Teen-Ager Wows Crowd: No Rock, Just Rachmaninoff

--Wild applause and shouts of “Bravo!” rang out in Ft. Worth on Sunday after it was announced that the youngest of 38 competitors in the Eighth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition had won first place. Nineteen-year-old Aleksei Sultanov of the Soviet Union, regarded as the early crowd favorite for his aggressive performances, shook hands with Van Cliburn and actor Dudley Moore, who served as host. Jose Carlos Cocarelli, 30, of Brazil won the silver medal and Benedetto Lupo, 25, of Italy got the bronze. Sultanov attends Moscow State University and studies under L.N. Naumov, who taught two other Cliburn medalists. For winning the coveted competition, Sultanov receives a gold medal, $15,000, a Carnegie Hall recital, concert tours and free air travel. As a finalist, he played Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor.

--About 4,000 Americans will turn 65 today--and among them will be the most important man in the land: President Bush. How all will celebrate their special day is anybody’s guess. But in the case of the President, he is expected to unveil his plan for cleaning up the nation’s air and then travel to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. His age has attracted little attention, because he succeeded Ronald Reagan, who was 77 when he left office, and because, put simply, he looks years younger than he is. Dr. Burton Lee, the White House physician, said: “He’s 10 years younger than his stated age, that’s what he is.” Bush, an avid jogger and tennis player, is “very active, very energetic,” Lee said.

--Ronald and Nancy Reagan--who are on their first trip abroad since leaving the White House in January--are not typical tourists. The Reagans were greeted by U.S. Ambassador Henry Catto and former Foreign Secretary Francis Pym upon their arrival at London’s Heathrow Airport aboard a private Boeing 727 jetliner. The couple waved to onlookers before entering a limousine and driving off without comment. The former President is to deliver the Churchill Memorial Lecture on Tuesday. The English Speaking Union invited Reagan to speak on “the problems, perils, challenges and opportunities confronting the English-speaking peoples of today.”