Who is Van Cliburn from The Great Pianists and what is their importance?

Van Cliburn won the Leventritt competition in 1954, but his victory at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958 made his name and musical skills well-known. For a time Van Cliburn was the highest-paid musician and a hot personality in show business. Cliburn was taught by Rosina Lhevinne to produce the rich and sensuous sounds that recalled the great romantic pianists. Paradoxically, his playing lost its brilliance and Van Cliburn retired in the mid-1970s.