SHERIDAN — In 30 years, Ukrainian pianist Dmytro Choni garnered prizes and awards, played with renowned orchestras and performed in major music halls and festivals.
But perhaps the biggest accomplishment of his career — and the one that brings the celebrated pianist to Sheridan Tuesday — is winning a bronze medal.
Yes, the bronze, not the gold — that honor went to Korea’s Yunchan Lim at last year’s Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. But through round after round of competition, Choni endured and eventually became only the second pianist from his country to place in the competition.
Few fought as hard for a bronze medal as Choni did, said local piano enthusiast Ron Krikac, who watched the competition online and cheered Choni on from his home in Sheridan. Krikac has been watching the competition for years, and hosted past visiting Cliburn finalists at his home for private concerts.
Krikac said Van Cliburn is a “very grueling competition that lasts almost three weeks” each summer in Fort Worth, Texas.
In 2022, 300 pianists younger than 30 submitted audition tapes to the competition, Krikac said. Judges watch the taped performances and pick 72 to come to Fort Worth for live auditions.
The judges then select 30 to enter the actual competition, Krikac said. Those selected must be prepared to play about four and a half hours of music from memory, including solo works and concertos for piano and orchestra. After each round of competition, about half of the competitors are eliminated.
Choni told The Sheridan Press that, despite previously participating in big competitions, “I’ve never experienced something like the Cliburn.”
“Everything was on another level there,” Choni said. “...The competition itself is a marathon — we had six stage appearances, (and) played more than four hours of music over two- and-a-half weeks…This experience is unique (because) it shows you what you are capable of and helps in pursuing a solo career.”
From his first solos to a Beethoven concerto in the final round, Choni endured even as dozens of his competitors were eliminated, and “the pressure was rising up with every following round, which was not easy,” Choni said. When he played the final notes of that Beethoven concerto, he was flooded with relief.
“It was the very last piece I played at the competition, and the last notes of it brought so much happiness and relief,” Choni said.
For Choni, placing at Cliburn is the culmination of a love of music that started when he began taking piano lessons at 4 years old. It also allowed him to go on an extensive tour over the last year, including Tuesday’s stop in Sheridan, where he will be performing sonatas by Beethoven and Liszt and music from the 20th and 21st centuries by Prokofiev, Silvestrov and Liebermann.
“I very much like the program I'm going to play,” Choni said. “...It's a deep, challenging and exciting program I'm eager to share with you.”
When Choni takes the stage, Krikac will be in the audience cheering him on.
“One critic predicted that Dmytro Choni would be one of the greatest pianists of the 21st century,” Krikac said. “Now barely 30, he is playing sold-out performances in the most prestigious recital and concert halls throughout Europe and North America. Sheridan is fortunate to have such an important talent performing right here in our community.”
Despite all of his accomplishments, Choni said he is “not as proud of my accomplishments, as of my personal and musical development over the years,” and he encourages aspiring young musicians to have the same devotion to growth and craft.
“Love music with all your heart and be passionate about it,” Choni said. “Practice focused, with (an) understanding of what you're doing. Discover other things in life: art, literature, cinema — they might inspire you and bring clearer ideas into your music.”
Choni is performing at the WYO Performing Arts and Education Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $28 for adults, $25 for seniors and military members and $21 for students.
