2009
Mr. Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn has been called an American hero, hailed as one of the most persuasive ambassadors of American culture as well as one of the greatest pianists in the history of music. With his historic 1958 victory in the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War, Van Cliburn tore down cultural barriers years ahead of glasnost and perestroika, transcending politics by demonstrating the universality of classical music. Van Cliburn has performed with every major orchestra and conductor and has appeared in all major international concert halls. He has performed for every President of the United States since Harry Truman and for royalty and heads of state in Europe, Asia and South America. He has provided scholarships at many schools, including the Julliard School, Cincinnati Conservatory, Texas Christian University, Louisiana State University, Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Saint Petersburg Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory. He has received the Kennedy Center Honor and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In a Kremlin Ceremony, he received the Order of Friendship from President Vladimir Putin, and in 2003 President George W. Bush bestowed upon him the Medal of Freedom in a ceremony in the White House. Van Cliburn is a fourth-generation Texan. His father, Harvey Lavan Cliburn, was an executive with Magnolia Petroleum. At the age of three he began piano studies with his mother, Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn, who studied with Arthur Friedheim, a pupil of Franz Liszt.
Van Cliburn has been called an American hero, hailed as one of the most persuasive ambassadors of American culture as well as one of the greatest pianists in the history of music. With his historic 1958 victory in the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War, Van Cliburn tore down cultural barriers years ahead of glasnost and perestroika, transcending politics by demonstrating the universality of classical music. Van Cliburn has performed with every major orchestra and conductor and has appeared in all major international concert halls. He has performed for every President of the United States since Harry Truman and for royalty and heads of state in Europe, Asia and South America. He has provided scholarships at many schools, including the Julliard School, Cincinnati Conservatory, Texas Christian University, Louisiana State University, Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Saint Petersburg Conservatory and the Moscow Conservatory. He has received the Kennedy Center Honor and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In a Kremlin Ceremony, he received the Order of Friendship from President Vladimir Putin, and in 2003 President George W. Bush bestowed upon him the Medal of Freedom in a ceremony in the White House. Van Cliburn is a fourth-generation Texan. His father, Harvey Lavan Cliburn, was an executive with Magnolia Petroleum. At the age of three he began piano studies with his mother, Rildia Bee O'Bryan Cliburn, who studied with Arthur Friedheim, a pupil of Franz Liszt.