LIVE from the NYPL & Christie's present: VAN CLIBURN in conversation with Paul Holdengräber

Van Cliburn, one of the world's great pianists -- once dubbed "The Texan Who Conquered Russia" by Time magazine -- will reflect on the trajectory of his own career, from piano lessons with his mother, Rildia Bee, to performances at the White House for every President of the United States since Harry Truman.

 

Van Cliburn was propelled to fame in 1958 following his historic victory at the first international Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. Embraced by the Soviet Union at the height of the cold war, this Texan became America’s most persuasive cultural ambassador, creating chinks in the iron curtain long before glasnost and perestroika. His recording of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto was the first classical recording ever to sell a million copies and since has gone triple platinum, Van Cliburn remains to this day one of America’s most beloved musicians.