Cliburn Concerts: Evren Ozel, piano

American pianist Evren Ozel wowed audiences and critics at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition with his “exquisite pianissimi, pearly sound, and gorgeous phrasing” (La Scena Musicale), taking home the bronze medal and the award for best performance of a Mozart Concerto. In the season since his Cliburn win, Evren released his first studio recording of Mozart Concertos with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and Howard Griffiths which was selected as a "Concerto Choice" by the BBC Music Magazine; and performed at Bravo! Vail Festival, Portland Piano International, La Jolla Music Society, The Gilmore, and with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

In his return performance Evren pays tribute to the genius of Beethoven, commemorating the 200th anniversary of his death. We’ll hear the last of Beethoven’s piano sonatas which embody the style of the great composer’s late career and ushered in the Romantic era, immediately inspiring Schumann, Brahms, Schubert, and Liszt, as well as countless others in the following two centuries.