The Thirteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gets underway Friday, May 22, and Eastman School of Music student Zhang Zuo will be taking the stage of Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth as one of the competitors. The preliminary rounds, in which each pianist will perform a 50-minute solo recital, are held from 1 to 4 p.m. and from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m., Central Daylight Time, each day through Tuesday, May 26.
Zuo is scheduled to present her preliminary round recital at 9:40 p.m. (Central time) on Saturday, May 23.
Cliburn enthusiasts who can’t travel to Texas can still follow the competition in real time in a webcast that will be available at www.cliburn.tv . Performances will be streamed live and then archived for “on-demand” viewing. The order of the competitors for the preliminary rounds will be posted on the website on Thursday, May 21.
For her preliminary recital, Zuo will be performing Haydn’s Sonata in G major; Robert Schumann’s Variations on the Name “Abegg;” Chopin’s Etude No. 7; Stravinsky’s Etude No. 4; and Liszt’s Sonata in B minor. A rising senior at the Eastman School who studies with Nelita True, Zuo has been practicing between eight and 10 hours a day in preparation for the competition.
Following the completion of the preliminary round, 12 musicians will be selected to advance to the semifinal round May 28 to 31. Six will advance to the final round June 3 to 7. All six finalists receive a prize package offering cash awards and three years of managed concert tours. The top three winners, who will be announced at the awards ceremony on June 7, receive additional cash awards, medals, and a CD recording opportunity.
Twenty-nine pianists, 14 women and 15 men, will be starting in the competition instead of the previously announced 30; one of the pianists has withdrawn due to a hand injury.
Zuo, 20, a Liberace Scholar at Eastman, had to pass an extensive screening process in order to be selected for the Van Cliburn Competition, a quadrennial event that is one of the most prestigious in the world. She was one of 225 pianists worldwide who submitted written applications, from which just over 150 applicants were selected to participate in screening audition recitals. Zuo auditioned live in New York City in February and was announced as one of the competitors at the beginning of March.
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