Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Today, it’s hard to fathom the worldwide sensation sparked by Van Cliburn’s victory in the 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. An American pianist winning a prestigious Russian event at the height of the Cold War made headlines everywhere and the two rival superpowers took the young Texan to their hearts, with a tickertape parade in Manhattan and frequent, sold-out tours of the Soviet Union by Cliburn during the following years. VAI has secured the original Russian television tapes of some of those concerts; this first of the series is from the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory in 1962, with the excellent Kirill Kondrashin leading the Moscow Philharmonic. The formal program was made up of two of the most popular concertos in the repertory. The Beethoven Emperor Concerto features Cliburn’s big, bold tone and exquisite phrasing; his magisterial entrance is riveting and the meaningful trills Beethoven sprinkled throughout the work are done with pristine exactitude. The Tchaikovsky Concerto--Cliburn’s signature piece--is even better; the massive opening chords thrilling, ample poetry in the slow movement and, as in the Beethoven, truly stunning legato playing. Also worthy are the two encores--Chopin’s Fantasy in F minor, given with a mixture of power and poetry, and Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, brimming with excitement and pianistic mastery. Kondrashin’s orchestral accompaniments in the concertos are exemplary, well-paced and matching Cliburn’s keyboard approach. The mono sound is barely acceptable, with occasional patches of distortion, and if the grainy picture quality is an indication of Soviet TV quality at the time, they had a long way to go. But this DVD scores on two levels: It’s an important historical document (Khruschev, Mikoyan and Gromyko are in the audience) and it’s an important reminder of Cliburn’s musical prowess at the time. --Dan Davis









Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

---

Related Items:
     see more

Related Items:

• Van Cliburn in Moscow, Vol. 2
• Van Cliburn in Moscow, Vol. 3- Rachmaninoff Concertos 2, 3
• Artur Rubinstein in Concert
• Mozart /Chopin/Rachmaninov: Richter - Classic Archive
• Emil Gilels: Live in Moscow, Vol. 1 - Brahms/Schumann/Mendelssohn
• see more

---

Rating: - Best pianist alive
I bought a Van Cliburn CD from Amazon some years back at random and had never heard of him then. Since then, I have listened to various interpretations from other famous concert pianists and still like Van Cliburn best. This DVD displays his youthful brilliance on the piano and the great warmth he shows the Russians in the inspiring most famous performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No.1 that effectively launched his career. His enthusiasm in embracing the Russian people and even learning some Russian words endeared him to the world. I would have never guessed that this episode took place during the heart of the Cold War.

---

Rating: - A piece of history--not a piece de resistance
I haven't watched the performance of the Beethoven yet, but, judging from the Tchaikovsky, while the audio is good, the video quality is strictly mediocre. The manufacturer, VAI, makes no claim as to remastering the existing tapes, so what we get is what was broadcasted in the 60s: a piece of history, but not a piece de resistance! Don't get me wrong, though: It's WONDERFUL seeing Van Cliburn playing--particularly observing his facial expressions (one of which is depicted on the cover)--but,if you've been wondering if this is a visually sharp recording,it's not.