Ralph Votapek

Ralph James Votapek (born March 20, 1939) is an American pianist. He won the First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1962, along with the inaugural competition's First Place prize of US $10,000. He was the Jury Chairman of the eighth Van Cliburn competition in 2022.

Biography Votapek was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1939.

Votapek was a professor of piano and Artist in Residence at the Michigan State University College of Music, and served there for 36 years before retiring in 2004.