When the World Stopped To Listen: Van Cliburn's Cold War Triumph, and Its Aftermath

Isacoff (A Natural History of the Piano) recounts the 1958 victory of a small-town Texas pianist in the First International Tchaikovsky Competition. Van Cliburn became one of the most recognizable Americans in the world and was especially beloved in the Soviet Union. The author's deftly written narrative places Cliburn both in the world of classical music and the larger Cold War conflict. Isacoff covers ground traversed by Nigel Cliff's Moscow Nights. Both rely on numerous interviews, as well as recently published Soviet documents. There are differences: both detail Cliburn's "blow-up" during rehearsal for his appearance on the Steve Allen Show in May 1958, but Isacoff claims that Dr. Max Jacobson (the infamous "Dr. Feelgood") was summoned to help soothe the overwrought pianist with an injection—a detail left out of Cliff's book, and which presumably derived from Schuyler Chapin. Nevertheless, Cliff's book is better documented (over 50 pages of notes), while Isacoff has the advantage of interviews with several persons (including Cliburn himself) not available to Cliff.