Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr., (born July 12, 1934) in Shreveport, Louisiana, is a pianist who achieved national acclaim and worldwide recognition in 1958 when he won the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War.Cliburn moved to Texas when he was six years old, and won a Texas competition when he was twelve. He made his orchestra debut in 1947 with the Houston Symphony Orchestra In 1948 he played in Carnegie Hall. He attended The Juilliard School for three years starting at age seventeen.
It was his recognition in Moscow which propelled him to international fame. He returned home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City. TIME put him on their cover, proclaiming "The Pianist Who Conquered Russia." RCA signed him to an exclusive contract, and his first recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, the concerto which won him the award, went platinum. It was the best-selling classical album in the world for more than a decade, selling over three million copies.
In 1962, he became the artistic advisor for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The competition was founded bv a group of Fort Worth, Texas music teachers and volunteers, and is held every four years.