FIRST OFF . . .

Pianist Van Cliburn will play his first major concert in more than a decade when he performs June 19 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. With the appearance, Cliburn, 54, will resume an active concert schedule that has been on hold since he quietly took a sabbatical in 1978 after two decades of performing. Conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, who will conduct his Philadelphia concert, said, “I’m very happy that Van is coming back to his career. Everyone has been very sorry that he wasn’t playing.” Cliburn did accept an invitation to play at the White House last year during the visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.