# How good was Van Cliburn?



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I've just bought the complete Van Cliburn set from RCA. Van Cliburn became a national hero in America when he won the Tchaikovsky which sparked a meteoric rise to fame before his career burned out. But how good was he? Opinions?


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

So good that they keep on reissuing the recordings :devil:


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Very good technique, several interpretations (e.g. Rachmaninov's 2nd concerto with Reiner) that work very well for me.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

DavidA said:


> I've just bought the complete Van Cliburn set from RCA. Van Cliburn became a national hero in America when he won the Tchaikovsky which sparked a meteoric rise to fame before his career burned out. But how good was he? Opinions?


Wonderful burnished golden tone, and great sense of how to pace the music. Try Chopin's 3rd Scherzo from Moscow and the studio Chopin 3rd sonata to see what I mean. He made a bit of a trademark out of the Szymanowsky Étude op 4/3 - if you can bear the music. If you like 19th century romantic music then you'll enjoy the recordings a lot.

I don't know his concertos, I don't like concertos much.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Mandryka said:


> Wonderful burnished golden tone, and great sense of how to pace the music.


Excellent summary of Vanyusha's gifts, especially the pacing. His reading of the Prokofiev Third is a personal favorite, for those very reasons.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Ukko said:


> Very good technique, several interpretations (e.g. Rachmaninov's 2nd concerto with Reiner) that work very well for me.


I second this and regret tat he didn't recorded much more :tiphat:


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

I was converted when I heard him play the Barber Sonata op. 26. I hear how he was inspired by Horowitz on this, but he does it with more meaning, in my opinion. Plus, talk about being in the right place at the right time!


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Very good, perhaps great, but not very probing or wide ranging in repertoire (mostly due to popular demand that wanted him to continue to perform Tchaikovsky & Rachmaninoff). It seems that his early success had too much effect on his later years, and he performed less as he aged.

But a very important musician nevertheless, for artistic and, dare I hesitate a bit, political/cultural reasons. In that respect, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, from an artistic standpoint.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Orfeo said:


> not very probing or wide ranging in repertoire (mostly due to popular demand that wanted him to continue to perform Tchaikovsky & Rachmaninoff).


In this regard, he was much like Rachmaninoff, whose standard repertory was mostly Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, mostly a combination of popular demand and personal choice. Near the end of his life, R began to think about expanding his scope, and was studying the Schumann concerto.


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Strange Magic said:


> In this regard, he was much like Rachmaninoff, whose standard repertory was mostly Tchaikovsky, Liszt, and Sergei Rachmaninoff, mostly a combination of popular demand and personal choice. Near the end of his life, R began to think about expanding his scope, and was studying the Schumann concerto.


Yeah I know. Unfortunately, his aging and health concerns began to interfere (he collapsed onstage during a performance in 1998).


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## Sonata (Aug 7, 2010)

I haven't dug into Van Cliburn's work yet, but he's one of my piano teacher's favorites. In particular he discussed the singing tone that Van Cliburn produced. I'll have to see if he has anything on Amazon Prime


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Listenng to him the tone is incredible. He generates excitement not by barnstorming or fast tempi but just by the sheer impact of his playing. He certainly impressed Richter who gave him 100 /10 for his performance at the Moscow Tchaikovsky. I believe Richter also gave everyone else nought - he wasn't invited to sit on a jury again!


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

I think every CM listener should have the Tchaikovsky concerto in his or her collection. This transcends music; this is now part of history.
I mean, how the hell did this happen in America, that a gay guy playing classical music on the piano, not named Liberace, could have a world-wide impact, and a ticker-tape parade in New York City upon his return? This is totally unheard of!


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

millionrainbows said:


> I think every CM listener should have the Tchaikovsky concerto in his or her collection. This transcends music; this is now part of history.
> I mean, how the hell did this happen in America, that a gay guy playing classical music on the piano, not named Liberace, could have a world-wide impact, and a ticker-tape parade in New York City upon his return? This is totally unheard of!


That's a "should" I won't be acting on because I have no affection for Tchaikovsky's concerto.

How did it happen? Take an American winning a contest in Moscow during the height of the Cold War - that's all you need.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Early on, the general feeling was that his sudden all-encompassing fame significantly hindered his artistic development. As he aged he mellowed somewhat and began to bring more thought to what he played.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Bulldog said:


> That's a "should" I won't be acting on because I have no affection for Tchaikovsky's concerto.
> 
> How did it happen? Take an American winning a contest in Moscow during the height of the Cold War - that's all you need.


Yeah, but I'm talking about the positive historical impact, and am not interested in cynicism. I'm an idealist, and I'm enthusing, not negating. Isn't it just wonderful what Van Cliburn did? It's a real trip! Wow, it's really remarkable!!

~


MarkW said:


> Early on, the general feeling was that his sudden all-encompassing fame significantly hindered his artistic development. As he aged he mellowed somewhat and began to bring more thought to what he played.


I'm not interested in what those critics said. I'm too carried away with enthusing about the historic significance of it, that a classical pianist made history. That's a wonderful thing, especially in the America of the 1960s. Ha ha ha, wow! What a story! Can you dig it?


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Cliburn was the real deal. I was lucky enough to hear him play the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 live in NYC. His recording of said piece is for me unsurpassed.

A shame he quit playing professionally when he did.

Even so, one of the greats!


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

hpowders said:


> Cliburn was the real deal. I was lucky enough to hear him play the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 live in NYC. His recording of said piece is for me unsurpassed.
> 
> A shame he quit playing professionally when he did.
> 
> Even so, one of the greats!


I only heard him on recordings and I couldn't agree more:tiphat:


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