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Van Cliburn
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Van Cliburn |
| Music Encyclopedia: Van Cliburn |
(b Shreveport la, 12 July 1934). American pianist. In 1954 he appeared with the New York PO at Carnegie Hall but wider fame did not come until 1958, when he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. With his technical command and massive tone he gained a large following in the Romantic repertory but interpretative affectations led to a decline in his reputation.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Van Cliburn |
Cliburn, Van (Harvey Lavan Cliburn) (klī'bərn), 1934-, American pianist, b. Shreveport, La. Until 1951, Cliburn studied with his mother, a concert pianist, and became a pupil of Rosina Lhévinne at the Juilliard School of Music. Cliburn won the 1958 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow. His superb technique and interpretations are especially well-suited to Romantic music. In 1962 he created the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Tex.
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Cli·burn (klī'bərn)  , Van
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American pianist who was the first American to win the Tchaikovsky Prize (1958).
| Artist: Van Cliburn |
- Country: USA
- Born: July 12, 1934 in Shreveport, LA
Biography
Kairos is a word used by ancient Greek writers to signify "the right point of time...the exact or critical time..." of action, a favorable planetary conjunction, or otherwise. Cliburn's career is an illustration. In the tensest days of the Cold War -- of Civil Defense, air raid sirens, bomb shelters, atomic angst, and the launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik that put the Russians first into space -- handsome, lanky 6'4," 23-year-old Van Cliburn, with his Southerner's air of innocent modesty and tremendous keyboard technique, in April 1958 carried off the Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow with a transcendent performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1. Timing -- kairos -- and talent combined to make his triumph symbolic, heroic, and permanently memorable; the recording he made of it soon after, with Kiril Kondrashin conducting the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, is warmly glowing with an incomparable magic that has kept his performance competitive with later interpreters decade after decade. But such moments do not happen without preparation. Cliburn's mother, who had studied with Liszt pupil Arthur Friedheim, was his first teacher. He gave his first recital at 4, played with the Houston Symphony at 13, and at 14 was heard in Carnegie Hall. Appearances, prizes, and awards followed in a regular spate without amounting to public recognition or a genuine career. At 17 he had begun studies with Rosina Lhévinne at the Juilliard School -- taken with his mother's Liszt/Friedheim connection, he became an unselfconscious inheritor of the grand Romantic tradition. And it was Rosina Lhévinne who prompted his entrance to the Tchaikovsky Competition. Following his win, of course, Cliburn enjoyed a major career, and the recordings he made in the succeeding decade possess a large-scale grandeur. He was at his best in Romantic repertoire -- Liszt, Chopin, Schumann, Grieg, MacDowell, Rachmaninov -- though his Mozart and Beethoven can seem academic. And with the years, the grand manner devolved into careless mannerism as the public clamored for a reprise of the Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1. He founded the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, TX, in 1962, to which he has devoted more time than to his own career as a performing artist. His return to the concert scene after a ten-year sabbatical was hardly noticed. But the legend, the peculiar kairos that realized itself through him, is imperishable. ~ Adrian Corleonis, All Music GuideDiscography
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| Wikipedia: Van Cliburn |
For the international piano competition, see Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. (born July 12, 1934), is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958, when at age 23, he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War.
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Career
Van Cliburn was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and began taking piano lessons at the age of three from his mother, Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn. O'Bryan was taught by Arthur Friedheim,[1] a pupil of Franz Liszt. At six years old, Cliburn moved with his family to Kilgore, Texas, and at twelve he won a statewide piano competition which enabled him to debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. He entered The Juilliard School at age 17, and studied under Rosina Lhévinne, who trained him in the tradition of the great Russian romantics. At age 20, Cliburn won the Leventritt Award, and made his Carnegie Hall debut.
It was his recognition in Moscow that propelled Cliburn to international fame. The first International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 was an event designed to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority during the Cold War, on the heels of their technological victory with the Sputnik launch in October 1957. Cliburn's performance at the competition finale of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 earned him a standing ovation lasting eight minutes. When it was time to announce a winner, the judges were obliged to ask permission of the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to give first prize to an American. "Is he the best?" Khrushchev asked. "Then give him the prize!" Cliburn returned home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the only time the honor has been accorded a classical musician. His cover story in Time proclaimed him "The Texan Who Conquered Russia."
