Pianist

The opening four notes of Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony etched a permanent rhythm onto humanity’s consciousness. After those stormy opening notes, Beethoven leads listeners from a struggle with fate to a radiant victory through his music in one of classical music’s most triumphant works. To open the program, FWSO Music Director Robert Spano conducts another dramatic work by Beethoven, the Egmont Overture, before the 2025 Van Cliburn Piano Competition winner Aristo Sham plays Mozart’s delightful Piano Concerto No. 23.

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Opening Weekend: Beethoven's Fifth

Sundance Square

Piano recital by Aristo Sham, first prize winner of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Program: Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight," Op. 27 No. 2; Brahms, Capriccio in F-sharp minor, Op. 76 No. 1.

6 PM Recital: Aristo Sham

Parc de Florans

2025 Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Aristo Sham brings his "lucid and gripping" artistry to the intimate Music Room for a program centered on the transformative transcriptions of Ferruccio Busoni. This afternoon recital highlights Sham’s technical mastery through a curated selection of Brahms character pieces, including the soulful Intermezzo in A Major and the spirited Capriccio in C Major. The second half of the performance focuses on Busoni's iconic arrangements, featuring the monumental Bach Chaconne and Chopin’s Variations on Prelude in C minor. As the newest Cliburn winner, Sham continues the competition's legacy of elite pianism with a performance that balances late-Romantic introspection with towering virtuosity.

Aristo Sham, piano

The Rosen House at Caramoor

Van Cliburn Gold Medalist Aristo Sham shines in Shenzhen with Rachmaninov’s technically and emotionally demanding Third Piano Concerto – a summit of the repertoire famed for its sweeping melodies, formidable virtuosity and symphonic scale. Under the baton of Roberto Abbado, the distinguished Italian conductor from one of music’s great dynasties, the programme opens with Shostakovich’s youthful First Symphony, written at just 19, bristling with razor-sharp wit and haunting lyricism. From sardonic modernism to lush romanticism, this concert promises a blazing musical feast.

Roberto Abbado, Aristo Sham and HK Phil Concert

Shenzhen Concert Hall

Winner of the Gold Medal at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, Aristo Sham is a laureate of international competitions, with first-prize wins at Ettlingen, Gina Bachauer, and the Monte Carlo Music Masters, Sham has played across Asia, Europe, and the United States with the likes of the London Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. The son of a piano teacher, Sham began lessons at age 3 and was competing and concertizing by age 10. Soon after, he was featured in the UK Channel 4 documentary The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies. Balancing piano with other interests, Sham earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Harvard University and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory. He proceeded to study at the Ingesund School of Music in Sweden and earn an artist diploma from the Juilliard School. While pursuing a career as a pianist, Sham continues to enjoy other interests such as travel, aviation, gastronomy, oenology, and language.

Mary B. Galvin Recital Hall

After capturing world attention as the newest Van Cliburn laureate, pianist Aristo Sham returns home to perform Rachmaninov’s fiery and youthful First Piano Concerto. A familiar face to HK Phil audiences, Sham last appeared with the Orchestra in 2022 in Mendelssohn’s concerto – one of the works he performed on his path to Cliburn victory – and first took the stage with the HK Phil at just 11, performing Beethoven’s First Piano Concerto in 2007. Renowned American conductor David Robertson, acclaimed for bringing clarity to even the most complex scores, leads the evening with two symphonic works from different era, yet connected with the masterly developed motives and textures: Sibelius final symphony and John Adams’s Doctor Atomic Symphony.

