Van Cliburn(July12,1934), the American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958, has probably been familiar to more people than the name of any other classical musician since Cliburn won the First International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, at the height of the Cold War. For an American to be so warmly received in Russia and to win the top prize in the prestigious Russian music competition was a stunning accomplishment, especially given the political atmosphere at the time.

At the height of his career, Van Cliburn still found time to give his name, talents, and energies to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. First held in 1962, the competition is a living legacy to Van Cliburn's commitment to aiding the development of young artists. In 1987, after an extended sabbatical, Cliburn performed at the White House at a State Dinner honoring Mikhail Gorbachev, then the Soviet Union's General Secretary. Two years later, and 31 years after his triumph at the Tchaikovsky Competition, Cliburn returned to the Soviet Union to perform at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and in Leningrad.

His return to the concert stage also took him to Carnegie Hall for the opening of the Hall's 100th anniversary season, as soloist with the New York Philharmonic; to the gala opening concert of the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas; the dedication of the Lied Center for the Performing Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska; and the Bob Hope Cultural Center in Palm Springs, California. Since 1990, Cliburn has toured Japan numerous times and has performed all over the United States; including Nashville, for its symphony's 50th anniversary; and with the symphony orchestras of Fort Worth, Columbus, Oklahoma City, San Jose, Oregon, San Antonio, Austin, Seattle, Huntsville, the University of Iowa, and Houston. He also has appeared with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood several times. In 1998 he appeared at the opening of the Nancy Lee and Perry R.