FORT WORTH, Texas, May 25, 2025—The jury of the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (May 21–June 7, 2025) has announced the 12 pianists advancing to the Semifinal Round. In this next round, each competitor will perform twice: one 60-minute recital and one Mozart concerto with Carlos Miguel Prieto and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. The Semifinal Round will take place at Bass Performance Hall.
Piotr Alexewicz, Poland, age 25
Jonas Aumiller, Germany, 26
Yangrui Cai 蔡阳睿, China, 24
Elia Cecino, Italy, 23
Yanjun Chen 陈艳君, China, 23
Carter Johnson, Canada/United States, 28
Philipp Lynov Филипп Лынов, Russia, 26
Evren Ozel, United States, 26
Chaeyoung Park 박채영, South Korea, 27
Aristo Sham 沈靖韜, Hong Kong China, 29
Vitaly Starikov Виталий Стариков, Israel/Russia, 30
Angel Stanislav Wang, United States, 22
Visit cliburn.org for competitor biographies. Download hi-res competitor photos.
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.
