Moscow Nights
Page 53
cultural exchanges and, 81, 108
Schubart’s cable to, 166
Van chosen for Tchaikovsky Competition and, 106
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and, 297
Van in Brussels and, 217–18
Van’s return to U.S. and, 203, 206, 208
Van’s win and, 182–83
Schumann, Robert
Concerto in A Minor, 187, 224
Dichterliebe, 139
Rosalie Leventritt and, 71
Shtarkman’s performance of, 146
Toccata, 187
Van’s performances of, 67, 72, 236, 284, 324, 339
Van’s practice of, 42
“Widmung,” 71, 354
Schwartz, Harry, 328
Science Digest, 40
Scientific American, 40
Scriabin, Alexander, 109, 136, 265
SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative), 348, 352
Second International Tchaikovsky Competition, 287, 298
Secret Speech. See under Khrushchev, Nikita
Selected Works (Mao), 318
Semichastny, Vladimir, 232
Sequeira Costa, José Carlos de, 139, 148
Serebryakov, Pavel, 105
Serkin, Rudolf, 66, 67
Seven Sisters (Moscow), 125–26
Seventh Sonata (Prokofiev), 187
Shanghai Conservatory, 317
Shearer, Norma, 219
Shetler, Norman
at Tchaikovsky Competition, 129–30, 136, 139, 152
Van’s friendship with, 140
Van’s win and, 171, 172, 178
Shevardnadze, Eduard, 354, 357
Shook-Up Generation of New York, 316
Shostakovich, Dmitri
Central Committee’s judgment of, 231
Cheryomushki, 231
dacha at House of Creativity, 264
Kabalevsky and, 138
Leningrad Symphony, 11
as Organizing Committee head, 106
piece on Van in Pravda, 179
Prokofiev and, 58
Rostropovich and, 141
Stalin and, 27–29
at supper at Thompsons’, 188
Symphony no. 5, 237
Symphony no. 13, 304
Tchaikovsky Competition and, 110, 116–17, 118, 119–20, 127, 129
Tchaikovsky Competition anticipation and, 115
at Tchaikovsky Competition award ceremony, 175
Van’s photo with, 236
at Van’s recital, 187
Shostakovich, Maxim, 188
Shreveport, Louisiana, 15–17, 64, 67, 70, 107–8, 225, 285
Shtarkman, Alexander, 360
Shtarkman, Naum
arrest and detention of, 232–33, 235, 266
after Cold War, 360
excused from first round of Tchaikovsky Competition, 133
in Tchaikovsky Competition, 149, 162, 163
Van’s friendship with, 130, 140, 189, 195
Van’s request that he visit America, 194
Van’s win and, 165, 171
“Silent Generation,” 74
Sinatra, Frank, 246, 286
Sixth World Festival of Youth and Students, 89, 91–94
Skouras, Spyros, 246–47
slyakot (black sludge), 145
Smith, Tommy, 363–64
Sobolevsky, Rafael, 113
Sochi, Russia, 271
socialism, 57, 86, 94, 114, 180, 279, 316–17
socialist realism, 27, 94
“Someone to Watch Over Me” (Gershwin), 223
Sonata, Seventh (Prokofiev), 187
Sonata in B-flat Major (Schubert), 187
Sonata in B Minor (Chopin), 116, 117
Sonata in C Major, K. 330 (Mozart), 136
Sonata in E-flat Major (Mozart), 41–42
Sonata in G Major (Tchaikovsky), 145
“Song of India” (Rimsky-Korsakov), 29–30
The Song of the Forests (Shostakovich), 29
South America, 109
South Pacific (soundtrack), 223–24
Sovetskaya Kultura, 180, 195
Sovetskaya Muzyka, 331–32
Sovetsky Muzykant, 180, 254
Soviet Bloc, 81, 86–87, 111, 133, 230, 250
Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., 212, 242, 248–49
Soviet Institute of Transport Construction, 140
Soviet Ministry of Culture
Janis’s call to, 290–91
piano jury request to, 149
receptions of, 140, 177–78
search for native pianists, 112–13
Tchaikovsky Competition proposal, 94–95
on Van as Competition winner, 162
Van’s interpreter for (See Belayeva, Henrietta)
Van’s requests to, 184, 194
Van tracked down by, 289
Vlassenko and, 113, 162, 163
Soviet national anthem, 53, 86, 236, 333, 354
Soviet Union
Afghanistan invaded by, 348, 353
during Cold War, 26–30, 79
dissolution of, 359
at height of power, 59
Hitler’s invasion of, 8–9
International Exchange Program and, 81
musicians in U.S. from, 79–80
Nixon’s visits to, 329–33, 337
propaganda, 48, 93–94, 186–87, 191, 231, 261–62
Reagan and, 348
space race with U.S., 2, 96–99, 279, 303, 307, 325 (See also sputniks)
Stalin’s death and, 53–55
Tchaikovsky Competition and prestige of, 114
technological advances, 234, 241–42, 279
