A performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, as played by a young American in Moscow in 1958, has never been forgotten in the former Soviet Union.
The pianist, Van Cliburn, who died at the age of 78 on February 27 in Texas, was competing at the time in the first-ever International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Just 23 years old, he was a long-shot entry. But right from the start it became clear that despite the great divide between Soviet citizens and Americans, something... See More
A performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, as played by a young American in Moscow in 1958, has never been forgotten in the former Soviet Union.
The pianist, Van Cliburn, who died at the age of 78 on February 27 in Texas, was competing at the time in the first-ever International Tchaikovsky Competition.
Just 23 years old, he was a long-shot entry. But right from the start it became clear that despite the great divide between Soviet citizens and Americans, something special was happening.
By the time the competition was drawing to a close, Cliburn was the audience favorite, not just in Moscow but across the Soviet Union, as the event was broadcast on state radio. When the judges announced Cliburn had won, music lovers celebrated openly, despite the official chill in Soviet-U.S. relations.
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