Celebrated American pianist Cliburn
Van Cliburn, the American pianist whose first-place awardat the 1958 Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow made him an overnight sensation and propelled him to a phenomenally successful and lucrative career, though a shortlived one, died Wednesday in Fort Worth. He was 78.
His publicist, Mary Lou Falcone, confirmed the death, saying Cliburn had been treated for bone cancer and that he died at his home, which he shared with Thomas Smith, who survives him.
Harvey Lavan Cliburn Jr. was born July 12, 1934, in Shreveport. His family later moved to Texas.
He was a lanky 23-year-old when he clinched the goldmedal in the inaugural year of the Tchaikovsky competition, and the feat in Moscow was viewed as an American triumph over the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. He became a cultural celebrity of pop-star dimensions. When Cliburn returned to New York, he was given a ticker-tape parade in Manhattan with about 100,000 people lining the streets and cheering.
Cliburn was a naturally gifted pianist whose enormous hands spanned 12 notes each. Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter, a juror for the Tchaikovsky competition, described Cliburn as a genius - a word, he added, “I do not use lightly about performers.”
The Tchaikovsky competition represented Cliburn’s breakthrough, but his growthwas stalled by his early success. During the 1960s he played less and less. By 1978 he had retired from the concert stage; he returned in 1989 but performed rarely.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 10 on 02/28/2013