Since I put together that tribute yesterday to Van Cliburn, some pictures have turned up of Cliburn in Buffalo.
JoAnn Falletta, the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, was nice enough to forward the picture up above showing Cliburn when he last performed here, in fall 2007. He played Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, his showpiece. That is Ansgarius Aylward, the BPO's Assistant Concertmaster, on the left.
Hahahaa... I remember thinking at the time how petite JoAnn looked next to Cliburn as they walked out on stage.
Here is a beautiful shot...
It is great to have a picture of yourself hugging Van Cliburn. When I was in the Van Cliburn Amateur Piano Competition, the other contestants and I were always taking pictures of each other hugging him. I will have to find where I put mine.
Here is a picture I love, from my own personal collection. It is of Cliburn playing the spinet at the Rue Franklin, accompanying our concertmaster, Michael Ludwig. There are more pictures of this memorable event on the Buzz Blog.
What an entertaining evening that was!
The memories are priceless.
-- Mary Kunz Goldman
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