Word: talents
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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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...
...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 of equal native ability: Byron Janis, 30, Gary Graffman, 29, Seymour Lipkin, 31, Jacob Lateiner, 30, Claude Frank, 32, John Browning, 24, Eugene Istomin...
...rawboned frame. "Honey," he announced, "Ah'm goin' to study with you." It was the first time she had heard the name Cliburn, but she invited him in and asked him to play. Says Mrs. Lhevinne: "Right then I said. 'This is an unbelievable talent.' His mother had taught him very well indeed." She took him as a pupil, and he took the Juilliard's "diploma," or conservatory course (as opposed to the "degree" course, which requires 60 semester hours of academic courses) to leave himself time for concertizing...
...walks this tall, mad-looking fellow, sits down and plays-of all things-Liszt's Twelfth Rhapsody. He bowled us right over. Ordinarily, the judges would not even seriously consider anyone who played a spectacular piece like that. But it was obvious that this was an enormous raw talent; they don't come any bigger." His playing of a far more demanding repertory clinched his victory. When it was announced, he grabbed the daughter of Rosalie Leventritt, the stately dowager who sponsors the contest, and joyously waltzed her around the room before the startled judges. The next...
...born of peasant stock near the town of Busseto in the Po Valley in 1813. When he was 18, the townsfolk sent him to Milan Conservatory, hoping that he could be trained to become Bus-seto's organist and orchestra director. But the conservatory examiners flunked Verdi; his talent for composition, they said, was "passable," but his pianoforte technique was ruined by "a faulty position of the hands and wrists." This "blow to all his pride and hope was so terrible" that Verdi never forgot, never forgave it. Helped by a friendly patron, he buckled down to a period...