Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Final Round Concerto 2
June 6, 2025
Bass Performance Hall
Angel Stanislav Wang
United States
Age 22
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30
About Angel
Angel Stanislav Wang was born into a family of musicians in Los Angeles. His pianist parents are U.S. immigrants—his father originally from China, his mother from Russia—who established a music school in their longtime home in California. Angel was always extremely fond of performing on stage, whether playing the piano, dancing, or singing. As a small child, he would put on shows in their living room, paying careful attention to each detail, from lighting and special effects to costumes and sets. “Classical music was always present. When I first heard the works of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, I ran to the piano, trying to repeat the beautiful harmonic shifts and endless melodies that captivated me when listening to these composers.” His mother began serious piano lessons with him when he was 5, and he immediately showed immense promise. Wanting him to be trained in the same school of music that she had, his mother moved him to her native Moscow in 2013, where he would live with his grandparents and attend the Gnessin Special School of Music (with Tatiana Zelikman). He joined Natalia Trull’s studio at Central Music School and then the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2020, where he continues to study today.
A winner of more than 35 international competitions (and a silver medal at the 2023 Tchaikovsky), Angel regularly concertizes in the United States, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Italy, Croatia; he’s performed at Carnegie Hall, Musikverein (Vienna, Austria), the Great, Small, and Rachmaninov Halls of the Moscow Conservatory, Concert Halls of the Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow). The 22-year-old loves traveling to different countries: “Whenever I have the chance, I visit different museums, theatres, and art exhibitions. It is interesting to experience the different cultures, mentalities, and ideas, as well as interests, of other people.”
Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Final Round Concerto 2
June 6, 2025
Bass Performance Hall
Angel Stanislav Wang
United States
Age 22
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Marin Alsop, conductor
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30
About Angel
Angel Stanislav Wang was born into a family of musicians in Los Angeles. His pianist parents are U.S. immigrants—his father originally from China, his mother from Russia—who established a music school in their longtime home in California. Angel was always extremely fond of performing on stage, whether playing the piano, dancing, or singing. As a small child, he would put on shows in their living room, paying careful attention to each detail, from lighting and special effects to costumes and sets. “Classical music was always present. When I first heard the works of Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, I ran to the piano, trying to repeat the beautiful harmonic shifts and endless melodies that captivated me when listening to these composers.” His mother began serious piano lessons with him when he was 5, and he immediately showed immense promise. Wanting him to be trained in the same school of music that she had, his mother moved him to her native Moscow in 2013, where he would live with his grandparents and attend the Gnessin Special School of Music (with Tatiana Zelikman). He joined Natalia Trull’s studio at Central Music School and then the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2020, where he continues to study today.
A winner of more than 35 international competitions (and a silver medal at the 2023 Tchaikovsky), Angel regularly concertizes in the United States, Germany, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Italy, Croatia; he’s performed at Carnegie Hall, Musikverein (Vienna, Austria), the Great, Small, and Rachmaninov Halls of the Moscow Conservatory, Concert Halls of the Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall (Moscow). The 22-year-old loves traveling to different countries: “Whenever I have the chance, I visit different museums, theatres, and art exhibitions. It is interesting to experience the different cultures, mentalities, and ideas, as well as interests, of other people.”










![Vitaly Starikov: Cliburn 2025 CHOPIN 12 Etudes, op. 25
Seventeenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Semifinal Round Recital
May 31, 2025
Bass Performance Hall
Vitaly Starikov - SILVER MEDALIST
Israel/Russia
Age 30
CHOPIN 12 Etudes, op. 25
About Vitaly
Russian/Israeli pianist Vitaly Starikov has found distinction with “raw, deeply felt, and powerful” (La Scena) performances, while having an unassuming onstage presence and a “willingness less to play at the audience than to draw [them] into musical intimacies” (Dallas Morning News). His bold approach won him silver at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and the admiration of fans around the globe. Vitaly’s perspective on music is manifested in his repertoire: he presents music that reflects not only tradition, but also contemporary life, striving to offer new perspectives on familiar music and introduce lesser-known pieces to wider audiences. His Cliburn performance of Bartok’s Second Piano Concerto electrified the room, with a La Scena reviewer noting that “he understood this music, and gave an impactful, lively, and gripping interpretation on all levels: emotionally, architecturally, and in terms of his sound palette.”
Recital and chamber music appearances have taken him around the world, notably to Austria, Australia, Slovakia, Israel, Cyprus, Italy, France, Belgium, and Malaysia, with highlights including Sydney Opera House, Queen Elisabeth Hall, and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He has performed with the Antwerp and Belgian National Orchestras, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra, and St. Petersburg Symphony, and toured with the Orchestre national de Metz Grand Est. This inaugural Cliburn season takes him to the Bravo! Vail and Sunriver Music Festivals; Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and Pacific, Topeka, and Springfield Symphony Orchestras, and in recitals throughout the United States.
Born into a family of musicians, Vitaly’s journey started when his parents enrolled him to sing in a children’s music group at age 3, and he went on to Ural Musical School for Gifted Children in his native Yekaterinburg at 7. He made his concerto debut at age 10 with the Ural State Russian Folk Orchestra, and his recital debut three years later, in the small hall of the Ural Special Music School. It was at 14 that he committed his life to music. His “dream came true” when he began studying with Vera Gornostayeva, one of the world’s most venerated teachers, at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree at the Conservatory and then his master’s degree, under the tutelage of Eliso Virsaladze. He’s now at the Yale School of Music, pursuing an artist diploma under Boris Berman.
https://cliburn.org/competitions/2025-cliburn-competition/2025-competitors/vitaly-starikov Vitaly Starikov: Cliburn 2025 CHOPIN 12 Etudes, op. 25](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/o-4hhAgwg0s/mqdefault.jpg)