as U.S. ally in World War II, 11
youth of, 92–93
Space Age, 96–99
Spaso House, 270–71, 306, 330, 333, 362
Spicer, Allen and Hazel
Van as tenant of, 35, 36, 37
Van scolded by, 107
Van’s Leventritt award and, 68–69
Van’s relationship with, 45–46, 65–66
Van’s Tchaikovsky Competition win and, 167
Splitnik, 238
sputniks
Khrushchev’s boasting about, 99–100
launch site for, 258
space race and, 2, 98, 100–101, 123, 205, 279
Sputnik 1, 97–99, 100, 255
Sputnik 2, 99
Sputnik 3, 195
Stalin, Joseph
dinners of, 47, 49, 60, 61
funeral of, 55–58, 60
in Hollywood movies, 11
on Khrushchev, 60
Khrushchev’s speech about, 82–86, 111, 127
musicians attacked by, 26–28
nonaggression pact signed by, 19
saxophone banned by, 93
Shostakovich and, 27–29
stroke and death of, 47–53
successors of, 62
Terror, 54, 155, 327
Zhukov and, 61
Stalin, Svetlana, 51, 52
Stalin, Vasily, 51
Stalingrad, 54
Stalinism, 282, 304, 307
Starostin (Stalin’s head guard), 47, 48–49
Starr, Susan, 287
“Star-Spangled Banner,” 63, 324, 333, 341, 354, 364
Star Wars. See Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
Statue of Liberty, 244
St. Basil’s Cathedral, 18, 107–8, 119, 124–25, 126, 168
“Steal not away, O pierced heart,” 346
Stein, Gladys, 133
Steiner, Rudolf, 283
Steinway, Betty, 71, 103, 182
Steinway Centennial Award, 102
Steinway Hall, 37, 67, 79, 103, 202, 217, 223
Stern, Isaac, 256, 265–66, 270
The Steve Allen Show, 183, 214–15
Stewart, Jimmy, 353
St. George’s Hall, Kremlin, 177
stilyagi (hipsters), 92–93, 316
Stokowski, Leopold, 45
St. Petersburg Conservatory, 7, 16, 45
Strategi
c Defense Initiative (SDI), 348, 352
Stravinsky, Igor, 10–11, 29, 72, 79, 92
Suez Canal, 87, 88, 196
Sukhodrev, Viktor, 173, 174, 246–47, 275, 280, 290, 292–93
Sunday Daily News, 209
Supreme Soviet, 99–100, 259, 276
Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky), 26, 94, 332–33
Sword Drill, 21
Symphony no. 6 (Tchaikovsky), 56–57
Symphony no. 13 (Shostakovich), 304
Symphony of the Air, 184, 201, 216
Szell, George, 66, 67
Talbot, Sammy, 17
Taneyev, Sergei, 145
Tarzan cult, 92
Tatum, Art, 38
Taubman, Howard, 221–22
Taylor, Elizabeth, 246
Tbilisi, Georgia, 270
Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich
at Carnegie Hall, 77
First Piano Concerto (See First Piano Concerto)
grave of, 189
museum-home of, 140, 186–87
popularity of, 224
Romanticism and, 3
Second Piano Concerto, 7
short story about, 5–8
Sonata in G Major, 145
statue of, 128, 131, 362
Swan Lake, 26, 94
Symphony no. 6, 56–57
Theme and Variations in F Major, op. 19, 137
Van’s love for, 36, 137
Van’s performances of, 137, 166, 315
violin concerto, 255
Vlassenko’s performance of, 163
Tchaikovsky Competition. See First International Tchaikovsky Competition; Second International Tchaikovsky Competition
Tchaikovsky disc, Van’s, 284, 360
Tchaikovsky Hall, 106, 290–91, 361
teach-in at University of Michigan, 322
Teatr, 262–63, 264
Teatro alla Scala (Milan), 292
Tebaldi, Renata, 344
Temple, Shirley, 245–46
Terror (Stalin’s), 54, 155, 327
Texas Club of New York, 207
Texas Hill Country, 311, 313
Texas Motor Speedway, 364
Texas Navy, 225
Texas State Music Contest, 25
Texas State Society, 212
Theme and Variations in F Major, op. 19 (Tchaikovsky), 137
“There’s No Piano in This House” (Monroe), 222
thermonuclear bombs. See hydrogen bombs
“The Void” (poem), 35
Thompson, Jane, 152, 172, 173, 247
Thompson, Llewellyn (Tommy)
at banquet for Khrushchev, 247
at Camp David with Khrushchev, 250–51
Cuban Missile Crisis and, 298, 299–300, 301, 302
at Great Hall, 267
Khrushchev’s comment to, 259–60
Kremlin reception and, 172
lunch for contestants, 177
response to Ike’s telegram, 186
supper hosted at home of, 187–88
at Tchaikovsky Competition, 147, 152
Tilley, Susan, 351, 352
Time
“The All-American Virtuoso,” 198–99
comparison of Van to other celebrities, 209
Khrushchev as Man of the Year on, 100
in Kilgore, 181, 182
letter to, 205
Moor’s coverage of Tchaikovsky Competition, 151, 193, 198–99
sign on Broadway, 202
