Eighteen competitors took the Quarterfinals by storm last weekend, with 12 pianists advancing to the Semifinals. If you're looking to relive the excitement, you've come to the right place: we've compiled all our favorite moments and brought them to you here.
Quarterfinal Highlights
Our pianists took on a new selection of demanding repertoire for the Quarterfinals that required exacting technical proficiency. From Yanjun Chen and her Mozart Sonata to Angel Stanislav Wang and his Firebird Suite, fingers were flying on full display. Whereas Mozart's music is typically playful both to the ear and on the page, Stravinsky's Firebird (originally from a ballet) is an explosive, dramatic work that arrests your attention from the start. Multiple competitors chose various movements from Rachmaninoff's Morceaux de fantaisie, as well as from Claude Debussy's Preludes for their expressive capacity. Jonas Aumiller's performance of Feux d'artifice, the last prelude from Book 2, is a testament to the precision and control required for such a brilliant display of technical mastery. Fans of Pines of Rome, rejoice! You'll hear more from Italian composer Ottorino Respighi as Piotr Alexewicz plays selections from his Six Pieces for Piano.
Congratulations to this year's Semifinalists and see you this Wednesday for the continuation of the 2025 Cliburn Competition!