In Tuesday’s (8/28) Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas), Tim Madigan reports, “Piano legend Van Cliburn has been diagnosed with advanced bone cancer, a spokeswoman for the artist said Monday. ‘He is under excellent care and resting comfortably at home,’ said Mary Lou Falcone, Cliburn’s longtime friend and publicist. ‘His spirits are high. We ask that his privacy be respected.’ Alann Sampson, interim president and CEO of the Van Cliburn Foundation and another of the Fort Worth pianist’s close friends, confirmed that he is gravely ill, but declined to comment further. Cliburn, who turned 78 in July, has been an international celebrity since he stunned the world in 1958 by winning the first Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. … Cliburn went on to one of the most prominent performing and recording careers of the 20th century. … In 1962, Cliburn also lent his name to the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, widely considered to be one of the world’s finest. He has greeted each of the young performers at the competitions, befriended many, and presented awards to the winners.”
Posted August 28, 2012
