Aristo Sham first took part as a student in HKAPA's Junior Music Programme at the age of 6. For the next seven years, he came under the tutelage of Professor Eleanor Wong. That commitment has served him well.
Now 29, Aristo has won the first-place gold medal as well as the audience award at the 2025 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the 17th edition of the contest. He attributes his achievements to the foundation that the Junior Music Programme provided in his formative years. As the first Hong Kong-born pianist to win the top prize at the Cliburn, dubbed the "piano Olympics" by The Guardian, and a self-proclaimed "life enjoyer", Aristo shares his journey, his mentor's magic, and the Cliburn challenge, conveying his loves through the medium of language rather than the piano that he would normally use. The following is what Aristo has to say.
The Artist as a Boy
Music for me is this: It exists in order for humans to express what cannot be expressed in any other way. Not words, not visuals, not anything else. A natural outgrowth of the human psyche, and an inevitable part of our lives.
Making music has always felt natural to me. My mother taught piano at home when I was very young. I was drawn to the instrument as if it were a toy, and improvisation was my first love in music. Improvisation let me, with relatively few tools and little knowledge, express my personality and innermost thoughts, and create worlds that cannot be found elsewhere. My mother started giving me formal piano lessons at age 3, and she soon noticed a knack for grasping concepts. At age 6, I found myself auditioning for HKAPA.
Throughout childhood and adolescence, I was "semi-professional", attending competitions and giving concerts internationally from the age of 10. However, I never actively decided to do all that. I was swept along by the current. It was always something fun to do. Barring short run-ups to concerts and contests, I practised only 1½ to 2 hours daily. I was keen on living a normal and varied life, experiencing as much as I could of the world.
The Academy's Junior Music Programme, which was and still is the gold standard for top-tier music education for youth, allowed me to accomplish everything I have accomplished up to now, and hopefully beyond. Professor Eleanor Wong in the Department of Keyboard Studies is one of the leading professors in classical piano today, in particular for younger students. She imparted lessons and concepts I still use on a daily basis. Her magic is being able to harness an 8-year-old's listening and cognitive abilities to mirror those of an adult artist.
Broad Liberal Arts Education
After completing form two schooling in Hong Kong, I continued my education at Harrow School in the United Kingdom. Then I enrolled in a dual-degree programme in the United States, earning a BA in Economics from Harvard University and a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory. Though my degree at Harvard was nominally in economics, it was more of a liberal arts education, with economics constituting under one-third of the curriculum. I took courses in a wide array of disciplines, from history and politics to languages and photography. To be a compelling artist, we need to cultivate perspectives and imagination in all areas of life
I am often asked about the parallel between music and economics. In a way, it lies in the logic and rationality that marks the way I structure music and approach work. I believe that any expression, emotion or message can only be truly understood if the presentation makes sense. I am also naturally not an anxious person. I trust that any problem can be solved as long as we have the will, flexibility and creativity. When these traits are reflected in my art, it allows the music to speak without intrusive thoughts rearing their head. I also credit my studies for pushing my intellectual boundaries to handle a vast volume of work at any given time – a trait useful in any field!
Lessons in Commitment and Love
When I was 21, I had a moment of epiphany. At a competition in Norway, I did not advance to the finals. While attending the finals, I felt strongly that, yes, they deserve to be here; I am not there yet, but I have what it takes. What set us apart was my lack of complete commitment. This was a clear lesson that nothing can replace complete immersion into our art and professional life, and that talent can only get us so far.
No career path is ever perfectly straightforward, and one in music is probably especially thorny. When stuck in a certain stage of development or facing a professional setback, I find the most important thing is to be tethered to the essence of what we do – our love for the music, from sweeping textures and luscious harmonies, down to the spin of every note.
Pressure Cooker of Cliburn
For a career-defining competition like the Cliburn, preparation begins at the moment of our birth. The Cliburn performances are a culmination of everything the contestants have ever learnt and experienced in life.
That said, I did make a goalpost for myself of being ready to perform the entire programme to a level I could be proud of six months prior to the competition. But as these goalposts often pan out, I achieved my objective around three months prior. This still left me with a decent amount of time to refine the details and to feel at ease onstage with the programme.
During the competition, I was focused on one thing: to play the music I love to the best of its powers and my own ability. This, to me, is the only way to make music and be convincing as an artist. There were surprises onstage, too. Some ideas worked out much better than expected, some elements fell flat, while others were fresh discoveries.
In the first round, I had expected to eventually step into "flow" after a few minutes, like in other concerts. This never happened. I had forgotten that in a maximum-pressure setting, we cannot rely on elusive factors like flow. I had to fight every brain cell and nerve in my body to make the notes speak. The six rounds were an all-consuming process of searching for elements that would let me present the best possible version of myself. In the final Brahms Concerto, I believe I got closer than ever.
Touching Lives Through Music
On the evening of the Cliburn prize ceremony, an established pianist said to me, "In three years you should be Aristo Sham, not the previous Cliburn winner." Right now, I am fully focused on building a career as a pianist, to share music I love with audiences as far and wide as possible, in great halls and with the leading symphonies of the world. In doing so, hopefully, I can add something memorable to people's lives.
There is so much noise in our lives, but if we focus on good energies that bring us forward, any obstacle can be overcome. We are privileged as musicians, to have the opportunity to make the world more beautiful with music. I am drawn to music conveying the belief that everything will be its right place in the end, no matter the strife and pain – something of the rhythm of the universe. I approach life the same way: to live a meaningful life, we have to first be able to enjoy it. As Professor Eleanor Wong would say, to learn music is to learn how to "be" as a person.
To the next generation of aspiring musicians, the important thing is not to lose sight of priorities, which is the music itself and the urge to share. There are no shortcuts. There is no end to the amount of detail or depth of imagination that can be applied to one's vision and execution. Just talking about this makes me excited, and it should be exciting for everyone!