Cheshire Academy piano teacher Vitaly Starikov is one of six finalists in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, considered one of the most prestigious music competitions in the world.
The competition was founded in 1962 to celebrate Cliburn’s victory at the 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Twenty-eight of the world’s best young pianists traveled to Cliburn’s hometown of Fort Worth, TX, to compete at Bass Performance Hall, with Starikov besting competitors in the preliminary, quarterfinal, and semifinal rounds to make it to the final six.
The final round will take place over four days from June 3-7. Starikov is scheduled to compete on June 4 and 7, playing Schumann’s “Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54” and Bartók’s “Piano Concerto No. 2.”
Eunyoung DiGiacomo, director of CA’s music program, said the musician, who currently teaches eight piano students in the Academy’s Music Major program, is an example of the high caliber of the Academy’s music teachers. Like Starikov, many are candidates for graduate and artistic performance degrees at Yale School of Music.
“It shows something big is not that far away for our students,” she said. “The moon is really far away, and we didn’t think we could get there. But we did. And he is accomplished and from across the world, but they can study with him here,” DiGiacomo said.
DiGiacomo said Starikov, who hails from a family of musicians in Yekaterinburg, Russia, is very kind and instills in his students an appreciation for the pleasure of playing piano. Having made his concerto debut at age 10, he holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
Starikov, 30, has performed in Austria, Italy, France, Malaysia, Sydney, and Israel, collaborated with the Antwerp and Belgian national orchestras, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg Symphony, and toured with the Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est. He has won honors at the 2021 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium and the 2023 Sydney International Competition and was the Grand Prix and Audience Prize winner at the 2017 Épinal Piano Competition in France.
The three pianists who medal in the Cliburn competition will have their careers managed through Cliburn for three years, including a range of services from booking concerts to mentorship and media training. A total of $265,000 in cash will be awarded, including $100,000 for the gold medalist, $50,000 for silver, and $25,000 for bronze. A grand finale celebration will be held on June 7.
