[In Ryu Taehyung's Guest Seat] American Youth's Enthralling Performance... Melting the Cold War with the Keyboard

Pianist Van Cliburn, Prodigy Sweeping Competitions Since 1947
1958 Tchaikovsky Competition Appearance, 8-Minute Standing Ovation from Soviet Audience
Bright Tone Called 'Cliburn Tone', Shining High Notes
Van Cliburn Competition, Im Yunchan Wins This Year Following Sunwoo Yekwon in 2017

Van Cliburn during a car parade after winning the Tchaikovsky Competition

On the morning of June 19th, the Korean classical music world was swept with excitement. The results of the 16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, were announced at 7 p.m. local time on the 18th. The winner, announced by conductor Marin Alsop, was Yunchan Lim.

He was the only Asian and the youngest among the six finalists. In the final round, he competed against performers from Russia (two participants), Ukraine, Belarus, and the United States. Although Yunchan Lim had been considered a strong contender through the rounds, there was some concern since the previous winner in 2017 was Korea’s Yekwon Sunwoo. Ultimately, Lim achieved the remarkable feat of consecutive Korean victories in the competition. He stated, “I tried not to focus on the results but to deeply perform the legacies of Rachmaninoff and Beethoven.”

Photo of the winners of the 16th Van Cliburn Competition. From the left, 2nd place Anna Anna Genushene, 1st place Yunchan Lim, 3rd place Dmytro Choni.

Shifting the spotlight from the winner to the competition itself, the name Van Cliburn is now more deeply etched in the minds of many Korean music fans. But who was Van Cliburn as a pianist?

Van Cliburn’s full name was Harvey Lavan “Van” Cliburn Jr. He was born on July 12, 1934, in Shreveport, Louisiana. He first learned piano from his mother at the age of three. His mother, Lildia V., was a student of Arthur Friedheim, who was a disciple of Franz Liszt. His father, Harvey Lavan Cliburn, worked for Magnolia Petroleum Company, and the family later moved to Kilgore, Texas.

Van Cliburn was famous as a child prodigy. At age 12 in December 1947, he memorized Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in just three weeks and won the Texas Youth Piano Competition, performing with the Houston Symphony. The following year, he received the National Music Festival Award and performed at Carnegie Hall in New York. At 17, he entered the Juilliard School in New York, studying under Rosina Lh?vinne. Professor Lh?vinne was originally from Kiev, Ukraine, and was a representative of the Russian piano school in the former Soviet Union. She taught notable students such as conductor James Levine, film composer John Williams, pianists John Browning, Garrick Ohlsson, Kun-Woo Paik, and Dong-Il Han.

Van Cliburn performing in the finals of the Tchaikovsky Competition

Although an American pianist, Van Cliburn inherited the tradition of Franz Liszt through his mother and the Russian piano school tradition through his teacher. He won the Texas competition and, by the age of twenty, took first place at the prestigious Leventritt Competition.

During his Juilliard days, there is a famous anecdote involving film composer John Williams. Originally admitted to Juilliard as a piano major, Williams changed his path to composition after watching Van Cliburn’s performance and realizing his true calling. Without Van Cliburn, we might have remembered John Williams not as the composer of countless masterpieces but as a pianist.

The late 1950s were a chilly period of the Cold War, following the end of World War II and the armistice of the Korean War. In 1956, a revolt against the Soviet Union occurred in Hungary. West Germany outlawed the Communist Party and reinstated conscription. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, sparking criticism in the U.S. for lagging behind in space development. The 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition was a Soviet project aiming for cultural victory following technological success.

When his mentor Rosina Lh?vinne heard that the Tchaikovsky Competition would be held in the Soviet Union, Van Cliburn was the first name that came to mind. His specialty was Russian music. Inspired by hearing Rachmaninoff’s performance on the radio in 1939, he dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. He had already performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 at the Texas competition and won a prize. After winning the Leventritt Competition, he also succeeded performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with various orchestras.

Van Cliburn performing in the finals of the Tchaikovsky Competition

At the competition held in Moscow, Van Cliburn’s skill was extraordinary. On April 13th, during the finale, his performances of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 earned him an eight-minute standing ovation from the Soviet audience.

Before announcing the winners, the judges asked Soviet Secretary Nikita Khrushchev if it was acceptable to award first place to an American performer. Khrushchev replied, “Is he the best? Then give him the prize!” At the awards ceremony, Khrushchev showed a mature demeanor by smiling at the hero from an enemy country. Lev Blaszenko (Soviet Union) and Liu Shikun (China) tied for second place, and Naum Shtarkman (Soviet Union) took third. Had political considerations altered the rankings, the competition’s prestige would have been severely damaged. It is said that the great juror Sviatoslav Richter gave Van Cliburn a perfect score while giving zero points to other performers.

The pianist who won in the heart of the Cold War returned home to a warm welcome. President Eisenhower personally greeted him at the airport, and a grand motorcade was held. When Myung-whun Chung returned second from the Tchaikovsky Competition 16 years later, the motorcade was influenced by this splendid scene.

He became the cover subject of Time magazine under the title “The Texan Who Conquered Russia.” In New York, Van Cliburn told the crowd, “What excites me even more is your respect for classical music. I believe in the beauty of music?the structure, the invisible architecture?and I believe it will help young people develop their minds and find values in the future.”

Van Cliburn during a car parade after winning the Tchaikovsky Competition

Russian pianists generally had large hands, large physiques, or both. Their scale was immense. Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff all featured thick chords and dazzling leaps in both hands. Cliburn was a large man. Sitting at the piano, the full-size grand piano seemed small. His hand span was 33 centimeters, truly large. He could comfortably cover an octave and a half. The bright and distinctive tone known as the “Cliburn tone” was unique and clear. Especially the high register shone. His clear, unshadowed, and open sound meant that when he played, everyone tended to become “Cliburnized,” which was both a strength and a weakness.

In the year he won, 1958, a piano competition awarding a $10,000 prize was discussed at a banquet hosted by the National Federation of Music Clubs. The first Van Cliburn Competition was held on September 24, 1962, at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, organized mainly by Grace Ward Langford, local piano teachers, and volunteers. The competition, held every four years, began this way. Van Cliburn served as director and honorary director of the Van Cliburn Foundation until his death. He provided financial support but declined to serve as a juror. He only encouraged winners and shared meals with them. The competition became a representative piano contest producing top pianists such as Radu Lupu, Christian Zacharias, Nikolai Petrov, Barry Douglas, and Alexei Sultanov. Korea has achieved historic results with Heewon Yang (Joyce Yang) placing second in 2005, Yeol Eum Son second in 2009, followed by consecutive wins by Yekwon Sunwoo and Yunchan Lim.

Van Cliburn passed away in 2013. After his father’s death in 1978, he effectively retired from the stage and lived as a recluse. It is believed that his excessively early success and the explosive public attention became a burden. However, he occasionally appeared, such as performing at the White House during the 1987 summit between President Reagan and Soviet Secretary Gorbachev. In 2001, President George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2010, President Obama presented him with the National Medal of Arts. U.S. presidents have honored his achievements. As the Associated Press described him, “a pianist who combined Horowitz, Valentino Libera, and Elvis Presley,” he was a figure who possessed both virtuosity and popular appeal. Van Cliburn may have departed, but through the splendid competitions and the achievements of its laureates, his name will be remembered for a long time.

Ryu Taehyung, Music Columnist