16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

Cliburn names 6 finalists going for gold at 2022 competition in Fort Worth

Dmytro Choni, 28, Ukraine

Photo courtesy of The Cliburn

UPDATE 6-18-2022: The Cliburn Competition winners have been announced; find the list here.

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Six pianists have moved on to the final round of the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, setting the stage for an epic showdown to the end.

These six finalists are now vying for a gold medal, $100,000 cash, and an international career are:

Dmytro Choni, Ukraine, 28
Anna Geniushene, Russia, 31
Uladzislau Khandohi, Belarus, 20
Yunchan Lim, South Korea, 18
Ilya Shmukler, Russia, 27
Clayton Stephenson, United States, 23

Cliburn Competition jury chair Marin Alsop made the announcement June 12 on stage at Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth. It came after the conclusion of the semifinal round, in which 12 of the original 30 competitors played both a 60-minute recital and a Mozart concerto with maestro Nicholas McGegan and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

A closer look at the field
Notably, the field has two of the initial six Russians remaining, and one from Belarus. A crowd favorite, Ilya Shmukler competed in the 2017 Cliburn International Competition.

The one remaining American candidate, Clayton Stephenson, easily won over the Fort Worth audience early in the competition, as many remember him as a prize-winner in the inaugural Cliburn Junior Competition in 2015. His playing has been described as joyful and full of charisma.

Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni has received a warm and generous response from the crowds each time he's taken the stage, and he's naturally attracted worldwide media attention.

Of four South Korean semifinalists, only Yunchan Lim — described as a "powerhouse" virtuoso — made it through.

Russian Anna Geniushene is the only remaining woman in the competition. She was the final contestant to play in the semifinal round before the nine-member jury of internationally famous pianists voted, using a simple "yes-no-maybe" ballot.

Lim and Geniushene represent both the youngest (18) and the oldest (31) pianists in the competition.

In his powerful and timely opening remarks onstage, Cliburn board chairman Jeff King underscored the power of music to transcend geopolitics.

"You have affirmed that we all have more in common than not, that we are all brothers and sisters together, and that we all share the same dreams," he told the competitors. "Van Cliburn said, 'If you hold on to the beauty and inspiration and the clarity that is music, you will have an anchor and you will not be swayed ...' Thank you for being who you are all that you do as you bring the healing energy that is music to our world."

On to the finals
The final round will run June 14-18 at Bass Hall. All six finalists perform two concertos, to be selected from two separate lists, with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Alsop, conductor. Click on the contestants' names in the bulleted list, above, to find out what each is playing in the next round.

The final round performance schedule will be announced on Monday, June 13. (Note that there are no competition performances on that day.)

Winners will be announced at the conclusion of play, about 7 pm Saturday, June 18.

Besides receiving cash prizes, the gold, silver, and bronze medalists all will receive "a comprehensive and personalized career management package, to include three years of concert bookings, artistic planning mentorship, traditional and social media training, logistics support, and tax and financial planning guidance, as well as commercial recording releases and a complete promotional package," the Cliburn says. The winner will get a global career launch, including management around the world.

Tickets to the final round and and awards ceremony are available here, and each performance will be webcast for free; the public also can vote for the Audience Award-winner online.

Also during finals week, a number of free Cliburn "festival" events will take place around Bass Hall. They include a jury symposium, a screening of the Alsop biopic documentary Conductor, and "Piano Lunches" featuring contestants who were eliminated in previous rounds.

If you're planning to head to the competition, here are nine pro tips to make the most of the experience.

Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni has advanced to the finals.

Photo courtesy of The Cliburn

Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni has advanced to the finals.

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Ancient Sculpture News

Fort Worth museum one of only 3 in U.S. to get rare sculpture exhibit

Lorenzo di Masi/Torlonia Collection

The Torlonia Nile

A major exhibition of ancient Roman masterworks is coming to the U.S. for the first time to be viewed at only three museums — including the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.

Called Myth and Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection, it's an assemblage of works stewarded by the Torlonia Family beginning in the early-19th century, and will be installed at the Kimbell from September 14, 2025 – January 25, 2026.

As part of the Foundation’s mission to showcase these historical works to the public, the exhibition will premiere at the Art Institute of Chicago on March 15 through June 29, before traveling to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. Its third stop will be at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, from March 14 - July 19, 2026.

The Torlonia Collection was established during the course of the 19th century by the Franco-Italian banker Prince Giovanni Torlonia and his son Alessandro, then handed down over generations, eventually growing into the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.

Today, the Torlonia Foundation represents the culmination of the Family’s continued passion for art. Created at the behest of Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1925–2017), the Foundation’s mission is to preserve and promote the Torlonia Collection and Villa Albani Torlonia.

In 1876, Prince Alessandro Torlonia (1800-1886) created a museum to house and exhibit the Family’s holdings, which was open to small groups until its closure at the onset of World War II. The sculptures remained unseen by the public from that time until the Foundation’s first exhibition at the Musei Capitolini in Rome in 2020. That was followed by a stint at the Louvre, the first presentation of the collection outside of Rome, where it has drawn more than 600,000 visitors to date, an unprecedented feat.

The exhibit
The curators of Myth & Marble: Ancient Roman Sculpture from the Torlonia Collection are Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff of the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition is co-organized by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, in collaboration with the Kimbell Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and The Museum Box. All of the sculptures in the exhibition have been restored by the Foundation with the support of Bvlgari.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue co-published by the Art Institute of Chicago and the Torlonia Foundation, edited by Lisa Ayla Çakmak and Katharine A. Raff, with essays by Silvia Beltrametti and Salvatore Settis.

The North American presentation will feature 58 highlights from the Torlonia Collection, including 24 newly restored works that have not been on view in nearly a century. The sculptures date from approximately the 5th century BCE to the early 4th century CE, with the majority of the works dating to the High Imperial period (1st–2nd centuries CE). Highlights include examples of the most emblematic genres of ancient marble sculpture, acquired by the Torlonia Family from the most prominent collections of Rome’s patrician families, as well as from excavations made on the Family’s own estates throughout Italy.

“The Foundation is excited to be sharing the Torlonia Collection with audiences in North America for the first time. This exceptional group of ancient sculptures is a testament to the enduring cultural legacy of ancient Rome, as well as the vision and passion of multiple generations of the Torlonia Family,” said Alessandro Poma Murialdo, President of the Torlonia Foundation.

The presentation is organized thematically in six sections, featuring sculptures found on the Torlonia Family’s properties in Rome and the surrounding suburbs and their estate in Porto, Portugal, as well as a number of exceptional sarcophagi (stone coffins), among the largest sculpted works in marble to survive from ancient Rome.

The tour reinforces the work of the Foundation to advance the appreciation and understanding of this unparalleled collection and the rich cultural heritage it represents. The Foundation’s mission is carried out through a continuous joint effort between the public and private sectors, including with the cooperation of the Italian Ministry of Culture. The Foundation is supported by a longstanding collaboration with Bvlgari as the principal sponsor of the restoration project since its inception in Rome and throughout the global tour, and Chiomenti, who has lent invaluable support to the Foundation’s core activities.

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