Legendary pianist Van Cliburn opens BPO season
Symphonic/Classical

Van Cliburn

The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra begins its 2007-2008 season with classical music legend Van Cliburn at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 at Kleinhans Music Hal l.

An Opening Night Gala will feature the pianist as he celebrates the 50th anniversary of his historic First Prize victory at Moscow's Tchaikovsky International Competition.

Under the direction of JoAnn Falletta, the BPO will offer a warm welcome to Van Cliburn as he thrills the audience with his impeccable rendering of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1.

The concert will also feature two other exhilarating scores from Mother Russia, opening with Shostakovich's dazzling "Festive Overture," and closing with Stravinsky's zesty ballet score to "Petr ushka."

There will be a pre-concert gala event titled "Russian Rhapsody" beginning at 4:30 p.m. with drinks and hors d'oeuvres, dinner and dessert by Oliver's at 6 p.m., and live auction with Cash Cunningham. Dinner tickets will be sold separately.

The first performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1, given in Russia in 1875, was quickly followed by its American premiere with such success that the finale had to be encored.

Van Cliburn's Carnegie Hall debut in 1954, playing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 under Dmitri Mitropolous' baton, offered the music world a preview of what would become his signature piece and the occasion of an historic event - his 1958 victory in the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War.

He received a ticker tape parade in New York City after he astonished the world with his victorious first prize win.

Van Cliburn has been called an American hero, hailed as one of the most persuasive ambassadors of American culture as well as one of the greatest pianists in the history of music.

Reaching across cultural borders, Cliburn invited the Russian conductor Kiril Kondrashin to come to New York and reprise the performances that had earned the young American the gold medal in Moscow. Cliburn's recording of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Kondrashin became the first classical album to reach platinum status and has gone on to sell more than three million copies

For tickets to the concert and pre-concert gala event, call the BPO box office at 885-5000. Tickets to the concert can also be purchased by visiting www. bpo. org.