RCA Victor signed him to an exclusive contract, and his subsequent recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 became the first classical album to go platinum. It was the best-selling classical album in the world for more than a decade, eventually going triple-platinum. Cliburn won the 1958 Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance for this recording. In 2004, this recording was re-mastered from the original studio analogue tapes, and released in the highest quality ever on high-resolution Super Audio CD.
Other famous concerti Cliburn has recorded include the Schumann Piano Concerto, Grieg Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2, Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 4 and No. 5 (Emperor), and the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3.
In 1962, Cliburn became the artistic advisor for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The competition was founded by the Van Cliburn Foundation, of Fort Worth, Texas made up of music teachers and volunteers, and its prestige now rivals that of the Tchaikovsky Competition.
Cliburn performed and recorded through the 1970s, but in 1978, after the deaths of his father and manager, began a hiatus from public life. In 1987, he was invited to perform at the White House for President Ronald Reagan and Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, and afterwards was invited to open the 100th anniversary season of Carnegie Hall. In 1994, Cliburn made a guest appearance in the cartoon Iron Man, playing himself in the episode "Silence My Companion, Death My Destination". Now over 70, he still gives a limited number of performances every year, to critical and popular acclaim. He has played for royalty and heads of state from dozens of countries, and for every President of the United States (other than President Obama), since Harry Truman.
He begins every concert with The Star Spangled Banner.
Honors
Cliburn received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2001. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003 by President George W. Bush, and, in October 2004, the Russian Order of Friendship, the highest civilian awards of the two countries. He was also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award the same year and played at a surprise 50th birthday party for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Personal life
In 1998, Cliburn was named in a lawsuit by his domestic partner of seventeen years, mortician Thomas Zaremba.[2] In the suit, Zaremba claimed entitlement to a portion of Cliburn's income and assets and went on to charge that he might have been exposed to HIV and claimed emotional distress. Each claim was subsequently dismissed by an Appellate Court, holding that palimony suits are not permitted in the state of Texas unless the relationship is based on a written agreement.
Cliburn is known as a night owl. He often practices until 4:30 or 5 am, waking around 1:30 pm.[3] "You feel like you're alone and the world's asleep, and it's very inspiring."[4]
Cliburn has been a lifelong Baptist and attends church every week. He does not drink or smoke.[5]
References
- ^ Arthur FRIEDHEIM
- ^ Rapp, Linda. "Cliburn, Van". glbtq.com. http://www.glbtq.com/arts/cliburn_v.html. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- ^ Rogers, Mary (May 18, 1997). "A Midnight Conversation with Van Cliburn". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. http://www.maryrussellrogers.com/files/maryrussellrogers/download_files/A_midnight_conversation_with_Van_Cliburn.pdf. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
- ^ Van Cliburn. Interview with Scott Simon. Weekend Edition Saturday. National Public Radio Ft Worth / New York. 1 March 2008. (Interview [Audio]). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
- ^ http://www.glbtq.com/arts/cliburn_v,2.html
- Staff writers (19 May 1958). "The All-American Virtuoso". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,864368,00.html. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
- "Court grants Pianist's ex-Partner Chance to Amend Suit". AEGiS. National Library of Medicine. August 1997. http://www.aegis.com/aidsline/1997/dec/M97C1497.html. Retrieved 2008-03-01.
External links
- The Van Cliburn Foundation
- Van Cliburn 1958 Time magazine, cover image
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Mentioned in
- Van Cliburn in Moscow, Vol. 2 (1972 Music Film)
- The Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Life in Music (1993 Film)
- Van Cliburn: A Portrait (1966 Music Film)
- The Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Playing With Fire (1997 Music Film)
- The Seventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (Film)
- The Sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (Film)
- The Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: In the Heart of Music (2005 Film)
- Encore with James Conlon (Music Film)
- Van Cliburn in Moscow, Vol. 1 (1962 Music Film)
- The Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Here to Make Music (1989 Music Film)
- Rudolf Buchbinder
- Barry Douglas
- Radu Lupu
- Josef Lhévinne (music)
