This is a magnificent
meeting of media. The first disc presents
an hour-long documentary on the legendary
Van Cliburn, while the second is a 52-minute
recital of breath-taking expressive
and technical scope.
The documentary first.
It is riveting from first to last, including
many clips of the pianist, plus a fair
amount of big names revealing their
feelings about him. Leontyne Price turns
up a few times (with troublesome lip-sync
occasionally), as does Marilyn Horne
and Gergiev’s favoured pianist, Alexander
Toradze. It even includes an excerpt
of Van Cliburn the conductor! Not his
real métier, although he seemed
to be enthusiastic - there is a clip
of him conducting (not entirely eloquently,
it has to be admitted) Rachmaninov’s
Symphonic Dances.
It is the clips of
Van Cliburn the pianist that make this
DVD special, though. As one watches
him create a marvellously singing tone
in Liszt’s first Mephisto Waltz,
one is simultaneously mesmerised by
his hands. This is one of several extended
excerpts (i.e. substantially longer
than just a ‘clip’) that further add
to the documentary value of this release.
Even ‘effects’ are nicely managed -
I refer to the juxtaposition of black-and-white
footage with colour inserts of interviewees.
The importance of Cliburn as cultural
diplomat (the power of music over politics)
in the wake of his Moscow triumph of
1958 is considered. In addition, there
are excerpts of the winning account
of the Tchaikovsky (valuable also for
the chance to watch the conductor, Kondrashin,
in action). Cliburn was later to bring
Kondrashin to the USA, no easy matter
in those days. Shostakovich, the competition’s
General Chairman, presented Cliburn
with the medal. The list of jury members
reads like a ‘Who’s Who’: Sviatoslav
Richter and Emil Gilels (Jury Chair
and first Soviet musician to perform
in the U.S.); Lev Oborin; Dmitry Kabalevsky.
Excerpts from tracks
featured on the Audio CD (see below)
that comes as part of this set are often
used as background music, as well as
excerpted in their own right. There
are also tantalising excerpts of other
works - a magical Brahms Second Piano
Concerto, for example. Always Cliburn’s
legato is a defining factor in his art
- interestingly, Leontyne Price says
that, as a singer, she emulated his
legato (usually, of course, it is the
pianist who is encouraged to think vocally!).
Cliburn played for
every President of the United States
in his lifetime since Eisenhower, a
measure of the recognition accorded
to his art. His nine-year absence from
the concert stage is mentioned, as is
his eighteen-city tour of the United
States late in his life. The documentary
is always gripping and one feels, at
the end, deeply moved.
The second, recital,
disc confirms impressions. Every single
item generates its own superlative,
from the loving flow of Brahms’ Op.
118 No. 2 to the impossibly beautiful
Chopin Etude Op. 10 No. 3. Although
in the case of the latter the climax
might appear a little under-played,
compare and contrast Cliburn and, say,
Freddy Kempf on his recent BIS disc
SACD (SACD-1390)
to hear the great against the merely
adequate. Cliburn’s huge tone is fully
in evidence in the Rachmaninov Etude-Tableau
and contrasts superbly with his L’Isle
joyeuse. This Debussy is a marvellous
invocation, and listening to Van Cliburn
is like following a compellingly-read
story, so strong is his sense of narrative.
This makes for a truly magnificent centre-piece
to the recital.
Criticisms are hard
to find - perhaps the Brahms Intermezzo
needs to relax more and the voice-leading
of the contrastive sections could be
more characterful; maybe the C sharp
minor Scherzo (Chopin) is not as viscerally
exciting as perhaps night be expected.
The dry recorded sound here does not
help, yet there remain some magical
moments.
Van Cliburn’s huge
sound is best replicated in the Rachmaninov
C sharp minor Prelude. The Mephisto
Waltz No. 1 makes for an astonishing
close to the disc. Accents fly like
sparks, scales glitter. Throw-away arpeggios
and cascades of notes make this one
of the most memorable readings I have
heard (only Berman on a HMV/Melodiya
LP of mine is uneclipsed by it).
A fascinating, riveting
documentary complemented perfectly by
a CD of the most magical piano playing.
Interesting to note that Rubinstein,
Caruso and Toscanini are also featured
in this RCA series. Plenty more to explore,
then!.
Colin Clarke
Van Cliburn (piano). 