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Regular Session, 2014
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 180
BY REPRESENTATIVE BURRELL AND SENATOR PEACOCK
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To celebrate the life and accomplishments of Harvey LaVan Cliburn, Jr., and to express the
sincere and heartfelt condolences of the Legislature of Louisiana upon his passing.
WHEREAS, it is with deep regret and profound sorrow that members of the
Louisiana Legislature learned of the death of Harvey "Van" LaVan Cliburn, Jr., on February
27, 2013, at the age of seventy-eight years; and
WHEREAS, Van Cliburn, a true Louisiana hero and one of the greatest pianists in
the history of music, was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on July 12, 1934, to the late Harvey
LaVan Cliburn, Sr., and Sirilda "Rildia" Bee O'Bryan Cliburn; and
WHEREAS, Rildia, an accomplished piano player in her own right and a piano
teacher in Shreveport, realized that her son Van, at a very early age had a promising talent
for the piano, often recalling fondly of Van at the age of three, following a piano lesson with
one of her students, going almost immediately to the piano after her pupil left, and playing,
by ear, the very musical piece that she had earlier used in teaching her older student; and
WHEREAS, recognizing his artistic potential, she began piano lessons with him and
continued as his only piano teacher until he was seventeen years of age, and it was during
his early formative years as a young pianist in his home town of Shreveport that he first
performed piano recitals in the auditorium at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum; and
WHEREAS, he spoke with affectionate respect for his mother's excellence as a
teacher and attributed the lyrical elegance of his playing to her by saying that, "My mother
had a gorgeous singing voice, she always told me that the first instrument is the human
voice. When you are playing the piano, it is not digital. You must find a singing sound-the
'eye of the sound', she called it."; and
WHEREAS, under the tutelage of his mother, he continued to develop, and at the age
of twelve, he won a statewide piano competition that enabled him to debut with the Houston
Symphony Orchestra, and at age seventeen, Van entered The Juilliard School in New York ENROLLEDHCR NO. 180
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City, and at the young age of twenty, won the Levintritt Competition, which had not awarded
a first-place prize since 1949 and which earned him debuts with such major orchestras as
Cleveland, Denver, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh, as well as a coveted New York
Philharmonic debut with the great Dimitri Mitropoulos, which took place in Carnegie Hall
on November 14, 1954; and
WHEREAS, those early experiences would provide a very strong stage presence and
challenge for the young and talented Van Cliburn that would ultimately lead to international
fame beginning in 1958, when Van traveled behind the Iron Curtain to Moscow, USSR to
compete in the first Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition and with the aspirations
of a nation on his shoulders, he emerged as the gold medal winner against all odds and
sealing his legacy as one of the most persuasive ambassadors of American culture, as well
as one of the greatest pianists in the history of music; and
WHEREAS, Van Cliburn being blessed as a naturally gifted pianist whose enormous
hands had an uncommonly wide span which he used to develop a commanding technique,
cultivated an exceptionally warm tone and manifested deep musical sensitivity and at its
best, his playing had a surging romantic fervor, but one leavened by an unsentimental
restraint that seemed peculiarly American which led the towering Russian pianist Sviatoslav
Richter, a juror for the competition, to describe Van Cliburn as a genius-a word, he added,
"I do not use lightly about performers."; and
WHEREAS, following the competition, he triumphantly returned to the United States
to a ticker tape parade in New York City, the first ever ticker tape celebration for a classical
musician, and the first for a native son of Louisiana which led to the then Mayor of
Shreveport, Robert R. Wagner, proclaiming at a ceremony at the Shreveport City Hall that,
"With his two hands, Van Cliburn struck a chord which has resounded around the world,
raising our prestige with artists and music lovers everywhere."; and
WHEREAS, with his historic 1958 victory at the first International Tchaikovsky
Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War, Van Cliburn tore down cultural
barriers years ahead of glasnost and perestroika, transcending politics by demonstrating the
universality of classical music and as a world renowned pianist, Louisiana's own Van
Cliburn continued to experience great popularity in the years that followed and proudly ENROLLEDHCR NO. 180
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performed for royalty, heads of state in Europe, Asia, and South America, and for every
president of the United States since Harry Truman; and
WHEREAS, ever mindful of his Louisiana heritage, Van Cliburn returned again to
Louisiana in 2006, and appeared as a Pennington Great Performers Series Artist with the
Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra; and
WHEREAS, throughout his career, Van Cliburn was awarded numerous awards such
as the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, Kennedy Center Honors in 2001, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2003, the Russian Order
of Friendship from President Vladimir Putin in October 2004, and most recently in 2011, he
was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama, and it should be
recognized that the three national awards presented by the presidents of the United States
of America and Russia are the highest civilian awards presented by both countries; and
WHEREAS, upon his death, The Wall Street Journal, when reporting on his death
stated that Van Cliburn was a "cultural hero" who "rocketed to unheard-of stardom for a
classical musician in the U.S." and went on to call him "the rare classical musician to enjoy
rock star status"; and
WHEREAS, upon his death the state of Louisiana lost one of its finest sons and
because of his numerous accomplishments the passing of Harvey "Van" LaVan Cliburn, Jr.,
leaves a void in the community and creates a genuine sense of profound sorrow with his
friends and family; and
WHEREAS, the memory of Harvey "Van" LaVan Cliburn, Jr, will remain eternal in
the hearts and minds of his family, friends, and all of those who knew and loved him.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
celebrate the life and accomplishments of Harvey LaVan Cliburn, Jr., and expresses its
sincere and heartfelt condolences upon his death.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the family of Harvey LaVan Cliburn, Jr.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE