Back in the day. I mean way back in the day in 1958, a 23 year old Texan named Van Cliburn went to Moscow and won the international Tchaikovsky competition for pianists. It was such a huge deal that New York City gave him a ticker tape parade. He was the biggest star in America after he accomplished that feat. It was during the height of the cold war and this was a kid no one had heard of and went straight to Moscow and won. In terms of upsets, it is kind of like when a California wine went to France and won the best wine of the year. Van performed all over the world but after 20 years decided to give it a rest because he was tired of performing. He moved back to Texas and started his own piano competition which is held every four years in Ft. Worth. After taking about a ten year break he started playing publicly again. His is an amazing story. He is 78.
I don't like to wish ill or death on anyone, but why can't someone like Lindsay get advanced bone cancer?
ReplyDeleteThey would advertise his albums on late-night t.v. when I was a kid as well.
ReplyDelete'But wait, there's more!'
Anybody remember K-tel?
Haha, I do Libby!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear this about him.
I grew up in Ft. Worth. His competition was a big deal. Hopefully he is resting relatively pain-free.
ReplyDeleteHey Momster! I grew up right outside of Fort Worth. To those who aren't local, I say Fort Worth is my hometown. So I've known all about Van Cliburn my whole life (especially since I was a fine arts geeks all through school). Tremendous talent and seems like a great human being - so sad to hear this and wish him peace and as little pain as possible. I'm a little teary-eyed this morning.
ReplyDeleteMy gran had this......it's awful. So sad.
ReplyDeleteMy papaw had it too. It's horrible. I also remember the late night infomercials! I played the piano and wanted to be
ReplyDeleteLike that
wow, this is likegood news, bad news. I didnt know he was still alive, so thats good, but he has cancer, so thats bad. I too wish him as little pain as possible and a peaceful passing. (copied Ms goddess b/c she said it so beautifully!)
ReplyDeleteI was five years old in 1958. Cliburn was (and for all I know still is) one hell of a fine concert pianist, and that back in the days when Americans who could play anything like that well were very, very few in number, and when American-born musicians who were trained and who performed at that level being popular with concert audiences abroad were even more rare.
ReplyDeleteI remember a story from the mid 1960s about him.
ReplyDeleteHe was in DC & needed a tuxedo for a last minute performance, but all the rental stores were closed.
So he called up a friend of his from Texas, now in DC who was the same height & was able to borrow his tux.
The friend was LBJ, the president!
My mother played piano and Van Cliburn was constantly on our record player all the years I was growing up. He was and is amazing.
ReplyDeleteI remember, Libby! Oh, Van, I'm so sorry to hear this. I had a huge crush on him when a was a kid. He played so beautifully.
ReplyDeletethe california wine is an example or a real case? just curious. I really dont imagine the frenchies giving the best wine award to an american wine, funny story.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of this guy, im going to look up stuff from him, he looks like a real inspiration :) Sorry to hear about him due to his illness :/
I grew up in Fort Worth and I can't remember a time when I didn't know about this guy. He's very well regarded in his home town and such an inspiration.
ReplyDelete@Beta
ReplyDeleteIt is a true story and happened twice about twenty years apart. It was a blind tasting of CA Cabs. vs Bordeaux.
@HudsonJow thanks!! funny jeje
ReplyDeleteI dug it up thanks to you ref and found this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Paris_(wine)
The Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 [...] A California wine rated best in each category, which caused surprise as France was generally regarded as being the foremost producer of the world's best wines.
...
See the movie "Bottle Shock" for a fun retelling of the California wine winning the French competition.
ReplyDelete@Robert and others, yes. His talent is enormous. A classical pianist getting a ticker tape parade! Today people worship K_ians. And we wonder "what happened"? Sigh, big one.
ReplyDeleteI love classical Piano. I hope he can listen to all his favorites before he passes in peace. So sad. :(
ReplyDeleteWhat Tru Leigh said - Bottle Shock was a good movie, and based on a true story. And it has Alan Rickman in it!
ReplyDeleteI grew up in Texas, and can vouch that this man is highly revered there. So very sad to hear about his illness. Like so many have said, I hope he is experiencing only peace and comfort.
ReplyDeleteOh, and libby, I remember K-Tel!
ReplyDeleteHe started every concert with the National Anthem the "Star Spangled Banner."
ReplyDeleteOne of the nicest guys you could ever meet. A true southern gentleman.
Buy the recordings now, because the prices are going to soar. Live recordings in Moscow still available and the RCA recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto made at Carnegie Hall right after winning in Moscow with Russian conductor Kiril Kondrashin is also still available, but a bit scarce.
I also grew up in FtW. During my 20's I worked in an office that Van frequented, and got to know him slightly. I can vouch that he is a VERY nice, and VERY private man.
ReplyDeleteHis mother was also lovely to all of us. She used to go everywhere with him. Really...everywhere.
I was just talking to someone about those K-Tel record ads last night! "I'm sure you recognize this lovely melody as 'Strangers in Paradise...'"
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about this diagnosis.
@ ms_goddess, yeah I technically grew up N of Ft. Worth, around the N loop of 820. But it was always fun to go into "town" and ride the subway :) All our doctor/dentist appts were in Ft. Worth, as well as the bank. All in all, a great city to grow up in. A lot of great museums, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd good Mexican food!
My first ex-fiance used to do some photography for Van Cliburn.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a sad story. Van Cliburn is a wonderful person and a stupendous pianist. I have many of his recordings; unfortunately I never got to see him play live. Wishing him all the best as he deals with his illness, and my sympathy to his family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI also remember being young and seeing the infomercials and asking.. "but what is his first name!" says me who comes from Dutch heritage.
ReplyDeletei went to an all girl's boarding school in colorado. Van Cliburn came tp the university for a concert and i think they took pity on the nuns and gave several free tickets. somehow after the concert, the girl i sat next to said "let's go backstage and get his autograph". Me, what did i know. i said sure. the nuns and all the others left us to walk home alone. we somehow got backstage and the story was so crazy he agreed to meet us and gave us autographs. it was 1967 and he was tall and kind and shy. we raced back to school since the nuns locked us out. we knew we were going to get killed and then grounded for the rest of the school year but we were thrilled. so i am sorry to hear abour his health but am thankful i took a chance and got to meet him. i just remember vividly he was so tall and his hands were enormous. and he was shy. god bless mr clyburn.
ReplyDeleteI had the honor and privilege to see Van Cliburn play Carnegie Hall for my 16th birthday party. It was amazing. I knew at that age that I wanted to study music and I had dreams of being a world-famous pianist, of course, being naive enough to think that it was oh so easy. He was mesmerizing. Will never forget the concert and to this day it is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received in my life. Thank you, Mom and Dad.
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