1997 Cliburn finalist Jan Jiracek to play with Symphony Arlington

One of the endearing aspects of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition is the way the event creates lasting relationships with so many of the competitors — even if they don’t leave with a medal.

Take, for instance, Jan Jiracek, a German pianist who was among the six finalists at the 1997 competition, which saw Jon Nakamatsu walk away with the gold. Since that event, where he was a favorite of the Star-Telegram classical music critic and many in the audience, Jiracek has gone on to have a glorious global career and now, in a major turning of the tables, oversees a major international piano competition himself.

But, Jiracek (who goes by Jan Jiracek von Arnim in Europe) has always maintained a warm spot in his heart for Texas, and will be returning for a series of performances with Symphony Arlington, the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra and the Garland Symphony Orchestra beginning Thursday.

We spoke to the pianist from Vienna, where he divides his time between teaching and performing.

Did the Cliburn competition have a major or minor impact on the development of your career?

It was definitely the most important experience in my life. The Cliburn is really the top competition and you get so much exposure from it. Because of the Cliburn, The New York Times wrote about me, for instance. And that’s the most difficult part [about establishing a career], to get known and get people to listen to you.

I was sad that I didn’t win. It would have helped me even more. But I am so thankful for that experience. It taught me that there are some people who really love me, and some people who don’t get me.

Every competition is like a game really. It is extremely difficult to find that one winner.

You perform regularly in music capitals all over the world. But in your performances in North Texas, you will be playing in much smaller cities and venues. How do you feel about playing these dates versus more prestigious gigs in places like London and Paris?

I will never forget a recital I gave in Plainview, Texas, and it was in a sports hall. People told me that it was basically the only classical concert that they had there all year. And there were so many people there and so many kids in the audience.

For me, this gives me way more pleasure than performing in New York in a big hall where they are used to having a recital every other night.

As a musician, you want to connect with your audience. When I find an audience, whether is it in Plainview or New York or Vienna, that is really willing to listen and to feel it together with me, that is the most wonderful thing about being a musician. And it doesn’t matter where you are playing.

At the upcoming DFW-area concerts, you will be performing the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3. What is your relationship with that piece?

This piano concerto is one of the first ones I ever learned because I loved it as a young boy already. And it was one of the concertos I played in the finals of the Cliburn competition in 1997. So this will be the first time I have come back to Texas to play it again.

I am drawn to this concerto because you feel like Beethoven looks for new ways [to expand the form]. There is a big influence of Mozart. But you also feel that Beethoven was really going into a new direction, where he becomes a piano soloist who really takes charge and displays a lot of emotion. I cannot wait to play it again in Texas.

How do you divide your time between performing and teaching?

I think as a musician, we have to pass something on to the next generations. But, I could not live without performing. So I really try to have it like 50-50. This is why I have basically two jobs.

I travel all over the world like crazy, but I love it. I don’t have time to have a family, unfortunately, because every girl says I can’t be with this guy who is traveling all the time. But I am a very happy person, I must say. Because I really love being a musician.

And in addition to teaching and performing, you have begun directing a piano competition of your own.

It’s kind of funny, because after the Van Cliburn competition there was an interview with me in a big German newspaper and the headline was “I Hate Music Competitions.” And now I am in charge of a music competition [Vienna’s International Beethoven Piano Competition] myself.

Have you maintained any ties to Fort Worth and Texas since the Cliburn?

Texas is a really fantastic place. I still have close ties to my host family [from the 1997 Cliburn]. I am an honorary citizen of Fredericksburg, Texas, and I am very proud of it. I feel like part of me wants to be a Texan.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 10:41 AM with the headline "1997 Cliburn finalist Jan Jiracek to play with Symphony Arlington."