Van Cliburn Piano Competition sees first Hong Kong winner; American takes bronze

A 29-year-old from Hong Kong became the first pianist from there to take home the top prize Saturday night in the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Throughout the competition, Aristo Sham played hours of music from Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninov and others. But in the end, it was a pair of concertos, one Brahms and the other Mendelssohn, that brought him to the Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal.

The competition’s silver medal went to 30-year-old Israeli-Russian Vitaly Starikov, and the bronze was awarded to an American, 26-year-old Minneapolis native Evren Ozel.

In addition to the championship, Sham was awarded the competition’s publicly voted audience award. Along with the $100,000 cash prize, Sham will receive three years of individualized career management, including U.S. and international concert tours, and will also record a live album.

Sham’s win was “neither surprise nor not a surprise” to him, he said. “I just focus on my stuff and trying to be the best that I can.”

“The hard work starts here,” Sham said. “I always said to my friends, it was like there was this life before June 7, 2025, and life after. So, now’s life after.”

When asked to choose a favorite pianist, Sham’s answer came quickly: “I’m going to attempt to avoid this question.”

Sham began playing piano at the age of 3 and competing at the age of 10, according to his bio on the Cliburn’s website. Previously, he’s taken first prize at three international competitions, including Germany’s Ettlingen, Utah’s Gina Bachauer and the Monte Carlo Music Masters. He earned a dual degree from the Harvard School of Music and the New England Conservatory, and has studied at Sweden’s Ingesund School and the Julliard School.

The 2025 Cliburn competition started on May 21 with 28 competitors from 16 countries, including Russia, Spain, Italy, China, Malaysia and Poland. The 28 competitors were chosen from an initial pool of 340 applicants from 45 countries.

Six were chosen to proceed to the competition’s intense final round: Carter Johnson, Philipp Lynov, Evren Ozel, Aristo Sham, Vitaly Starikov, and Angel Stanislav Wang. Each pianist performed two concertos, roughly an hour of music each, in the final.

Over the course of the competition, each contestant played more than four hours of music, Cliburn CEO Jacques Marquis said. The rigorous performance schedule gives “a good, good idea” of who will be best suited to playing the nearly 300 concerts awarded to the gold medalist, Marquis said.

The silver and bronze medalists will receive three years of career management each, including U.S. concert tours and cash prizes of $50,000 and $25,000. The remaining three finalists will receive $10,000 each.

The competition attracted millions of views worldwide as it live-streamed all rounds on its YouTube channel, Marquis said. The live-streaming was part of an effort to keep classical music accessible to the world.

“I think classical music is strong as long as we keep it accessible to all,” Marquis said. “It’s strong as long as we keep the vision very clear.”

This story was originally published June 7, 2025 at 10:36 PM.

Lillie Davidson

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Lillie Davidson is a breaking news reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She graduated from TCU in 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, is fluent in Spanish, and can complete a crossword in five minutes.