Van Cliburn Concert: Cliburn Competition Winners

This event is sold out, but you can still watch the performance online. Join us virtually on April 19 and watch via livestream below.
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We invite you to join us for a unique evening of live music by the winners of the Sixteenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Featuring Gold Medalist Yunchan Lim, Silver Medalist Anna Geniushene, and Bronze Medalist Dmytro Choni, the evening will highlight the artistry, skill, and passion of these three extraordinary musicians as they bring some of the greatest talents of the international stage to Bentonville, Arkansas.

Set against the beauty of the Great Hall and the museum’s natural setting, this one-of-a-kind installment in the Van Cliburn concert series is not one to miss. We hope to see you there.

Tickets are $45 ($36 for members, $10 for students), reserve your seat online or with Guest Services at (479) 657-2335 today.

Yunchan Lim

Yunchan Lim launched onto the international music stage when he was 14. He 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 stood out as 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. 2019 meant more accolades, when, at the age of 15, he was the youngest to win Korea’s IsangYun International Competition, where he also took home two special prizes.

Now just 18, he has performed across South Korea—including with the Korean Orchestra Festival, Korea Symphony, Suwon Philharmonic, and Busan Philharmonic Orchestras, among others—as well as in Madrid, at the invitation of the Korea Cultural Center in Spain. He also participated in the recording of “2020 Young Musicians of Korea,” organized by the Korean Broadcasting System and released that November.

A native of Siheung, Yunchan currently studies at the Korea National University of Arts under Minsoo Sohn. Coming to Fort Worth, he says he is “looking forward to playing in front of the warmest and most passionate audience in the world.”

Anna Geniushene

Born in Moscow on New Year’s Day in 1991, Anna Geniushene made her recital debut just seven years later in the small hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. She has since developed a diverse and versatile career as an artist: performances in major world venues such as the Town Hall in Leeds, National Concert Hall in Dublin, Museum of Arts in Tel Aviv, the Konzerthaus ‘Neue Welt,’ Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, and Sala Greppi in Milan; a dedication to chamber music, including duo piano repertoire with her husband, Lukas Geniušas, and close collaboration with Quartetto di Cremona; and the creation of her own festival of collaborative music-making (NikoFest).

During the pandemic, Anna’s penchant 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.

A laureate of major international piano contests, she has had strong finishes at the Leeds, Tchaikovsky, Busoni, and Dublin Competitions. She sees her participation in the Cliburn as a “dream,” as an “opportunity to be part of a very friendly community, to find a new audience, and to challenge myself.”

Anna graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2015, and completed her Master’s with Distinction and Advanced Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music (London) in 2018. She has also been one of the elite Bicentenary Scholars at the Academy under the tutelage of Christopher Elton.

Dmytro Choni

Dmytro Choni began piano in his native Kyiv when he was 4 years old. After a particularly meaningful performance at the age of 14, which he calls “a turning point,” his lifelong journey of professional musicianship began. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine under the guidance of Yuri Kot, then moved to Austria in 2015 to study with Milana Chernyavska at the Kunstuniversität Graz.

A prizewinner at nearly 20 international piano competitions, he has taken first prize at six: Santander (Spain), Bösendorfer USASU (USA), Los Angeles, ZF-Musikpreis (Germany), Roma (Italy), and Tucumán (Argentina). Dmytro is a laureate of other top competitions, including Leeds, Vendome, Busoni, and Horowitz, and a recipient of top young artist prizes at Interlaken Classics (Switzerland) and Piano Academy Eppan (Italy). He now comes to Fort Worth, calling the Cliburn “nothing else but my dream.”

Dmytro has collaborated with renowned orchestras, such as the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony, RTVE Symphony, Seongnam Philharmonic, Ukraine National Symphony, Liechtenstein Symphony, and Dominican Republic National Symphony Orchestras. His performances in major halls in Europe, Asia, South America, and the United States (including Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall in January 2022) have made a lasting impression on his musical development.

Dmytro’s debut album was released by Naxos in 2020; it received a “Supersonic Award” from Pizzicato and was highly acclaimed by international critics, one raving he “could be one of the 21st century’s most outstanding pianists.” In March, he told the Fort Worth Report that music is “always kind of a hideaway from what’s going on in the world. Through the music, you can try to project the best possible emotion, the optimism, the hope.”

Widely considered one of the preeminent international music contests, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition exists to share excellent classical music with the largest international audience possible and to launch the careers of its winners every four years. Building on a rich tradition that began with its 1962 origins in honor of Van Cliburn and his vision for using music to serve audiences and break down boundaries, the Cliburn seeks, with each edition, to achieve the highest artistic standards while utilizing contemporary tools to advance its reach. The world’s top 18- to 30-year-old pianists compete for gold in front of a live audience in Fort Worth, Texas, as well as a global online viewership of over 10 million.

Sponsored by The Van Cliburn Concert Series Endowment Fund supported by Kelly and Marti Sudduth, Reed and Mary Ann Greenwood, Ellis and Kay Melton, Chip and Susan Chambers, Alice L. Walton. Additional sponsorship provided by Ellen and Malcom Haywood. Special thanks to Tommy Smith and Steinway & Sons.