National pride remains a significant factor in global music competitions, as seen in the history of the prestigious Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Despite music’s universal appeal, the spotlight often falls on the country of origin, especially when a victory carries geopolitical significance.
The story of Van Cliburn’s historic gold win at the 1958 inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow remains a prime example. At the height of the Cold War, the 23-year-old Texan’s victory sent shockwaves across the world. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev even embraced him, and Cliburn returned to the U.S. to receive a ticker-tape parade in New York—an honor never before bestowed upon a classical musician in the country.
However, since then, American pianists have yet to win the Cliburn’s top prize in the 21st century, a notable shift in the competition’s landscape.
This year, the gold medal at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held on June 7, went to Aristo Sham, a 29-year-old Chinese pianist born in Hong Kong. Silver was awarded to Vitaly Starikov, 30, a dual citizen of Israel and Russia, while American pianist Evren Ozel, 26, took home the bronze.
The list of previous Cliburn gold medalists this century includes musicians from various countries: Stanislav Ioudenitch (Uzbekistan) in 2001, Olga Kern (Russia) in 2001, Alexander Kobrin (Russia) in 2005, Nobuyuki Tsujii (Japan) and Haochen Zhang (China) in 2009, Vadym Kholodenko (Ukraine) in 2013, Yekwon Sunwoo (South Korea) in 2017, and Yunchan Lim (South Korea) in 2022.
The Van Cliburn competition typically takes place every four years. However, the 2021 event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2022 competition serving as a rescheduled event. This year’s competition returned to its original timeline.
Sham’s musical journey began before birth, with his mother teaching piano in their Hong Kong home. Starting lessons at age 3, he was performing publicly by 10. Sham later attended Harvard University and the New England Conservatory, earning an artist diploma from The Juilliard School. His previous accolades include first prizes at the Ettlingen International Piano Competition, the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition, and the Monte Carlo Music Masters. He has performed as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
At the Cliburn, Sham’s performances impressed the judges. His preliminary round program featured works by J.S. Bach, transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni, and Maurice Ravel. He played Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata during the quarterfinals and Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23, Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1, and Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in the semifinals and finals.
While the Cliburn typically favors traditional repertoire, there were exceptions. In the preliminary round, competitors performed a short, compulsory new piece, Rachtime, by pianist and composer Gabriela Montero.
In the finals, Sham performed a concerto with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop. The competitors selected one concerto from a curated list and another as a free-choice piece.
Sham’s artistic approach is influenced by his broad perspective. “All art is essentially the chemical reaction between the stimuli of the world and the artist, and music is no exception,” Sham says. “I try to take in everything that happens around me and seek out diverse and juxtaposing experiences; I believe this is an integral part of my artistic being, which is the source of my music-making and hopefully reflected in my playing.”
The Cliburn’s popularity continues to grow, with over 60 million views across 177 countries for the 2022 livestreams. This year, 340 pianists from 45 countries applied for the competition, and 28 were selected to compete between May 21 and June 7, vying for fame and a share of the $2 million prize pool.
Other finalists this year included Carter Johnson (Canada/U.S.), Philipp Lynov (Russia), and Angel Stanislav Wang (U.S.). Semifinalists who did not advance included Piotr Alexewicz (Poland), Jonas Aumiller (Germany), Yangrui Cai (China), Elia Cecino (Italy), Yanjun Chen (China), and Chaeyoung Park (South Korea).
The competition saw a dramatic moment in the quarterfinals when Xiaofu Ju, after a long wait at the piano, withdrew due to medical reasons.
In related international piano news, the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels recently crowned Nikola Meeuwsen as the first-prize winner, with Wataru Hisasue and Valère Burnon finishing second and third, respectively.
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