Van Cliburn: Pianist Who Won the Tchaikovsky Competition Dies at 78

Van Cliburn was an American pianist. Born Harvey Lavan Cliburn Jr. on July 12, 1934, in Shreveport, Louisiana, he studied at Juilliard.

In 1958 he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War, becoming a national hero. He received a ticker-tape parade in New York City. He won a Grammy Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth is named for him. He died of bone cancer in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 27, 2013, at age 78.

Achievements: Tchaikovsky Competition winner (1958), Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Birth: July 12, 1934 - Shreveport, Louisiana.

Profession: Pianist.

Interesting Facts: He got a ticker-tape parade in New York in 1958.