Tchaikovsky and Cliburn, Together Again

There are many great living performers in the classical music world, some of whom have broken through the barrier that separates the rarefied classical scene from general public acclaim. But few can boast the name cachet or enigmatic intrigue of Van Cliburn, who performs with the New West Symphony on Friday, after postponing his original appearance here in the post-traumatic days of September.

It’s fair to say it will be a highlight of the season.

For all his obvious virtuosity, Van Cliburn’s name has partly ascended to a superhuman level on the basis of a sociopolitical triumph. He was just 23, a talented Texan studying at Juilliard, when he won first prize in the first International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Russia in 1958. That an American won during the Cold War, in Russia and on the theme of one of the great Russian composers, turned him into a hero of sorts. Dubbed as “the American Sputnik,” he was welcomed back home as a conquering hero worthy of a ticker-tape parade in New York.

Since then, he has been something of a national treasure, performing for presidents and establishing his own influential Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1962. It occurs once every four years and has become one of the most prestigious of such events in the country.

But his career has hardly been a typical one: Like the great and reclusive pianist Glenn Gould, Cliburn announced suddenly that he was retiring from the stage, 20 years after his auspicious Russian encounter. As he told a journalist, “Classical musicians are not like entertainers,” citing a need for the reserved musician to retreat from the glare of public life. He didn’t perform at all until 1987, when he showed up at a White House event honoring Mikhail Gorbachev, fittingly enough. He has appeared only sparingly since then.

One hallmark of his career has been his steadfast embrace of standard repertoire, and a clean and sober--which is to say, revealing and non-showy--approach to interpretation. On Friday, he’ll return to the very piece, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1, that launched his career. It’s also the piece with which his first recording, in 1958, struck gold-platinum. In fact, it’s the first classical album to sell a million copies.

As might be expected, tickets are anything but modest, with prices for remaining seats at $200 and $150, but this is one of those rare occasions to see a proverbial living legend.

It’s an all-Tchaikovsky evening, with the symphony taking on the “Romeo and Juliet” Fantasy-Overture and Suite No. 1 from “Swan Lake,” in addition to supporting its celebrated guest.

* Van Cliburn, with the New West Symphony, 8 p.m. Friday, Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza’s Kavli Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Remaining tickets: $200 and $150. (805) 497-5800 or (800) NEW-WEST. www.newwest symphony.org.

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Czech Affair: Los Robles Master Chorale, one of Ventura County’s most notable musical organizations, presents the highlight of its current season with an ambitious program Saturday at the Civic Arts Plaza. The title--”Dvorak!”--tells all, replete with exclamation point and extra measures taken to ensure a gala evening.

The great Czech composer, who also spent time in America and was impressed enough to name his most famous piece “New World” Symphony, is the subject here. His choral work is in focus, including his Mass in D and his Te Deum. Countryman Bedrich Smetana’s Czech folk songs will be performed by Los Robles Children’s Amadeus Choir.

Guest conductor Miroslav Kosler, the director of the Prague Mixed Choir, is on board for the concert.

Also joining the choral ensemble will be the I Cantori Carmel ensemble and the Conejo Civic Ballet Company, with choreography by director Eva Pokorny--a Czech emigre living and teaching in Westlake Village--to Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dances.”

* Los Robles Master Chorale, “Dvorak,” Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza’s Kavli Theatre, 2100 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Saturday, 8 p.m. $15 to $30. (805) 583-8700.

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Rough Going: Eugene O’Neill’s final, semiautobiographical play, “A Moon for the Misbegotten” is not a happy-camper outing, with its tormented tale of alcoholism, sexual impropriety and family skeletons. But it’s a gripping piece of theater, and the Santa Paula Theater Center is taking it on, starting Friday.

Ron Rezac stars as Phil Hogan, the crusty father of Josie, played by Michelle Wagner, engaging in a strained liaison with the drunken James Tyrone Jr., played by Ron Feltner.

The production is directed by Gerald Castillo, previously involved in such Santa Paula Theater Center productions as “The Diary of Anne Frank” and “Of Mice and Men.”

* “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” opening Friday at Santa Paula Theater Center, 125 S. 7th St. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends April 7. General, $15; senior citizens and students, $12; children 10 and younger, $10. (805) 525-4645.