Virtuosity searches for the musical souls of the most gifted young pianists on the planet as they try to make a name for themselves at the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The pressure on these kids is overwhelming, because the stakes are so high: prize money, concert bookings, a recording contract, a career. At the heart of this story is the courage it takes for a 20-year-old to go onstage alone before 2,000 people, and hundreds of thousands more online, and play a unique interpretation of one of the most difficult pieces ever written for the piano. The Competition requires not only a transcendent musical ability, but a mental toughness that must sustain the soloist through three straight weeks of performance. The Cliburn becomes as much a test of character as a musical proving ground.
FEATURING 30 PIANISTS, INCLUDING VADYM KHOLODENKO (UKRAINE), BEATRICE RANA (ITALY), SEAN CHEN (UNITED STATES), FEI-FEI (CHINA), NIKITA MNDOYANTS (RUSSIA), TOMOKI SAKATA (JAPAN), ALESSANDRO DELJAVAN (ITALY), AND STEVEN LIN (UNITED STATES)
LEONARD SLATKIN, CONDUCTOR
FORT WORTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
BRENTANO STRING QUARTET
Director: Christopher Wilkinson
Producers: 88 Films, LLC; Van Cliburn Foundation
Duration: 86 minutes
Release: 2014