By AP
FORT WORTH, TX (AP) – Pianists from Japan and China have won gold medals in the 13th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. It marks the first time that someone from an Asian country has taken the prize.
Twenty-year-old Nobuyuki Tsujii of Japan and 19-year-old Haochen Zhang of China
were winners. Tsujii also made history as the first blind pianist to win.
Twenty-three-year-old Yeol Eum Son of South Korea won the silver medal on Sunday.
All six finalists will receive three years of managed concert tours, worth about $1 million, and other prizes.
The competition is named for Van Cliburn, an acclaimed pianist from Fort Worth. After winning a prestigious Moscow music competition at the height of the Cold War in 1958, Cliburn quickly gained international fame and millions of fans.