Auditions for the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition were March 6-12. Over 70 pianists from around the world competed for a spot in the competition, which will be June 2-18.
For the first time in the competition’s 60-year history, all of the screening auditions were in Fort Worth.
Pianist Sergey Tanin, 26, plays at the PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU on March 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni, 28, bows before performing at the PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU on March 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Pianist Dmytro Choni, 28, plays intensely at the PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU on March 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Dmytro Choni poses outside after his audition at PepsiCo Recital Hall on the TCU Campus. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Pianist Sergey Tanin, 26, plays piano at the PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU on March 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Sergey Tanin, 26, bows before leaving the stage at the PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU on March 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Philipp Scheucher, 29, auditions for the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition on March 8. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
A screen outside the PepsiCo Recital Hall shows pianist Changyong Shin, 28, playing. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Yutong Sun, 26, plays piano at auditions for the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition on March 10. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
So Hyang In, 30, plays a soft note at the PepsiCo Recital Hall on March 10. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Pianist So Hyang In, 30, plays piano in front of a crowd and jury on March 10. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
So Hyang In, 30, walks off stage after her performance. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report) 
Pianist So Hyang In, 30, was one of 12 pianist who performed at the PepsiCo Recital Hall at TCU on March 10. (Cristian ArguetaSoto | Fort Worth Report)
Seventy-two pianists were chosen to audition out of a pool of 388 applications. Each of the 72 performers played in front of a crowd and an expert jury consisting of Angela Cheng from Canada, Arnaldo Cohen from Brazil, Christopher Elton from the United Kingdom, Alexander Kobrin from the United States and Anton Nel who is originally from South Africa, but lives in Austin now.
The 30 pianists who advance from the screening auditions will compete in front of a larger jury. After the preliminary round the field will be narrowed to 18 then 12 with only 6 pianists advancing to the final round. The winners will receive $100,000 for gold, $50,000 for silver and $25,000 for bronze.
The three pianists who medal will also receive three years of career management through the Cliburn.
Cristian ArguetaSoto is the community engagement journalist at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him by email or via Twitter. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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