A blind pianist from Japan and a teenager from China won gold medals on Sunday at the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, making history as the first winners from any Asian country.
Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20, of Japan and Zhang Haochen (張昊辰), 19, of China shared the top prize, only the second time in the 47-year history of the competition that there have been dual winners. Tsujii also made history as the first blind pianist to win.
Son Yeol-eum, 23, of South Korea won the silver medal. All three received US$20,000 and will record a CD, among other prizes.
After Tsujii’s name was announced and his translator escorted him onto the stage, he wrapped his arms around Cliburn, grinning from ear to ear as the audience gave him a lengthy standing ovation, cheered and whistled.
The competition is named for Van Cliburn, an acclaimed pianist from Fort Worth. After winning a prestigious Moscow music competition at the height of the Cold War in 1958, Cliburn quickly gained international fame and millions of fans.
Zhang said he thought it was significant to be, along with Tsujii, the first from Asian countries to win the Cliburn and was “really happy” about it.
The other finalists this year, who each won US$10,000, were Di Wu, 24, of China; Evgeni Bozhanov, 24, of Bulgaria; and Mariangela Vacatello, 27, of Italy. All six finalists received three years of managed concert tours, worth about US$1 million.
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