Chow Sang Sang Proudly Sponsors: Celebrating Aristo Sham

Hong Kong Cultural Centre

Aristo Sham, the Gold Medalist and “Audience Favorite” of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, will join Maestro Loh and the Waco Symphony in playing the first piano concerto of Johannes Brahms. This competition was named for American pianist Van Cliburn who, in 1958 during the Cold War, won the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. In tribute to that monumental feat in artistic diplomacy, the WSO will perform Tchaikovsky’s final 6th Symphony. We open this concert with music by American composer Jessie Montgomery. She wrote Starburst in 2012 for The Sphinx Virtuosi, the flagship ensemble of the Sphinx Organization. Montgomery writes the following to describe this work: “Exploding gestures are juxtaposed with gentle fleeting melodies in an attempt to create a multidimensional soundscape.”

2025 Cliburn Gold Medalist

Baylor University

Aristo Sham, Piano 2025

The Juilliard School

Join us for an enchanting afternoon with the prodigious pianist Aristo Sham at the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. This much-anticipated concert is scheduled for Sunday, March 30, 2025, at 3:00 pm, set to take place in the intimate ambiance of the Leo Rich Theater.

Aristo Sham, known for his breathtaking performances and a repertoire that spans the classics to contemporary pieces, promises an unforgettable musical journey. While the program details are to be announced, attendees can expect a showcase of Sham's virtuosity and his deep connection to the music.

Tickets are available for both in-person attendance and online streaming, ensuring that all music lovers have the opportunity to experience this event. In-person concert tickets are priced at $45, with a special rate of $12 for students, making it accessible for everyone to enjoy this world-class performance. For those who prefer to watch from the comfort of their own home, streaming access is also offered at $45, allowing you to be part of the magic no matter where you are.

Don't miss this opportunity to witness Aristo Sham's spellbinding talent at the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. Reserve your tickets now and prepare for an afternoon filled with exquisite piano music that will touch your soul and lift your spirits.

Aristo Sham

Tucson Convention Center

Works by Frédéric Chopin, Kaija Saariaho, Johannes Brahms and John Ireland
Hailed by as a pianist “whose playing combines clarity, elegance and abundant technique” (The New York Times) and a young artist with “boundless potential” who can “already hold his own with the best” (The Washington Post), pianist Aristo Sham has dazzled audiences on five continents. First prize winner at many international competitions, Sham has collaborated with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra under Edo de Waart, English Chamber Orchestra under the late Sir Raymond Leppard, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and the Minnesota Orchestra.

Kaufman Music Center

Student and Senior Discount Tickets Available at the Box Office

2024 Young Concert Artists Season Finale

Carnegie Hall

Hailed by the Washington Post as a young artist with “boundless potential” who can “already hold his own with the best,” pianist Aristo Sham has dazzled audiences on five continents in countries ranging from Singapore and Argentina to Slovenia, Morocco, and throughout the United States. Mr. Sham has performed as soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Edo de Waart, the London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle, the English Chamber Orchestra under Raymond Leppard, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and the Minnesota Orchestra.

Miami International Piano Festival: Aristo Sham (Hong Kong)

Aventura Arts & Cultural Center

Aristo Sham, Piano

Join us for our Young Concert Artist Series master class and performance with pianist Aristo Sham! This artistic collaboration with Young Concert Artists fosters creativity and inspires students and admirers of all ages.

Young Concert Artist Series: Aristo Sham, piano

DC Campus: NW

The HK Phil’s iconic free annual outdoor music extravaganza returns to the harbourfront! For the first time, HK Phil’s new Music Director, Tarmo Peltokoski, takes the helm of Swire Symphony Under The Stars, sharing an evening of music with the Hong Kong community. Peltokoski and Van Cliburn Gold Medal winner Aristo Sham join forces on two pianos for Saint-Saëns’s playful Carnival of the Animals, while HK Phil Principal Clarinet Andrew Simon and vocalist Talie Monin perform some Gershwin favourites. Following John Williams’s Star Wars Suite, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture arrives with fireworks in the much-anticipated finale to this beloved event.

Swire Symphony Under The Stars

Central Harbourfront

Extoled by The New York Times as a pianist “whose playing combines clarity, elegance, and abundant technique,” Aristo Sham rocketed to prominence upon receipt of the gold medal and audience favorite award at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. His first-ever Eastman outing will feature works by Bach, Chopin, and Brahms (whose Second Concerto he played in the final round of the Van Cliburn).

