Van Cliburn was born Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr. on July 12, 1934, in
Shreveport, Louisiana, USA. His mother, named Rildia Bee O'Bryan, had
been taught piano by Arthur Friedheim, a pupil of
Franz Liszt. Cliburn began taking piano
lessons at the age of three from his mother, who was strict and
demanded perfection. At the age of twelve Cliburn won a piano
competition in Texas and made his debut with the Houston Symphony
Orchestra. At the age of twenty he made his debut at Carnegie Hall.
In 1958 Cliburn won the First International Tshaikovsky Piano
Competition in Moscow. There he played the Piano Concerto No. 1 by
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and
the Piano Concerto No. 3 by
Sergei Rachmaninoff in his triumphal
competition finale performances. Cliburn's mastery of piano was so
convincing that even
Nikita Khrushchev
agreed, when the Soviet judges asked him for permission to give the
first prize to an American. Cliburn was on the cover of TIME as "The
Texan Who Conquered Russia." He made a fine recording of Tchaikovsky's
Piano Concerto No. 1, which became the best-selling classical album,
eventually going triple platinum. Cliburn also recorded the music of
Edvard Grieg,
Sergei Rachmaninoff, and
Ludwig van Beethoven among other
composers.
Since 1962 Van Cliburn has been the artistic advisor for the Van
Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. Its
international prestige now rivals that of the Tchaikovsky Piano
Competition. Cliburn made appearances at such important political
events, as the 1987 White House meeting between President Reagan and
Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev. In
1991 Cliburn performed at the opening of the 100th Anniversary season
of Carnegie Hall. In 2003 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, and in 2004 received the Russian Order of Friendship. He has
played piano music for royalty, heads of states, and for every
President of the United States since
Harry S. Truman. Van Cliburn is living
in Fort Worth, Texas. He is a Steinway artist. He owns a collection of
Steinway pianos that are tuned-up to accommodate his individual touch
and style.
America's Tribute to Bob Hope(1988)
The Beat with Ari Melber(2017)
Falling(2020)
The Young and the Restless(1973)as Self
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts(2001)as Self - Honoree
Biography(1987)as Self
Carnegie Hall at 100: A Place of Dreams(1991)as Self
On the Road with Ed Sullivan(2024)as Self
Mysteries at the Museum(2010)as Self
The 56th Annual Grammy Awards(2014)as Self - Classical Pianist (In Memoriam)
