Prog Digest – An Xperience Column
Written by Staff on April 6, 2024
Prog Digest – An Xperience Column – by Dick Beach.
Greetings all. This month is “take a walk down memory lane” time.
Now, I am not as old and cranky as Jeff Spaulding; very few are. But I have recently (like right about now) come to the age where the first question I am asked is “When are you going to retire?” My answer is always the same—when pigs fly out my butt. Unless, of course, I am too feeble, incapable, or told to by my ever-suffering constant companion. We shall see.
It occurred to me that I’ve seen a really great bunch of shows in my lifetime. Santana multiple times. The mighty mighty Tower of Power multiple times. Van Halen. Dream Theater. Art Van Damme—look that one up—jazz accordion. Chick Corea. Maynard Ferguson. Professor Pete (see last month). The Tubes. Dweezil. The list goes on and on and on …
Of course, Constant Companion likes to needle me about how many times she saw the Ramones (a bunch), or her 18th birthday with Rockpile opening for Blondie at Belmont Park. And she is responsible for my now-healthy respect for, and chasing Todd whenever possible.
What was the single best of them all? Is there one that rises above all?
In my world, yes indeed there was that ONE.
Van Cliburn at Tanglewood.
Here, kiddos, is where the history lesson starts. Thanks here to the great and wonderful Wikipedia.
Harvey Lavan Cliburn, Jr. was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1934.
One could say he was a musical prodigy. He started piano lessons at age 3. At 12, he won a Texas State piano competition. He entered Juilliard at 17, where he trained in the tradition of the Russian Romantics.
In 1952, he won the International Chopin Competition. At 20, Cliburn made his debut at Carnegie Hall and won the Leventritt Award.
Then the real fun started.
In 1958, Van Cliburn became an American hero and, in some areas, the scourge of the USSR.
That year saw the introduction of the International Tchaikovsky Competition to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority. Well, perhaps not so much.
The eight-minute standing ovation following his performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 was epic. Following a short speech in Russian, he completely won over the crowd with his arrangement of “Moscow Nights.”
Embarrassed judges came to the Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, asking permission to award the competition to Cliburn. He asked, “Is he the best?” They replied, “Yes.” Khrushchev simply said, “Then give him the prize!” Cliburn and Khrushchev remained friends through the years.
To this day, Van Cliburn is the only classical musician to receive a ticker tape parade in New York City.
After a canceled concert at SPAC due to the illness of his mother, Cliburn was scheduled at Tanglewood.
Why is this the singular show in my lifetime? Let’s get past seeing a one-of-a-kind genius. Let’s get past the venue. Let’s get past anything else that surrounded Cliburn (none of which is of ANY consequence).
There is something that happens to you when you are in the presence of absolute mastery. Of seeing the complete joy in a performance. When something hits you in the pit of your stomach you cannot describe, it leaves a mark.
As with so many things in life these days, subtlety is in short supply. The recordings are of legend and have a sense of command in a way that you simply must hear.
Why this topic, and why now? Well, let’s face it folks—sometimes we just need to take a look back. When you have encountered something so close to perfection that it stands out well over 30 years out, you pay attention.
Milestone birthdays are a blessing and a curse. If you are lucky, there are real gems in your life.
Looking forward to what the next chapter brings—and certain it will be a Chinese Curse—I will be living in interesting times …
Until next time.
Klyde
RadioRadioX