Cliburn, Van (Harvey Lavan Cliburn) [key], 1934–2013, American pianist, b. Shreveport, La. Until 1951, Cliburn studied with his mother, a concert pianist; he later was a pupil of Rosina Lhévinne at Juilliard. In 1958 Cliburn won the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, and immediately became a cultural sensation and a cold war hero. His warm tone, superb technique, and sensitive interpretations were especially well-suited to Romantic music. In 1962 a group of his admirers created the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Tex.
See biographies by H. Reich (1993) and N. Cliff (2016); study by J. Horowitz (1990).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Music: History, Composers, and Performers: Biographies
