Van Cliburn, born Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr. on July 12, 1934, in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, began his musical journey at the tender age of three when he started taking piano lessons from his mother, Rildia Bee O'Bryan, who was a strict teacher demanding perfection.
As a child prodigy, Cliburn won a piano competition in Texas at the age of twelve, making his debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra, and later made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of twenty.
In 1958, Cliburn's remarkable talent was recognized when he won the First International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, playing the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and the Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninoff in his triumphant competition finale performances.
Cliburn's mastery of piano was so convincing that even Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet leader, agreed to give the first prize to an American, earning him the cover of TIME magazine as "The Texan Who Conquered Russia."
As a renowned pianist, Cliburn made a fine recording of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, which became the best-selling classical album, eventually going triple platinum. He also recorded music by Edvard Grieg, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Ludwig van Beethoven, among other composers.
Since 1962, Cliburn has been the artistic advisor for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, which has gained international prestige rivaling that of the Tchaikovsky Piano Competition.
Throughout his career, Cliburn has made appearances at significant political events, including the 1987 White House meeting between President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, and in 1991, he performed at the opening of the 100th Anniversary season of Carnegie Hall.
Cliburn's accomplishments were recognized with numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2003 and the Russian Order of Friendship in 2004. He has played piano music for royalty, heads of states, and every President of the United States since Harry S. Truman.
Currently, Cliburn resides in Fort Worth, Texas, and is a Steinway artist, owning a collection of Steinway pianos that are tuned to accommodate his individual touch and style.
