January 12, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Maggie Estes, Director of Marketing and
Public Relations, 817.738.6536 (o), 817.739.0459 (c)
Nikki Scandalios, National Publicist,
704.340.4094
Fort Worth, Texas, January 12, 2012-The
Van Cliburn Foundation is embarking on a yearlong
celebration of its 50th Anniversary, honoring a half-century of
showcasing extraordinary talent and promoting excellence in
classical music worldwide. It will present events designed to
exhibit the extent of its core programs and to pay tribute to the
Cliburn's steadfast patrons, volunteers, and longstanding partners.
Those activities, detailed below, include special concerts, an
entirely redesigned Web site and digital archive, a festive gala, a
retrospective documentary airing on PBS, and a commemorative
book.
The First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition began
September 24, 1962, in Fort Worth, Texas, at TCU's Ed Landreth
Auditorium. Since then, the Foundation has expanded to include
comprehensive programming to encourage the love of music and music
making across generations, skill levels, and borders. While the
quadrennial Cliburn Competition and the ensuing 3-year concert
tours of its winners remain the most visible expression of
the Foundation's commitment to the highest artistic achievement,
they are complimented by: the Cliburn Concerts series, bringing the
world's leading classical musicians to North Texas; the
International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™, a
quadrennial festival for non-professional musicians; and
Musical Awakenings®, the Cliburn's signature music
education program.
Interim President and CEO Alann Bedford Sampson said: "The
milestone of these first 50 years is testament to the enduring
value of the music explored and performed by Cliburn laureates and
artists. Our celebration honors Van Cliburn, who inspired the
founding of this endeavor, and pays tribute to the patrons,
volunteers, and partners who have made this possible; we embrace
the future with certainty and excitement."
Pianist Van Cliburn said: "Looking back at the tremendous talent
that has been discovered and encouraged under these auspices, I am
humbled to think of the music making that is yet to come. The great
beauty of this Art inspires the world. And our profound gratitude
rests with the kind and knowledgeable individuals who have labored
so tirelessly for this cause, which is the ultimate manifestation
of their own deep love for and devotion to Classical Music."
50th Anniversary activities in 2012 will include:
January 25 An evening of Cliburn Competition
Commissioned Works
Featuring Yeol eum Son, 2009 Silver
Medalist
Hosted by Shields-Collins Bray
Horchow Auditorium, Dallas Museum of Art at 7:30 p.m.
Admission: free, no tickets required
March Launch of new Cliburn Web site and Digital
Archives
March 3 Gala Celebration
Water Gardens Plaza, Fort Worth Convention Center at 7 p.m.
Chaired by Tina Harrison Gorski, Whitney Hyder More, and Martha
Schutts Williams
April 28 Amateur Competition Winners
Concert
Featuring Christopher Shih (2011), Drew Mays (2007), Michael
Hawley (2002)
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth at 2 p.m.
Admission: free, no tickets required
September 6 Gold Medalists
Concert
Featuring four Cliburn gold medalists (to be announced March
2012)
With the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Conductor
Bass Performance Hall at 7:30 p.m.
Fall (date TBD) PBS National Broadcast
Retrospective documentary of the Competition
Directed by Peter Rosen
December 50th Anniversary Commemorative Book
Publication
Written by Richard Dyer
Full press releases will be sent on each of these projects
as details are available.
Since 1962, the Cliburn has produced 13 international piano
competitions; over 40 commercial audio recordings of selected
competition performances; 9 full-length documentaries chronicling
the competitions since 1977, and 2 six-part series, Concerto
with James Conlon in 2001, and Encore! With James
Conlon in 2005; scores of national radio broadcasts of the
competitions since 1985; 4 Internet broadcasts of the competitions
since 1997; 10 commissioned pieces by American composers for the
first 10 competitions, and competitions for new works for the 2001,
2005, and 2009 Competitions, awarding 13 American composers; 81
finalists, including 40 medalists, who gave approximately 4,000
Cliburn-arranged performances following their wins; 6 International
Piano Competitions for Outstanding Amateurs; 1 live Internet
broadcast of the Amateur Competition in 2011; 35 years of Cliburn
Concerts, featuring national and international artists with over
325 performance since 1976; and annual educational outreach
programs, notably Musical Awakenings since 2001.
ABOUT THE VAN CLIBURN FOUNDATION
The Van Cliburn Foundation disseminates classical music
worldwide, and nurtures and launches young artists' careers through
the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the
ensuing three-year international concert tours of its medalists,
award-winning documentaries, radio broadcasts, and a live webcast
that extends its outreach to listeners around the world. In 2009,
over 2,857,573 total streams were delivered to viewers from 157
countries/territories.
The Fourteenth Van Cliburn International Piano
Competition will take place May 24-June 9, 2013, at Fort
Worth's Bass Performance Hall and will welcome 30 of the world's
finest young pianists to Texas. Continuing its longstanding
commitment to new music, the Cliburn has selected composer
Christopher Theofanidis to write the commissioned work that will be
performed by all competitors during the Semifinal Round.
Additionally, the Competition has been dedicated to showcasing both
the extraordinary talent of its competitors in recital performance
as well as their ability to collaborate with other musicians. The
Fourteenth Competition will mark the first Cliburn appearance by
the world-renowned Brentano String Quartet performing a piano
quintet with each of the 12 semifinalists. The Fort Worth Symphony
Orchestra, which has appeared at
every Cliburn Competition, will
perform two concerti with each of the six finalists, under the
baton of Maestro Leonard Slatkin for the first time. Maestro John
Giordano will serve as chairman of the jury for his eleventh
Competition since assuming the post in 1973.
For audiences in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, the Van
Cliburn Foundation promotes great music and world-class artists
through the annual Cliburn Concerts series. It reaches 33,000
elementary school students annually with the education programs of
Musical Awakenings. In 1999, it established the
International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs, which
The Boston Globe proclaimed "a celebration of music, and
the people who have to make music, no matter what." The sixth
Amateur Competition was held May 23-29, 2011, at Ed Landreth
Auditorium on the campus of TCU.
Visit Cliburn.org to learn more about the Cliburn during its
50th Anniversary year in 2012.
Official Sponsors of the Van Cliburn Foundation
are:
American Airlines
Amon G. Carter Foundation
Ann L. & Carol Green Rhodes Charitable Trust, Bank of
America, Trustee
Arts Council of Fort Worth & Tarrant County
Crystelle Waggoner Charitable Trust, Bank of America,
Trustee
ExxonMobil
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
Sid W. Richardson Foundation
The Burnett Foundation
The Pangburn Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, N.A., Trustee
XTO Energy
Exclusive Print Media Sponsor
Star-Telegram
Exclusive Radio Station
WRR 101.1 FM
