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Hey everybody,

I had the opportunity to see Van Cliburn perform this weekend. I noticed he performed on a Steinway D. I also noticed that the logo on the fallboard was "Steinway" instead of the usual "Steinway & Sons".

Any ideas how old this piano is? When did Steinway change the logo? I'm not sure if this piano belonged to the concert hall or if he brought it with him.

I also noticed that this piano more than held its own with the orchestra -- at times he actually seemed to drown out the orchestra.

I'm curious now:

1. How big was the orchestra? Which orchestra?
2. How big was the hall?
3. What pieces were performed?

Thanks.

Venue: Boettcher Concert Hall at Denver Performing Arts Center - A large symphonic hall with excellent accoustics.
Date: October 13, 2006
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Pianist: Van Cliburn
Conductor: Scott O'Neill
Orchestra: Colorado Symphony

Van played Grieg Piano Concerto.

Thank you, AndrewG.

I heard him play the same concerto with the Virginia Symphony this summer. I know the principal horn player with the symphony. When I described the tempo as glacial he smiled. It was the slowest performance of the Grieg I have ever heard. Cliburn is slowing down (in more ways than one). He's clearly not at the top of his game. He made lots of slips, some of which were in places where slips shouldn't happen (slow expressive parts). Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable evening. He shined in the encores, which he tossed out with abandon. The audience was very receptive and he was clearly touched.

Is the Schumann/Liszt Widmung still one of his encores?

Agreed. I noticed the tempo seemed to drag as well, with slips here and there. Overall an enjoyable evening though. He did get applause between each movement, though. Although I'm not sure if the applause was for the performance or the crowd's lack of concept of movements within a concerto :p (am I the only one with this pet peeve??)

For encores he played the Rachmaninoff Prelude in g# minor and the Chopin Polonnaise in A flat (can't remember the opus numbers ) The Chopin went really well given the loud nature of the piece in combination with the loud piano...

I heard him a few years ago during his now infamous "duel concerto" concerts (after the first city he reduced it to only the Tchaikowsy rather than that AND Rach 3rd). He had a few slips then as well, but still.. It's Van Cliburn! Not too many chances left to hear someone like him, so slips are forgiven.

This piano was undoubtedly one of the Steinway C&A (concert and artist) pianos. These are a bank of instruments that are positioned world wide to support traveling concert artists on stage. Most C&A pianos bear the logo "STEINWAY" not "Steinway & Sons". This is simply for better recognition of the brand from a distance. This is the only reason.
C&A pianos are typically taken out of service, in major markets, after 10-15 years of service. Smaller markets with fewer usages per year may linger a few years longer.
Artists rarely travel with their own instruments, this is the benifit of the Steinway C&A system.

I didn't realize that Van Cliburn was giving concerts at all any more. The story I'd heard was that at 40 he decided he was too old to be a child prodigy, so retired to his home in Texas to give dinner parties and do non-piano stuff (apparently he is heir to a large Louisiana oil fortune, so never has had to worry about money). I wonder how much he practices?

Thank you for your informative post, Craigen. The information is really interesting.