Countdown to the Cliburn
The 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition kicks off in Fort Worth May 21 to June 7. The Fort Worth Report will provide in-depth coverage of the competition. Follow the score .
Only two women have won gold at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. This year, four women strive to add their names to that list.
Competitors , , and will take the stage during the preliminaries May 21-23, each performing a 40-minute recital. Anastasia Vorotnaya was also slated to compete, but she due to health concerns.
The women鈥檚 performances will include four to six minutes of commissioned work by composer Gabriela Montero, according to the Cliburn鈥檚 . Montero is also one of five women serving on this year鈥檚 jury.
The last woman to secure the gold was Olga Kern in 2001, who won jointly with Stanislav Ioudenitch 鈥� more than 30 years after Cristina Ortiz won in 1969.
The most recent female finalist was Anna Geniushene, who won silver in 2022. She became the competition鈥檚 at age 31.
Maggie Estes, director of communications and digital content for the Cliburn, said it was powerful seeing Geniushene 鈥� who was seven months pregnant 鈥� beside conductor for her Beethoven concerto in the final round.
鈥淔or me,鈥� she said, 鈥渢hat moment of her walking on stage 鈥� a strong female conductor and a strong female finalist on stage together 鈥� it was very emotional.鈥�
Among others to take home the silver were in 2005, in 2009 and in 2013.
鈥淭here鈥檚 been quite a lot of really, really strong women who鈥檝e launched careers off of the Cliburn,鈥� Estes said, 鈥渁nd with very different personalities and styles, which is fun.鈥�
Cliburn President and CEO Jacques Marquis said Kern is a notable gold medalist not just for her 2001 win, but also for how she exemplifies Van Cliburn鈥檚 mission to make classical music accessible to audiences.
鈥淚f you do the tour, after a concert with Olga,鈥� he said, 鈥測ou stay there for an hour talking to everybody. 鈥� She was very, very generous and genuine about sharing music with (the) audience, and she鈥檚 still like that.鈥�
Estes said Kern and Van Cliburn had a strong personal bond before his death in 2013. The documentary 鈥淧laying on the Edge,鈥� which followed participants throughout the 2001 competition, showed Kern and Cliburn embracing after she passed the semifinals and again onstage as she accepted her trophy.
鈥淪he loved Van Cliburn, too, and Van loved her,鈥� Estes said. 鈥淭hey had a very special relationship.鈥�
Female conductor at the Cliburn
Alsop, the first woman to head major orchestras in the United States, Great Britain, Austria and South America, is returning this year to lead the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra during the final round June 3-7. She became the first woman to conduct a final round at the Cliburn while serving as jury chair in 2022.
Marquis said Alsop had captured their attention. Sandra Doan, director of artistic planning, and Marquis then went to Baltimore to meet her.
Alsop said in an email that Marquis recognized her dedication to supporting up-and-coming musicians.
鈥淗e knew of my passion for working with young artists and my history at the in Brussels,鈥� she said.
She conducted the National Orchestra of Belgium at the Queen Elisabeth Competition finals in 2016. The contest highlights pianists, singers, violinists and cellists.
Women make up small percentage of competitors
According to numbers provided by the Cliburn, women accounted for 89 of the 340 applicants for this year鈥檚 competition. Previous years show similar numbers 鈥� 110 of the 388 applicants in 2022 were women, as were 88 of the 290 applicants in 2017.
Marquis said the smaller percentage of female competitors than men is typical in the world of classical piano. He said women typically make up around 25%-35% of Cliburn applicants while other disciplines, particularly violin and voice, favor women.
Fiona Sinclair, CEO of the Leeds International Piano Competition in the United Kingdom, this topic on her competition鈥檚 website last year. She said her team started gathering data in 2021 to examine a gender gap in the Leeds tournament鈥檚 winners. They found that men won 82% of 40 recent major piano competitions at the time, despite UK numbers showing parity in early piano education and conservatory graduation rates. She said women won 75% of violin tournaments. It is uncertain whether these numbers are UK-centric or international in scope.
Sinclair argued that unequal opportunity and cultivation are significant factors in women not pursuing piano.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e failing to distribute these (opportunities) equitably,鈥� she wrote, 鈥渋t can have a huge impact over the lifetime of a career and may explain why less than 23% of career pianists are women.鈥�
Marquis said the Cliburn avoids bias by carefully selecting jurors and said he works to ensure the regular and screening juries are balanced. This year鈥檚 jury has five women and four men.
鈥淭he jury members, they don鈥檛 talk to them (the competitors), they don鈥檛 know them, (so) then it鈥檚 all about the playing,鈥� he said.
What matters most is the music and the competitors鈥� artistry, Marquis added.
鈥淲e take the best of the best,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd that鈥檚 it.鈥�
Erin Ratigan is a freelance journalist and writer specializing in narrative news features. You can find her on X @erinratigan.
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