Van Cliburn and Fritz Reiner in 1960
We’ve just heard news of the death of the remarkable American pianist Van Cliburn, as reported in the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times.
Two years after winning the prestigious 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Cliburn made his first appearance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with Fritz Reiner conducting. Cliburn would perform four more times during Reiner’s tenure, and their performances of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto in April 1963 were Reiner’s last public appearances.
Complete lists of Van Cliburn’s appearances and recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra are below.
Appearances (subscription concerts at Orchestra Hall, unless otherwise noted):
April 7 and 8, 1960
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Fritz Reiner, conductor
April 12, 1960
SCHUMANN Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
Fritz Reiner, conductor
October 20 and 21, 1960
MACDOWELL Piano Concerto No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 23
PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
Walter Hendl, conductor
March 29 and 30, 1962
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Fritz Reiner, conductor
April 18, 19, and 20, 1963
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
Fritz Reiner, conductor
April 23, 24, and 25, 1964
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Jean Martinon, conductor
July 24, 1965 (Ravinia Festival)
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Georges Prêtre, conductor
August 11 and 13, 1966 (Ravinia Festival)
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Seiji Ozawa, conductor
January 12 and 13, 1967
BRAHMS Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 15
Jean Martinon, conductor
August 1, 1967 (Ravinia Festival)
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
Donald Johanos, conductor
June 29, 1971 (Ravinia Festival)
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23
Bruno Maderna, conductor
July 17, 1974 (Ravinia Festival)
RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
James Levine, conductor
July 16, 2005 (Ravinia Festival)
GRIEG Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16
James Conlon, conductor
Recordings:
BEETHOVEN Concerto for Piano No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, April 1963
Fritz Reiner, conductor
RCA
BEETHOVEN Concerto for Piano No. 5 in E flat Major, Op. 73 (Emperor)
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, May 1961
Fritz Reiner, conductor
RCA
BRAHMS Concerto for Piano No. 2 in B flat Major, Op. 83
Recorded live in Orchestra Hall, April 8, 1960
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Testament
BRAHMS Concerto for Piano No. 2 in B flat Major, Op. 83
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, May 1961
Fritz Reiner, conductor
RCA
MACDOWELL Concerto for Piano No. 2 in D Minor
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, October 1960
Walter Hendl, conductor
RCA
PROKOFIEV Concerto for Piano No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, October 1960
Walter Hendl, conductor
RCA
RACHMANINOV Concerto for Piano No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, March and April 1962
Fritz Reiner, conductor
RCA
SCHUMANN Concerto for Piano in A Minor, Op. 54
Recorded live in Orchestra Hall, April 12, 1960
Fritz Reiner, conductor
Testament
SCHUMANN Concerto for Piano in A Minor, Op. 54
Recorded in Orchestra Hall, April 1960
Fritz Reiner, conductor
RCA
Updated to include Testament recording release of two live performances — FV
from the archives 
7 comments
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April 4, 2022 at 10:29 AM
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[…] A complete list of Van Cliburn’s appearances and recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra can be found here. […]
September 1, 2020 at 6:35 AM
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[…] 1 (Jeremiah) Mary Simmons, mezzo-soprano TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor, Op. 23 Van Cliburn, […]
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[…] during that period, including Beethoven’s First, Sixth, and Ninth symphonies, as well as Beethoven’s Emperor Piano Concerto and Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto with Van […]
November 18, 2016 at 2:52 PM
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra celebrates 100 years of recording | from the archives
[…] Two years after winning the prestigious 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Van Cliburn made his first recording with the Orchestra on April 16, 1960: Schumann’s Piano Concerto with Reiner conducting for RCA. (A complete list of Cliburn’s appearances and recordings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra can be found here.) […]
November 7, 2013 at 3:58 PM
Remembering John F. Kennedy and Fritz Reiner, part 1 | from the archives
[…] Concerto with Van Cliburn as soloist (the Beethoven was recorded by RCA on April 22 and 23; see here and here for more information). Reiner was scheduled to close the season on May 2 and 3 with an […]
May 15, 2013 at 1:33 AM
Stephen C. Hillyer
An important omission from above discography:
Testament SBT2 1460 (released in 2011). The two-CD set holds two previously unreleased recordings which RCA taped in concert at Mr. Cliburn’s behest: the Brahms Second Concerto (Friday matinée, 8 April 1960) and the Schumann A minor (Tuesday matinée, 12 April 1960).
Both performances are stunning, especially the Brahms, which is more electrifying than the more somber May ’61 recording made several months after Dr. Reiner’s near-fatal stroke.
Unfortunately, Bryce Morrison’s booklet annotations fail to explain how these fabulous in-concert recordings, hitherto unknown not only to you and me but to Reiner’s two biographers as well, could have been sitting in the RCA (now Sony) vaults, in total obscurity, for a half-century.
These recordings are historically significant in another respect as well: they’re the first and possibly only ones to capture the Reiner-era CSO “live” in stereophonic sound — and pretty stunning stereophonic sound at that..
May 15, 2013 at 2:33 PM
Frank Villella
Got it. Thank you, Steve!