Praised as “a marvel of deft characterization” and “a card-carrying risk taker,” Sham delivers a stirring program showcasing his captivating artistry and technical brilliance, featuring signature works by Busoni and Brahms.
Saturday, January 17, 2026 |3 PM | Rackham Auditorium (915 E Washington St, Ann Arbor, MI 48109)
Aristo Sham, piano
Johann Sebastian Bach (arr. Busoni) Chaconne in D minor
Johannes Brahms (arr. Busoni) 6 Organ Chorale Preludes
Frederic Chopin (arr. Busoni) Variations on Prelude in C minor
Brahms 6 Selections from Klavierstücke
Brahms Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, Op. 1
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Aristo Sham
In 2025, Aristo Sham was awarded both the Gold Medal and Audience Prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Praised by critics as “a marvel of deft characterization”, “consistently authoritative,” and by the The New York Times as a pianist “whose playing combines clarity, elegance and abundant technique.” Sham has dazzled audiences across five continents. His performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No.2 in the final of the Van Cliburn was lauded for its “purpose, direction, structural awareness, technical finesse and mature artistry” by Gramophone.
In previous seasons, Sham has appeared with the London Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, English Chamber, Orchestre Chambre de Lausanne, Utah Symphony, and Minnesota orchestras with conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Marin Alsop, Edo de Waart and Sir Raymond Leppard. His 2025/26 debut season as Cliburn winner includes a major tour of Asia through South Korea and China, and U.S. recitals for Aspen Music Festival, La Jolla Music Society/The Conrad, UCSB Arts and Lectures, and the Skyline Piano Artist Series at Northwestern University.
In 2009, Sham was featured in the documentary ‘The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies’, broadcast by Channel 4 in the UK. He has also performed for royalty and dignitaries such as King Charles and the Queen of Belgium. In 2024, he recorded and hosted the complete Brahms solo piano music on RTHK4, Classical Radio in Hong Kong.
Sham first gained international recognition when he won First Prize in the Ettlingen International Piano Competition in Germany in 2006, and First Prize in the Gina Bachauer International Junior Piano Competition in 2008. He is the First Prize Winner of the 2018 Young Concert Artists Susan Wadsworth International Auditions and in 2023, he won the Grand Prix at the Monte-Carlo Music Masters. He is also the recipient of top prizes at the Casagrande, Vendome Prize at Verbier Festival, Dublin, Clara Haskil, New York, Saint-Priest, and Viotti International Piano Competitions.
Sham holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University and a Masters in Piano Performance from New England Conservatory. He continued his studies at the Ingesund School of Music in Sweden with Julia Mustonen-Dahlkvist before returning to the States to earn an artist diploma at The Juilliard School with Robert McDonald and Orli Shaham.