THE CLIBURN JUNIOR IN NUMBERS

10 The closing date is 10 January 2019

Applications for the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition are now open for pianists aged 13-17, and will close on 10 January 2019 – the same date that tickets go on sale. Competitors will be announced on 13 March 2019, with the final round and awards ceremony taking place on 8 June 2019.

26 nations entered the 2015 junior comp

The 160 applications to enter the 2015 Cliburn International Junior Competition came from 26 countries, with 14 nations represented at the finals. Alim Beisembayev, 17, from Kazakhstan took first prize, with Arsenii Mun, 16, from Russia, and 16-year-old Youlan Ji from China scooping second and third prizes. Clayton Stephenson, 16, from the United States, and Tony Yike Yang, 16, from Canada, were honoured with jury discretionary awards.

4 years between each Cliburn competition

While many classical music competitions operate every year, several reinforce their special status by observing a longer gap between editions. Just like the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition takes place every four years. Audience ovations and rave reviews for the first edition in 2015 suggest the wait is very much worthwhile.

24 pianists make the preliminaries

This year’s competition will see 24 entrants, selected by a screening jury, whittled down to six semi-finalists and three finalists. The three Junior Competition finalists in 2019 will receive cash awards worth $15,000 for the first-prize winner, $10,000 for the second and $5,000 for the third, with scholarships, mentoring schemes and other bonuses built into their prize packages.

14 non-competing pianists will attend

In addition to the 24 competition entrants, the

Cliburn will host 14 non-competing pianists for the first time. The extra cohort of young musicians is set to enhance the competition’s festival atmosphere as masterclass and workshop participants, and reach out to audiences with concerts in Dallas.

1m minutes of footage viewed

The Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival provides a remarkable platform for the gifted pianists who enter. Online video footage from 2015’s series of events has resulted in more than 250,000 views to date, totalling in excess of 1.7 million minutes watched by viewers in 170 countries around the world. All performances of the Cliburn Junior will again be webcast live and on demand.