Famed pianist Van Cliburn dies of cancer
Triumph in Moscow helped thaw Cold War
FORT WORTH, Texas Van Cliburn, the internationally celebrated U.S. pianist whose triumph at a 1958 Moscow competition helped thaw the Cold War and launched a spectacular career that made him the rare classical musician to enjoy rock star status, has died. He was 78.
Cliburn died early Wednesday at his Fort Worth home surrounded by loved ones after a battle with bone cancer, said his publicist and longtime friend Mary Lou Falcone.
Cliburn made what would be his last public appearance in September at the 50th anniversary of the prestigious piano competition named for him. Speaking to the audience in Fort Worth, he saluted the many past contestants, the orchestra and the city.
“Never forget: I love you all from the bottom of my heart, forever,” he said to a roaring standing ovation.
Cliburn rocketed to fame when he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at age 23 in 1958, six months after the Soviet launch of Sputnik embarrassed the U.S. and propelled the world into the space age. He triumphantly returned to a New York City ticker tape parade — the first ever for a classical musician — and a Time magazine cover proclaimed him “The Texan Who Conquered Russia.”
In the years that followed, Cliburn’s popularity soared, and the young man from the small east Texas town of Kilgore sold out concerts, caused riots when spotted in public and even prompted an Elvis Presley fan club to change its name to his. His recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Russian conductor Kirill Kondrashin became the first classical album to reach platinum status, selling more than a million copies.
Cliburn made his home in Fort Worth. He endowed scholarships at many schools, including Juilliard, which gave him an honorary doctorate, and the Moscow and Leningrad conservatories.
In December 2001, Cliburn was presented with the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors Medallion at the televised tribute held in Washington.
Until only recently, Cliburn practised daily and performed limited engagements.