A black-tie soiree on a Monday night in Fort Worth could only mean one thing: It's Cliburn time.

Hundreds of community leaders and arts patrons welcomed the 28 competitors in the Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition to Fort Worth at a formal Opening Dinner & Draw Party on Monday, May 19 at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel.

The event underscored the Cliburn's rich cultural heritage in the city, celebrated the young pianists charting their musical futures, and - most importantly - determined the order of play for the competition, which begins May 21.

Decked out in dapper tuxes and elegant evening gowns, guests mingled at a cocktail reception in the foyer.

Competitors politely shook hands with well-wishers and some congregated as friends. Though they hail from hometowns around the globe - from Russia and China to Canada and California - many of these top emerging pianists know each other from a very elite international "competition circuit" to which the Cliburn belongs. (One pianist, it would be announced later, was just 48 hours removed from winning a competition in Dublin, Ireland.)

Rozanne and Billy Rosenthal pay special tribute to longtime Cliburn supporter Roz Rosenthal, who died in 2024 at age 99.Photo by Brandon Wade

During a dinner of seared beef tenderloin and black and white "piano layer" mousse cake, Cliburn president and CEO Jacques Marquis and chairman of the board Jeffrey B. King welcomed guests and introduced members of the competition jury. Honorary Opening Dinner chairmen Rozanne and Billy Rosenthal paid a special tribute to late, longtime Cliburn supporter (and dear friend of Van Cliburn), Roz Rosenthal.

In his insightful and humorous remarks, 1962 Cliburn Competition gold medalist Ralph Votapek encouraged the competitors to enjoy playing for the enthusiastic Fort Worth audience - but not to attend too many parties.

Then it was time for the featured event of the evening - the draw for the order of play in the preliminary round. Giant LED screens projected a blank schedule with 28 slots for 45-minute recitals, May 21-23. (The field had narrowed from the originally-announced 30 contenders to 28 after two withdrew for health reasons.)

A giant LED screen on the wall filled in as each time slot was chosen.Photo by Ralph Lauer

Votapek drew competitor names out of a chalice, Marquis read them out from the stage, and each pianist came forward to choose their time of play while the Cliburn's Buddy Bray read highlights of their bios to the audience.

Like a gameboard, the projected schedule filled in, time slot by time slot, from the middle of the schedule out to the ends. A shock came when 18-year-old Xuanxiang Wu of China, the youngest pianist in the competition, chose the very first performance - 10:05 am Wednesday. (Typically no one wants to go first.) As Marquis pointed out, he'll get to make the world premiere of the competition's commissioned work by composer and jury member Gabriela Montero.

When all the competitors had chosen their times, the party broke up quickly. It was, after all, just the first big event of the marathon competition to come. The Cliburn runs May 21-June 7 at Van Cliburn Concert Hall at TCU and Bass Performance Hall.

Angel Stanislav Wang, 22, of the United States makes his selection.Photo by Ralph Lauer

The performance schedule for the preliminary rounds (May 21-23 at TCU) is as follows:

Wednesday, May 21

Preliminary Recital 1
10:05 a.m. – Xuanxiang Wu, China, 18
10:50 a.m. – Shangru Du, China, 27
20-minute intermission
11:50 a.m. – Xiaofu Ju, China, 25

Preliminary Recital 2
2:35 p.m. – Ryota Yamazaki, Japan, 26
3:20 p.m. – Federico Gad Crema, Italy, 26
20-minute intermission
4:20 p.m. – Carter Johnson, Canada/United States, 28
5:05 p.m. – David Khrikuli, Georgia, 24

Preliminary Recital 3
7:35 p.m. – Aristo Sham, Hong Kong, China, 29
8:20 p.m. – Angel Stanislav Wang, United States, 22
20-minute intermission
9:20 p.m. – Philipp Lynov, Russia, 26

Thursday, May 22

Preliminary Recital 4
10:05 a.m. – Jonas Aumiller, Germany, 26
10:50 a.m. – Magdalene Ho, Malaysia, 21
20-minute intermission
11:50 a.m. – Roman Fediurko, Ukraine, 20

Preliminary Recital 5
2:35 p.m. – Mikhail Kambarov, Russia, 24
3:20 p.m. – Callum McLachlan, United Kingdom, 26
20-minute intermission
4:20 p.m. – Jiarui Cheng, China, 26
5:05 p.m. – Piotr Alexewicz, Poland, 25

Preliminary Recital 6
7:35 p.m. – Alice Burla, Canada, 28
8:20 p.m. – Yanjun Chen, China, 23
20-minute intermission
9:20 p.m. – Jonathan Mamora, United States, 30

Friday, May 23

Preliminary Recital 7
10:05 a.m. – Evren Ozel, United States, 26
10:50 a.m. – Sung Ho Yoo, South Korea, 28
20-minute intermission
11:50 a.m. – Chaeyoung Park, South Korea, 27

Preliminary Recital 8
2:35 p.m. – Pedro López Salas, Spain, 27
3:20 p.m. – Kotaro Shigemori, Japan, 25
20-minute intermission
4:20 p.m. – Elia Cecino, Italy, 23

Preliminary Recital 9
7:35 p.m. – Yangrui Cai, China, 24
8:20 p.m. – Vitaly Starikov, Israel/Russia, 30

For tickets, visit the Cliburn website. The entire competition will be webcast live and available on-demand at cliburn.org, YouTube @TheCliburn, WFAA+, and more; visit the Cliburn site for more information.

  

Photo by Ralph Lauer

Competitor Alice Burla, 28, of Canada walks to the stage to select the time she'll play.