The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, originally scheduled for May and June of 2021, has been postposed to June 2-18, 2022.
One of the highest-visibility classical music competitions in the world, the quadrennial Fort Worth contest had never before been delayed in its nearly 60-year history. But with so many moving parts requiring advance arrangements, the delay was prompted by lingering uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Precisely because it is a major international competition, the Cliburn draws competitors — and judges and audience members — from around the world. Even advance screening auditions have normally been held in multiple cities abroad as well as in the U.S. With questions surrounding travel and audience participation heightened by apparent second waves of infection in Europe, the future remains uncertain well into 2021.
“The way we do the Cliburn, it’s an event in itself,” says Cliburn president and CEO Jacques Marquis. “It’s such an exchange between an audience and exceptional pianists, around this international hub we create. … Part of the Cliburn is about launching careers. We can’t do that at this moment. If we wait until 2022 we can do what we do best.”
Moving the Cliburn to 2022 also avoids conflicts with some other important piano competitions, which earlier postponed their contests from 2020 to 2021.
“It was a good idea,” Marquis says, “to get out of the traffic.”
Two other contests sponsored by the Cliburn have been postponed as well, the Amateur competition to fall of 2022 and the Junior competition to June 2023.
