TCHAIKOVSKY: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1. RACHMANINOFF: PIANO...

TCHAIKOVSKY: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 1. RACHMANINOFF: PIANO CONCERTO NO. 2. Van Cliburn, piano; Kiril Kondrashin conducting RCA Symphony; Fritz Reiner conducting Chicago Symphony. RCA Red Seal Digitally Remastered 5912-2-RC (compact disc). Even after years of hideous overexposure, these two concertos still sound exciting in Van Cliburn’s historic performances. Both were recorded in the United States soon after his triumphant return from the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, where he won first prize in the spring of 1958. While other factors played a role in Van Cliburn’s victory, his playing did have special properties that leap out from this disc: spontaneity, energy, enthusiasm, unquestionable technical control--plus a certain recklessness that made the Russians go crazy.