QUICK TAKES - June 2, 2009

Six pianists, ages 19 to 27, were named Monday as finalists for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

They are Evgeni Bozhanov, 25, of Bulgaria; Yeol Eum Son, 23, of South Korea; Nobuyuki Tsujii, 20, of Japan; Mariangela Vacatello, 27, of Italy; Di Wu, 24, of China; and Haochen Zhang, 19, also of China.

The winner will be determined after a series of concerts scheduled for Wednesday through Sunday. Each pianist will perform two concertos with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of L.A. Opera music director James Conlon.

-- David Ng