Meet the 2022 Van Cliburn competitors
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Van Cliburn Competition 2022
Everything you need to know about who’s competing and when, how to watch and how to get tickets
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A record-breaking 388 pianists applied for the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. This June, 30 of the best pianists from around the world will come to Fort Worth to compete for gold.
They hail from 14 countries and range in age from 18 to 31 years old.
“We’re looking for unique voices, and you can have different people to have their unique perspective,” said Jacques Marquis, CEO of the Cliburn.
An initial screening panel of five world-renowned pianists reviewed the 388 applications, recommending 142 pianists to move forward. From those, the screening jury selected 72 to be invited to Fort Worth for live auditions from March 6 to 12. That five-member jury then chose the 30 competitors.
“After the audition, we just met and had some fun time together,” said Ukranian finalist Dmytro Choni. “The atmosphere has been very friendly and I hope it will be the same during the competition in June.”
Want to know what the relationship is like between different competitors? Here’s how 2017 winner Daniel Hsu describes it.
“Most of the competitors are friendly,” Hsu said. “I would also say that everybody’s there to be at their best and to deliver.”
Here are the 2022 competitors.
Tianxu An, China, 23
Tianxu An, from Baoding, near Beijing, won fourth prize and a special prize for “courage and restraint” in the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, the highest award for a Chinese pianist at that contest in 17 years.
Yangrui Cai, China, 21
Yangrui Cai is a third-year undergraduate student at Oberlin Conservatory, under the tutelage of 2001 Cliburn gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch.
Albert Cano Smit, Spain/Netherlands, 25
Albert Cano Smit won first prizes at the 2019 Young Concert Artists International Auditions and the 2017 Walter W. Naumburg Piano Competition, the latter of which earned him a Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall. He was also awarded the Arthur Rubinstein Piano Prize from The Juilliard School in 2020.
Dmytro Choni, Ukraine, 28
Dmytro Choni’s debut album was released by Naxos in 2020. It received a “Supersonic Award” from Pizzicato magazine and was highly acclaimed by international critics, one raving he “could be one of the 21st century’s most outstanding pianists.”
Federico Gad Crema, Italy, 23
Milan-born Federico Gad Crema has already performed at some of the most prestigious halls in the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Teatro alla Scala and Sala Verdi in Milan, and Teatro Castro Alves in Salvador, Brazil.
Anna Geniushene, Russia, 31
During the pandemic, Anna Geniushene’s pension for creativity manifested in online projects, such as a series of online recitals for the Vancouver Chopin Society, participation in the “Armchairs Season” of the Moscow Philharmonic, and recording sessions for the ConSpirito music channel on YouTube. Her debut CD was released on LINN Records in March 2020.
Francesco Granata, Italy, 23
Milan native Francesco Granata studied under two distinguished Cliburn laureates: Benedetto Lupo at the St. Cecilia Academy in Rome, where he obtained the Master Course Diploma, and Roberto Plano at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.
Arseniy Gusev, Russia, 23
Arseniy Gusev has performed in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Slovakia, Germany and the United States, and his compositions have been heard in Mariinsky Theater, Carnegie Hall, Konzerthaus Dortmund, St. Petersburg Philharmonic and other major venues.
Masaya Kamei, Japan, 20
A native of Aichi, Japan, Masaya Kamei was the first to be accepted to the Toho Gakuen College Music Department a year early. And he was the first to win both of Japan’s largest national competitions, the Music Competition of Japan Piano Division and the PTNA Piano Competition Special Grade, in a single year.
Uladzislau Khandohi, Belarus, 20
In 2013, Uladzislau Khandohi entered the Republican Music College of the Belarusian State Academy of Music, after which he became a laureate of many international competitions, including first-prize wins at Kazakhstan’s International Astana Piano Passion Competition; International Nutcracker Television Contest; and International Sviridov Competition.
Honggi Kim, South Korea, 30
Honggi Kim has been awarded prizes at numerous international competitions, including Geneva, China International, Isang Yun (Korea), Jaén (Spain), and Géza Anda (Switzerland).
Elizaveta Kliuchereva, Russia, 23
Elizaveta Kliuchereva has studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, and the Accademia Internazionale di Imola “Incontri col Maestro” with Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Arie Vardi, and Boris Petrushansky, respectively.
Shuan Hern Lee, Australia, 19
Shuan Hern Lee performed at Carnegie Hall at the age of 7. At the 2019 Cliburn Junior, he became the first Australian ever to win a Cliburn competition. He also made an appearance on “Australia’s Got Talent.”
Andrew Li, United States, 22
Andrew Li is a winner of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition and the Harvard Music Association Achievement Awards, as well as a prizewinner at international competitions, such as the Cooper International Piano Competition, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition.
