Fort Worth’s 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition ends with two-winner tie

Tonight, the Van Cliburn Foundation announced the winners of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The announcement, made by Van Cliburn during the Awards Ceremony at the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth was the culmination of 17 exciting days of extraordinary music making.

The 2009 Cliburn winners are:

Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medalists (tie for first):

Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20 (Japan)

Haochen Zhang, 19 (China)

The First Prize includes the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal; a cash award of $20,000; international and national concert tours for the three seasons following the competition, coordinated by the Van Cliburn Foundation in conjunction with IMG Artists Europe; a CD recording on the harmonia mundi usa label; performance attire provided by Neiman Marcus; and a contribution toward domestic and international air travel on American Airlines during the three-year tour.

Tsujii and Zhang were the two youngest pianists in the 2009 Competition.

The last time that the Cliburn Competition awarded a tie for the gold medal was in 2001, to Stanislav Ioudenitch and Olga Kern.

Silver Medalist:

Yeol Eum Son, 23 (South Korea)

The Second Prize includes a silver medal; a cash award of $20,000; U.S. concert tours and career management for the three concert seasons following the competition; and a CD recording on the harmonia mundi usa label.

The Crystal Award was not awarded this year.

Finalists (in alphabetical order):

Evgeni Bozhanov, 25 (Bulgaria)

Mariangela Vacatello, 27 (Italy)

Di Wu, 24 (China)

All finalists receive a cash award of $10,000 and U.S. concert tours and career management for the three concert seasons following the competition.

Additional awards given to pianists at the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition included:

Semifinalists: $5,000 each

Ran Dank, 27 (Israel)

Alessandro Deljavan, 22 (Italy)

Kyu Yeon Kim, 23 (South Korea)

Eduard Kunz, 28 (Russia)

Andrea Lam, 27 (Australia)

Michail Lifits, 26 (Germany)

Steven De Groote Memorial Award for the Best Performances of Chamber Music: $3,000 each

Evgeni Bozhanov, 25 (Bulgaria)

Yeol Eum Son, 23 (South Korea)

Beverley Taylor Smith Award for the Best Performance of a New Work: $5,000

Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20 (Japan)

John Giordano Jury Chairman Discretionary Award: $4,000

Lukas Vondracek, 22 (Czech Republic)

Raymond E. Buck Jury Discretionary Award: $4,000

Alessandro Deljavan, 22 (Italy)

Jury Discretionary Award: $4,000

Eduard Kunz, 28 (Russia)

Awarded by the Neal Steffen Memorial Foundation.

Winners' Engagements

The six winners of the Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition will share more than 300 concert engagements throughout the United States during the three seasons following the competition, coordinated by the Van Cliburn Foundation. The gold medalist will also be awarded concerts in Europe, Asia, and other international territories through IMG Artists (Europe). Presenters who have already offered engagements include the Rochester Philharmonic and the Colorado, Dallas, San Diego, and Utah Symphony Orchestras, as well as noted recital series presenters in Boston, Houston, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Among the concert engagements the gold medal winners will share are performances at the Aspen Music Festival, and at London's prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hall in March 2010 (arranged by IMG Artists).