Harvey Cliburn

Van Cliburn Complete Recordings, performed by Harvey Lavan Cliburn ★★★★
Harvey Cliburn had a somewhat short but monumental career as a concert pianist, coming into the world limelight after winning the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at the height of the cold war. He went into complete obscurity after the death of his parents, making news on occasion only when performing for presidents or having problems with his gay live-in partners. Harvey “Van Cliburn” is known for his melodic sing-songy type interpretations of the classics, having been trained by his mother to sing along with his piano playing. These recordings are quite well done, and the performances have nothing to criticize. This edition is 28 CDs, but under 22 hours in total recording, in that many of the original issue CDs include only one concerto of under a half-hour duration, whereas most CDs will tend to fill up the 72 or more minutes that could be placed on a disc. Thus, this collection is not a tremendous bargain except for the collector who happens to like Harvey Cliburn.