Yunchan Lim, South Korea, 18
Yunchan Lim won second prize and the Chopin Special Award in his first-ever competition, the Cleveland International Piano Competition for Young Artists in 2018. That same year, he was the youngest participant in the Cooper International Competition, where he won the third prize and the audience prize, which provided the opportunity for him to perform with the Cleveland Orchestra. At the age of 15, he was the youngest to win Korea’s lsangYun International Competition.
Denis Linnik, Belarus, 26
Denis Linnik has won awards at several major piano international competitions, such as the Città di Cantù International Piano and Orchestra Competition, International Horowitz Competition, and Orpheus Chamber Music Competition. His debut CD was released by the KNS Classical label in 2022.
Kate Liu, United States, 28
Kate Liu has performed at the Seoul Arts Center, Shanghai Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, The Kennedy Center and Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and Warsaw Philharmonic Hall.
Ziyu Liu, China, 24
Ziyu Liu entered the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing at the age of 12. He moved to Germany in 2015 to study at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hanover with Ewa Kupiec, where he remains today under the tutelage of Arie Vardi.
Jonathan Mak, Canada, 25
Jonathan Mak’s accomplishments include first prize at the 2009 Manchester International Concerto Competition for Young Pianists; the 2013 Jean Lumb Foundation Kotcheff Family Arts Award; and the 2021 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award. In the fall, he will begin doctoral studies at Rice University with Jon Kimura Parker.
Georgijs Osokins, Latvia, 27
Georgjis Osokins has performed around the world with numerous orchestras including Taiwan Philharmonic, Kremerata Baltica, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and Tokyo New City Orchestra. He won first prizes at the International Moscow F. Chopin, Scriabin International Competition in Paris, and Manhattan International Music Competition.
Jinhyung Park, South Korea, 26
Jinhyung Park’s concert schedule has taken him around the world, with engagements across Korea, as well as recitals in Prague, Bratislava and Paris, and concertos with the Slovakia Symphony Orchestra, RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Gyonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, Gwacheon Philharmonic Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra, and Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra.
Changyong Shin, South Korea, 28
Changyong Shin has released three professional recordings; his debut CD was named one of the “Best New Recordings of 2018” by WQXR, and subsequent albums received rave reviews from ClassicsToday and Pizzicato magazines.
Ilya Shmukler, Russia, 27
Ilya Shmukler performed his first recital at age 12 and made his orchestral debut at 14. He has since made solo appearances in Europe and North America, and has performed with the Mariinsky Theatre, Sendai Philharmonic, Bayer Symphoniker, Tambov Symphonic, and New Music Orchestras, among others.
Vitaly Starikov, Russia, 27
Vitaly Starikov has won top prizes at nine international competitions, including fifth prize at the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition.
Clayton Stephenson, United States, 23
Clayton Stephenson has performed as a guest artist with orchestras including the Calgary Philharmonic, Chicago Sinfonietta, Louisville Symphony, Augusta Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony, Midwest Young Artists Symphony, Colour of Music Festival, Tuscaloosa Symphony, and Huxford Symphony Orchestras. On the 69th U.N. Day, he played with the International Youth Orchestra at the United Nations General Assembly Hall.
Yutong Sun, China, 26
Yutong Sun, a native of Tianjin, China, is currently studying with Alexander Korsantia and Dang Thai Son at the New England Conservatory. He has gained international recognition by winning prizes at prestigious competitions, including placing in three in Spain: Santander (second), Canals (third) and Jaén (first). He returns to Fort Worth this year after competing in the 2017 Cliburn Competition.
Marcel Tadokoro, France/Japan, 28
Marcel is a prizewinner of competitions in France, Russia, Germany, Panama, Austria and Japan, and last year made strong appearances in both the Queen Elisabeth (semifinalist) and Montreal (finalist) competitions.
Sergey Tanin, Russia, 26
Sergey Tanin first gained international recognition in 2018 at the Géza Anda Competition in Switzerland (third prize and audience award), which he followed in 2020 by winning the Kissinger KlavierOlymp in Germany. In 2020, the Swiss Television (SRF) released a documentary about him, entitled “The Pianist Who Came in from the Cold.”
Yuki Yoshimi, Japan, 22
Tokyo native Yuki Yoshimi won first prize in the 86th Music Competition of Japan, becoming the youngest winner at the age of 17. Two years later, he won silver at the Manhattan International Music Competition and just last year made the semifinals of the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition.
Xiaolu Zang, China, 22
Xiaolu Zang has done well at international contests, including winning first prize at the Verona and Mayenne (France) Competitions, and strong showings at the Busoni, Leeds, Queen Elisabeth, and Hamamatsu Competitions. He performed numerous concerts in China, Germany, Japan, Austria, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Dubai. His strong interest in collaboration led to his work with the Staatsballett Hannover in 2020, playing both of Chopin’s piano concertos with the Staatsorchester Hannover in its special production about the life of choreographer Nijinsky.