Eastman Presents: Aristo Sham: A Star Ascendant

University of Rochester

The A2SO welcomes two world-class artists to Hill Auditorium this month. Acclaimed soprano, 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence winner, and 2025 Grammy Award winner Karen Slack presents African Queens, a song cycle celebrating the legacies of powerful African queens. Each piece is composed by a member of the Blacknificent 7: Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson.

Queens & Rach

University of Michigan

A kaleidoscope of dazzling orchestral colors, Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra celebrates the musical traditions of the composer’s native Poland. But rather than using Polish folk tunes as a springboard for nostalgia or nationalism, Lutosławski weaves them together into a modernist tapestry of explosive emotion — from the sinister drumbeats that drive the opening dance to a finale of electrifying joy.

Elim Chan Conducts Prokofiev

Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, this concert features a selection of Chinese and international works that pay tribute to their home countries, highlighting Hong Kong’s unique status of East-meets-West cultures. Aristo Sham, winner of the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and praised for his “dapper, aristocratic” stage presence, performs the virtuosic Yellow River Piano Concerto, bringing his distinctive voice to this iconic work. Zhao Jiping, internationally known for film scores such as Red Sorghum, blends Western concerto form with Chinese melodic idioms in his First Violin Concerto, performed by HK Phil Concertmaster Jing Wang. Principal Guest Conductor Long Yu also leads Sibelius’s Finlandia and Smetana’s The Moldau, evoking Finnish and Czech national identities.

Swire Proudly Sponsors: An Ode to Home and Motherland

Described by Classic FM as “a stirring piece of contemporary history”, Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 7 was written during the Nazi siege of Leningrad in World War II. Monumental in scale and epic in impact, its four movements chart an emotional journey that reflects both devastation and resilience, capturing the endurance of the human spirit. Principal Guest Conductor Long Yu will lead the HK Phil and musicians from the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to perform this masterpiece.

Pianist

Aristo Sham

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 13, 2026

Swire Symphony Under The Stars · Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Dec 8, 2026

Eastman Presents: Aristo Sham: A Star Ascendant · Eastman School of Music

Feb 19, 2027

Queens & Rach · Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra

9 - 11 Apr, 2027

Elim Chan Conducts Prokofiev · Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Jul 3, 2027

Swire Proudly Sponsors: An Ode to Home and Motherland · Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Past events

11 - 13 Sep, 2026

Opening Weekend: Beethoven's Fifth · Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Aug 9, 2026

6 PM Recital: Aristo Sham · Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron

Future and recently performed repertoire

Piano in Piano Concerto No. 1 by Brahms

Waco Symphony Orchestra

Piano in Piano Concerto No. 23 by Mozart

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra

Piano in Piano Concerto No. 1 by Rachmaninoff

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Piano in 4 Klavierstücke by Brahms

Caramoor

Piano in Piano Concerto No. 2 by Prokofiev

Dallas Symphony Orchestra

Piano in Piano Sonata No. 1 by Brahms

Northwestern Bienen School of Music

Piano in Variations on a Theme of Chopin by Rachmaninoff

Caramoor

Piano in Piano Concerto No. 3 by Rachmaninoff

Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra

Piano in Partita No. 2 by Bach

Caramoor

Piano in 7 Fantasien by Brahms

Caramoor

Piano in Intermezzo in A Major by Brahms

Caramoor

Piano in Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major by Brahms

Eastman School of Music

Piano in 6 Chorale Preludes by Brahms

Caramoor

Piano in Chaconne in D minor by Busoni

Eastman School of Music

Piano in Six Organ Chorale Preludes by Busoni

Eastman School of Music

Piano in Capriccio in F Sharp Minor by Brahms

Caramoor

Piano in Capriccio in C Major by Brahms

Caramoor

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