marlboro Festival and is currently a 2024–2027 Bowers Program Artist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
ABOUT THE 2025 CLIBURN COMPETITION
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is widely considered “one of the most prestigious contests in classical music” (The New York Times, June 2022). From its origins in 1962 through today, it has remained dedicated to sharing music with the largest international audience possible and to launching the careers of its winners. This edition builds on that rich foundation and the historic success of the 2022 Competition—one of the most-watched classical events in history, with more than 60 million views across 177 countries. It also launched the meteoric career of Yunchan Lim, whose Cliburn laureate predecessors include Haochen Zhang, Nobuyuki Tsujii, Olga Kern, Vadym Kholodenko, Yekwon Sunwoo, and Beatrice Rana.
Quick facts about the 2025 Cliburn Competition are available below. Visit cliburn.org for more information.
COMPETITION JURY
- Paul Lewis, jury chairman (Ireland/United Kingdom)
- Till Fellner (Austria)
- Mari Kodama (Japan/United States)
- Anne-Marie McDermott (United States)
- Gabriela Montero (Venezuela/United States)
- Jon Nakamatsu (United States)
- Lise de la Salle (France)
- Yevgeny Sudbin (United Kingdom)
- Wu Han (Chinese Taipei/United States)
PRIZES & AWARDS
All together, Competition prizes total more than $2 million in value. A total of $265,000 in cash will be awarded, including $100,000 for the gold medalist, $50,000 for the silver medalist, and $25,000 for the bronze medalist. Medalists also receive three years of comprehensive personalized career management and concerts.
LIVE BROADCAST
The Cliburn broadcast is the next best thing to being in the concert hall, with spectacular views that put you right on stage; high-quality sound so you don’t miss a nuance; insightful commentary from our experts—hosts Buddy Bray and Elizabeth Joy Roe, and our lead backstage host Greg Anderson—and fun behind-the-scenes access to the Competition and its warm hometown. Produced by New York-based Framework Productions, the 2025 live broadcast introduced several new features, including a keyboard hands-only camera and on-screen synced scores provided within 48 hours of each recital, powered by Weefeen. All content will be available for on-demand viewing. Broadcast carriers include cliburn.org, YouTube @TheCliburn, medici.tv, amadeus.tv (China), The Violin Channel, and WFAA+ (Dallas-Fort Worth).
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 Fort Worth, Texas, in 1962, the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (seventeenth edition, May 21–June 7, 2025) 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, ages 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. Rounding out its mission, the Cliburn also produces the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival (fourth edition, June 2027) for exceptional 13- to 17-year-old pianists and the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition (ninth edition, June 2028) for outstanding non-professional pianists age 35 and older.
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. Cliburn in the Classroom—the Cliburn’s music education program and recipient of D CEO Magazine’s 2024 Innovation in Education Award—presents 1,000 free, in-school, and interactive concert experiences for more than 200,000 area elementary students over a four-year cycle. During the same time period, the Cliburn garners the world’s attention with more than 60 million views from 177 nations for competition webcasts; 300 concerts worldwide booked for competition winners; more than 10,000 news articles about the Cliburn and its winners; and regular national radio broadcasts to 245 public radio stations. cliburn.org
Official Piano of the Cliburn
Steinway & Sons – North Texas / Houston
