Hong Kong pianist Aristo Sham, 29, loves Fort Worth for a number of reasons.
He’s grateful to the city for serving as his temporary home for three weeks last spring as he developed his craft.
But most importantly, he loves Fort Worth for being the city that changed his career when he won gold at the 17th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in early June. He was the first Hong Kong pianist to secure the top prize in the contest’s 63-year history.
Nearly four months after his win, the golden pianist returns for a two-night engagement at Kimbell Art Museum Renzo Piano Pavilion on Oct. 1 and 2.
The Cliburn has a long-standing tradition of bringing its most recent winner back to Panther City to perform as the opener of the organization’s concert season.
“Fort Worth is the place where my life sort of changed overnight,” Sham said. “I came out of Fort Worth a completely different person, so I’m glad to revisit it.”
Jacques Marquis, president and CEO of the Cliburn, said organizers are looking forward to having Sham back for his “Cliburn Concerts” debut since his career has taken off in a strong way with concerts all over the world.
“We are proud of his success and all the upcoming opportunities for him, and are really happy to welcome him back to Fort Worth, home of the Cliburn,” Marquis said in a statement.
Eric Lee, director of Kimbell Art Museum, said Sham will perform on a piano selected by former Cliburn gold medalist Olga Kern for the Renzo Piano Pavilion’s opening in 2013.
“We are proud of his success and all the upcoming opportunities for him, and are really happy to welcome him back to Fort Worth, home of the Cliburn,” Marquis said in a statement.
Eric Lee, director of Kimbell Art Museum, said Sham will perform on a piano selected by former Cliburn gold medalist Olga Kern for the Renzo Piano Pavilion’s opening in 2013.
Only 10 tickets remained available across the two “Aristo Sham, 2025 Cliburn Gold Medalist” concerts at the Kimbell at publication time. Call the box office at 817-212-4280 to purchase.
Reflecting on golden win
The Cliburn, established in Fort Worth in 1962, is held every four years and considered one of the most prestigious classical music competitions in the world. The competition was founded to celebrate Fort Worth musical legend Van Cliburn’s victory at the 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
The 2025 Cliburn kicked off May 21 with 28 of the world’s best young pianists. Over 18 days and four rounds, the number of competitors dwindled until Sham took home the top $100,000 prize.
Sham’s live performance recordings from the competition have been streamed more than 1.5 million times, according to the Cliburn.
When Sham thinks back to that moment he was named the winner at Bass Performance Hall, it feels like a blur.
“Those 10 seconds when I walked up to the stage, it’s really a black hole in my memory,” he said.
As a result of his win, Sham’s career will be managed through the Cliburn for three years, including a range of services from booking concerts to mentorship and media training. Earlier this month, he signed with Intermusica New York, known for its worldwide management of classical music and opera artists.
In the past two months, Sham has performed more than 15 concerts in several countries, including Poland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States.
“This prize is really the ticket to doing a lot of these things, which I am so grateful for and so happy about,” he said.
Glimpse into Fort Worth return
For his Kimbell concerts, Sham wants to excite audiences with music from his upcoming album, scheduled for release at the beginning of November. He declined to share more details about his musical release.
He will perform repertoire from his recent tours, which includes composers Johann Sebastian Bach, Ferrucio Busoni and Edvard Grieg.
“This is really a kaleidoscopic insight that is deeply interesting to listen to,” he said.
Sham never likes to dictate the types of emotions he hopes his audience will feel, but he strives to ensure they “feel something.”
“The arts and music exist because we want to have experiences that are outside of our daily routine,” he said. “I’m so lucky to be a conduit for people to get something soul nourishing out of it.”
After his two-night stay in Fort Worth, Sham will spend November through April finishing his tour with long-term goals of establishing himself as a significant figure in the music world beyond his competition win.
“These three years will be a bridge for me to be a self-standing entity,” he said. “The Cliburn was the door to open for a career that is meaningful and hopefully will have a long-standing impact.”
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.