The Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

You In the middle of a cold war, his music captured the hearts of the Russian people. He returned to America a hero, a simple pride and culture to a whole nation. Soon after the young pianist's victory at the Chikovsky Competition in Moscow, America would have its own international piano competition,

to be held every four years in Fort Worth, Texas, and named in honor of Van Clyburn. And the gold medalist of the eighth Van Clyburn international piano competition is Alexei Sultana. 31 years after Van Clyburn's victory in Moscow, 19-year-old Alexei Sultana of the Soviet Union receives the gold medal from Van Clyburn. In a new era of the United States Soviet relations, a new star is born. Looking back at the eighth Van Clyburn kind of competition, there's a chance both to hear beautiful music and to share in a few dreams that came true right here on this stage. And for the young pianist who came from over 21 countries, I think one could say they had one thing in common, they were all here to make music.

See and hear 38 of the world's best young pianists competing for the gold medal of America's most prestigious music competition. See this extraordinary 90-minute special and feel the fever at the keyboard. October 8th on PDF.

Thank you very much.