Word: cliburn
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1958-1958
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...greeted him with "thunderous applause such as had not been heard in Russia for over a century." The pianist who has been evoking that sort of reception for a month from Riga to Kiev is a far cry from the saturnine dandy with the "Florentine profile." Van Cliburn is a gangling (6 ft. 4 in., 165 Ibs.), snub-nosed, mop-haired boy out of Kilgore, as Texan as pecan pie. Instead of medals, he carried a well-thumbed Bible; instead of doeskin gloves, a single dress shirt, a plastic wing collar given to him by a friend, a ratty grey...
...before any of these things begin to happen Van Cliburn is bracing himself to clear one high hurdle. Late Monday afternoon, May 19, if he conforms to his usual ritual as a somewhat ailing health enthusiast, he will eat three raw eggs cracked into a glass with the yolks intact and swallowed in one agonized gulp. In the evening in his dressing room, he will dose himself from a staggering array of pills and nose drops. As a tension reliever, and because he thinks it helps clear his mind, he will sit down for several minutes bolt upright...
...Pianist Cliburn's great talent is nothing new to knowing U.S. musicians and critics; for all the fanfare, the Russians did not "discover" him. In 1954 he won the Leventritt Award for young pianists and string players-a far tougher prize than the Tchaikovsky Gold Medal. Although the Leventritt competition is held annually, no prize had been awarded for five years because no entrant was judged up to it. Playing to some of the keenest musical ears in the world, Van took the prize hands down. After that, he was known as a comer in musical circles from...
More important, Cliburn is no isolated U.S. phenomenon, as suggested in a party-processed statement by Russian Composer Dmitry Shostakovich: "Musical circles in the United States have a right to be proud ... of their young countryman, especially since until now the musical successes of that country resulted not from the efforts of Americans but of famous performers of European countries." Van's victory dramatically underscored that there is more first-rate native instrumental talent in the U.S. than in the whole of Europe. Moreover, the talent is younger. In Cliburn's generation there are at least nine pianists...
...artists have consistently won impressive triumphs abroad since World War II, and this summer, with a record number of American musicians touring, they will dominate the European musical scene. In 1952 Pianist Fleisher won first place at Belgium's Queen Elisabeth Concours against far tougher competition than Cliburn faced in Russia. In 1956 Pianist Browning (a Leventritt Award winner in 1955) came within a sixteenth note of taking first in the same competition, finally took second to Russia's Ashkenazy. This summer there are even two other Texas pianists-Ivan Davis, 25, who won first place at last...