Non-pro pianists shine in Fort Worth
By SCOTT CANTRELL/ Classical Music Critic
Dallas Morning News/ Monday, June 4, 2007
FORT WORTH-Dr. Drew Mays, an ophthalmologist from Birmingham, Ala., took the $2,000 first prize Sunday evening in the Van Cliburn Foundation’s Fifth International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs. In the competition’s final round, held Sunday afternoon at Texas Christian University’s Ed Landreth Auditorium, Dr. Mays played Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata and the Liszt Mephisto Waltz No. 1.
The $1,500 second prize went to Mark Fuller, an attorney from Phoenix, Ariz. The $1,000 third prize went to Clark Griffith, a composer and retired Internet technology administrator from Fort Worth.
The Cliburn-sponsored competition defines an amateur pianist as someone who doesn’t make a living as either a performing pianist or piano teacher. Many of the 75 contestants who started out on Monday, including Dr. Mays, have advanced training in piano but have pursued other fields of work, ranging from railroad manager to psychotherapist. As usual, medical professionals were generously represented.
While professional piano competitions focus on players under age 30, the Cliburn Amateur has 35 as its minimum age. This year’s contestants came from Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela and Australia as well as the United States.
Most of the prizes were awarded by a jury dominated by pianists (including four past gold medalists of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition). In picking the winners, these jurors were asked to consider the finalists’ performances in preliminary and semifinal rounds as well.
A press jury prize, voted by a separate panel of music journalists from New York to Portland, Ore. (and including this writer) was based on the final round only.
Hosted by Steve Cumming, the Sunday-evening festivities included two-piano, eight-hands performances by Cliburn medalists Olga Kern, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Jon Nakamatsu and José Feghali of the waltz from Gounod’s Faust and Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever.
Prizes were presented by Cliburn Foundation president Richard Rodzinski, chairman Alann Bedford Sampson, jury chairman John Giordano and Mr. Cliburn himself. The first prize was named in honor of Mr. Rodzinski, recognizing his two decades at the foundation’s helm.
Here’s a list of the other prizes:
- Best performance of a work from the baroque era: Mr. Griffith.
- Best performance of a work from the classical era: Franz Mantini.
- Best performance of a work from the romantic era: Dr. Mays.
- Best performance of a post-romantic work: Mr. Fuller.
- Most creative programming: Esfir Ross.
- Jury discretionary awards: Thomas Maurice and Kent Lietzau.
- Press jury award: Mr. Fuller.
- Fort Worth Piano Teachers Forum award: David Hibbard.
- Audience award: Dr. Mays.
