Post date: Jun 6, 2013 6:02:34 AM
The Lincoln Music Teachers Association will host an event to celebrate the birthday of the late “Van” Cliburn from 5:00 to 7:15 p.m. on Friday, July 12, at the Antelope Park Band Shell, 27th & A Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska. The event will be free and open to the public. Intermediate and advanced solo and duo pianists of any age are invited to perform for a fee of $7.00 per participant. Affiliation with LMTA is not required. The deadline for registration has been extended to July 9. Go to www.LMTA.info and register at the home page blog.
The objective of the festival is to provide a collaborative performing experience for piano students of all ages and teachers and to provide information on the power of music to overcome barriers of prejudice and hostility on the example of “Van” Cliburn. Piano music from all eras will be represented.
Harvey Lavan “Van” Cliburn, Jr., was an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at the age of 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.
Cliburn returned home to a ticker-tape parade in New York City, the only time the honor has been accorded a classical musician. His cover story in Time magazine proclaimed him "The Texan Who Conquered Russia". He told the audience, “I appreciate more than you will ever know that you are honoring me, but the thing that thrills me the most is that you are honoring classical music. Because I'm only one of many, I'm only a witness and a messenger. Because I believe so much in the beauty, the construction, the architecture invisible, the importance for all generations, for young people to come that it will help their minds, develop their attitudes, and give them values. That is why I'm so grateful that you have honored me in that spirit.”
The Wall Street Journal said on his death that Cliburn was a "cultural hero" who "rocketed to unheard-of stardom for a classical musician in the U.S.", calling him "the rare classical musician.”
Register for the event