MUSIC

The eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition now under way (through June 11) in Ft. Worth, Tex., will be the subject of a 90-minute television special due this fall on PBS. Mobil Corp. and Tandy Corp./Radio Shack have made a joint grant of $1 million to underwrite production of the program. Meanwhile, the field of 38 pianists competing in the competition was cut to 12 Wednesday night. The survivors are from nine countries and include three of the four competitors from the Soviet Union and two of the three from China. Of the 10 Americans in the field, only Kevin Kenner, 26, of Coronado, Calif., reached the semifinals.