Van Cliburn - Final of the 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition

Information

Composer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Sergei Rachmaninov; Dmitri Kabalevsky

1. Applause
2. Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23: I. Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso
3. Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23: II. Andantino simplice - Prestissimo - Tempo primo
4. Tchaikovsky - Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23: III. Allegro con fuoco
5. Applause
6. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30: I. Allegro ma non tanto
7. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30: II. Intermezzo: Adagio
8. Rachmaninov - Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30: III. Finale: Alla breve
9. Kabalevsky - Rondo in A minor, Op. 59

Van Cliburn, piano
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
Kirill Kondrashin, conductor

Date: 1958
Label: Testament
https://testament.co.uk/van-cliburn.html

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Review

Here, published for the first time, are the performances that sealed the Texan’s first prize in the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, earning him a ticker-tape welcome back home and the Soviet bureaucrats red faces. The strings are acidic, the solo cello sounds like an alto sax, the piano is frequently clunky-toned, the Moscow coughers are out in force and Cliburn has his fair share of fluffs and fudges – but none of this matters. There is a palpable sense of occasion, one in which all concerned sense they are witnessing history in the making as Cliburn gives the performances of his life. No wonder the audience erupts after the first movement of the Tchaikovsky. The allegro vivace assai section of the slow movement is taken at a daring pace, while the final pages are as thrilling as any on disc. The second item on the programme was the Rondo by Kabalevsky, a pièce imposé written especially for the occasion. On this disc, Testament places it as the final work after the Rachmaninov. It’s hardly a masterpiece but Cliburn dignifies it by treating it like one. And then Rach Three. Despite the sonic imperfections and some scarily uncoordinated moments, this one punches a hardly less emotional impact than Cliburn’s astounding RCA recording. The first-movement cadenza (Cliburn plays the bigger of the two) will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck; the finale’s peroration will sweep you away. Whatever that magical, indefinable gift is, Cliburn had it in 1958, his annus mirabilis.

-- Gramophone

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Van Cliburn (July 12, 1934 – February 27, 2013) was an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958, at the age of 23, when he won the inaugural quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competitionin Moscow at the height of the Cold War. He had a grand Romantic, expressive style of playing with golden rich, round tone and a singing voice-like phrasing, having been taught from the start to sing each piece. Van Cliburn toured domestically and overseas. He played for royalty, heads of state, and every U.S. president from Harry S. Truman to Barack Obama.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Cliburn

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