Cliburn Competition

Competition Rules

Rules and Procedures for the Competition

  1. The Competition will consist of three separate rounds: Preliminary, Semifinal, and Final.
  2. The jury will not advance more than 12 pianists to the Semifinal Round, or more than 6 to the Final Round.
  3. The order of appearance of pianists in the Preliminary Round will be determined by a drawing. Random competitor names will be drawn, and they will select their Preliminary Round performance order as their names are drawn. The Competition will follow this order except for reasons of accident, illness, or other unusual circumstances, at the discretion of the president of the Cliburn. Semifinalists will appear in the order they performed in the Preliminary Round. The order of appearance in the Final Round will depend on rehearsal scheduling, program content, and administrative requirements, and may vary from that of the previous rounds.
  4. A selection of Steinway pianos will be provided for the pianists' performances. Time will be assigned to each pianist to choose his or her preferred instrument beginning May 20, 2013. Pianists will be notified of these assigned times.
  5. All rounds of the Competition may be broadcast live or may be recorded and videotaped for subsequent broadcast, video, or audio recording use. It is anticipated that a CD recording of selected Competition performances will be commercially produced, that a documentary of the competition incorporating selected performances will be produced for television and DVD, and that parts or all of the Competition will be made available on the Internet. Camera crews may photograph all Competition events. Neither the Van Cliburn Foundation, Inc. nor its assignees or licensees may be held liable for any payments to pianists arising out of materials derived from Competition performances. Applicants are required to sign a release form yielding all rights on such materials to the Van Cliburn Foundation, Inc., its assignees, or its licensees.
  6. Pianists may not contact or speak with any member of the jury as long as they continue to participate in the Competition. Any violation of this rule may disqualify the pianist.

Rules Relating to Prizes and Engagements

  1. The prizes and awards specified on the Van Cliburn Foundation Web site will constitute the only prizes and awards of the Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. No other prizes, awards, or remuneration will be permitted, except by express decision of the Cabinet of the Van Cliburn Foundation.
  2. Taxes will be deducted from prizes according to U.S. tax laws in effect at the time of the Competition.
  3. The Van Cliburn Foundation is in the process of negotiating a number of major recital and orchestra engagements for the six finalists of the 2013 Competition, to be performed within the three-year period following the Competition. A list of potential engagements forming part of the prizes will be published in the Competition program book in May 2013. Scheduling of these engagements will take into account any prior commitments of the winners, but the winners will be expected to fulfill all prize engagements. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of the winner's claim to prizes, awards, and engagements, at the discretion of the Cabinet of the Foundation. In addition, during the three years of management by the Van Cliburn Foundation, the winners will not accept any engagement without prior consultation with the Foundation.
  4. The First, Second, and Third Prize winners will, if requested, perform a maximum of two recitals without charge for the benefit of the Fifteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, to be held in 2017.