At the height of the Cold War in 1958, Van Cliburn — at the time a 23-year-old — was America’s participant in the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, a contest that had been planned to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority on the heels of the country’s launch of Sputnik.
Among the judges was pianist Sviatoslav Richter, who was so impressed by Cliburn that he gave him the maximum possible “perfect” score; later Richter recalled weeping with joy while listening to Cliburn play Rachmaninoff’s enormously challenging Piano Concerto No. 3. The judges scored Cliburn as the clear winner at the conclusion of the final concerto round voting – which presented them with a quandary and crisis. The judges asked permission of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to give first prize to an American. “Is he the best?” Khrushchev asked. “Then give him the prize!”
Cliburn returned home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the only time the honor has been bestowed on a musician. RCA Victor signed him to an exclusive contract, and his first recording for the label, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, was actually the second recording he made of the work.
The first, released here, was made by the label that would soon become Melodiya, in Moscow, just after the Tchaikovsky Competition.
Newly remastered by Urlicht AudioVisual, this recording – rarely heard outside of the old Soviet Union – is now available for download and streaming.