on Van as cultural hero, 321
Toccata (Ravel), 71–72
Toccata (Schumann), 187
Tolstoy, Leo, 265
Tonight (TV show), 71–72, 183
Tonight We Sing (film), 65, 256, 267
Toscanini, Arturo, 76
Toscanini, Wanda, 76
Tristan und Isolde (opera), 7
Triumphal Square (Moscow), 126
Trud, 171
Truman, Harry, 39, 46
Tu-114 (plane), 241–42, 248, 252
Tucker, Clifford, 69
Tupolev, Alexei, 247
Turkey, 288, 300, 301, 303
Tucson, Arizona, 226–27, 235, 285
Tucson Daily Citizen, 227
Twelfth Hungarian Rhapsody (Liszt), 34, 68, 116, 117, 145–46, 234
Twentieth Century-Fox, 245–47
The Twilight Zone (TV Show), 280
U-2 program and incident, 257–62, 265–66, 268, 276, 278, 288
U-2s flying over Cuba, 298, 301
U-2 trespassing into Soviet airspace, 301–2
Ukraine, 84, 90, 232, 333
Ulbricht, Walter, 281
Union of Soviet Composers, 58, 138–39, 148
Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Ties, 272
United Nations
Cuban Missile Crisis and, 300, 301
Khrushchev and Soviet delegation to, 274, 275–77, 278
Khrushchev’s addresses to, 245, 276–77
Soviet exchange students visiting, 220
Soviet ribbing of U.S. at, 100
United Nations Chorus, 207
United States and Americans
in 1951, 39–40
Cold War and support of arts, 80–81
honors to Van at 50th anniversary, 364
Khrushchev’s threats to, 230
Khrushchev’s visit to (See under Khrushchev, Nikita)
love for Russian music, 11
love-hate relationship with Russia, 3–4
Marxist-Leninist view of, 137
moon landing, 325
Nifty Fifties, 99
Soviet musicians visiting, 79–80
space race with Soviet Union, 2, 96–99, 279, 303, 307, 325 (See also sputniks)
Van’s popularity in entertainment, 71–72, 214–17, 218–20, 222–28
at World Festival of Youth and Students, 91
Usovo, Khrushchev’s dacha at, 292
U.S. Seventh Army, 222
USSR. See Soviet Union
USSR (magazine), 116
USSR State Symphony, 271
U.S. State Department
concerns about Van, 190–92, 221–22
Harvey’s gun incident and, 220
International Exchange Program and, 80–81, 86
Menshikov memorandum, 212–13
request for Van to play in India, 225
supper at Thompsons’ and, 187–88
Tchaikovsky Competition and, 91, 108
tour sponsored by, 290
U.S. Embassy’s communications with, 189, 190
Van’s cable from, 185
Van’s second trip to Soviet Union and, 262
World Festival of Youth and Students and, 91
“Van Cliburn at Home” (in Ogonyok), 204
Van Cliburn Day in Kilgore, 63–64, 225
Van Cliburn Day in NYC, 206–10
Van Cliburn Day in Shreveport, 225
Van Cliburn Fan Club, 2, 218
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, 296–98, 337, 340, 343, 349, 355, 360
Van Club, 267, 314, 360–61, 362
Varela Cid, Sérgio, 297
Variety, 284
“Vecherniy Zvon” (Russian folk song), 9–10
Vertigo (film), 246
Viardo, Vladimir, 337
Vietnam War, 313, 315, 322–24, 329, 330, 333–34
Village Vanguard, 38
Vilnius Conservatory, 192–93
Vishnevskaya, Galina, 141, 349, 353
Vivekananda, Swami, 237
Vlassenko, Ella, 113, 137, 146–47, 162–63, 176
Vlassenko, Irina and Natasha, 176
Vlassenko, Lev
as chosen one, 147, 148, 162
after Cold War, 360
Ella’s concern for, 137, 146–47
excused from first round of Tchaikovsky Competition, 133
Liszt Piano Competition win, 111
Liu Shikun and, 111, 112
Richter and, 149
selected to compete in Tchaikovsky Competition, 113–15
Shtarkman and, 1
30
supper at Thompsons’ and, 187–88
in Tchaikovsky Competition, 146–47, 149, 163
U.S. visit by, 254–55
Van’s request that he visit America, 194
Van’s second visit to Russia and, 264
Van’s win and, 175–76, 177
Voice of America, 29, 93, 316
Volkonsky, Irina, 203
von Meck, Nadezhda, 6
Voroshilov, Kliment, 50, 51, 90, 91, 173, 259
Voskhod 1 orbiter, 307
Voskresensky, Mikhail, 297
Votapek, Ralph, 297
Votkinsk, Russia, 179
Vyacheslav Molotov, 274
Wagner, Richard, 6–7, 21
Wagner, Robert F., 207–8, 215
Waldorf-Astoria, 244–45
Walker, Ron, 330
Walter, Bruno, 283–84
Wang Dongxing, 334, 335–36
Warsaw Pact, 86–87, 274
Washington summit, 352–58, 360
Watergate, 339
Waters, Bob, 24
Wayne, John, 245, 246, 253
weapons race, 120
wedding ceremony incident, 226
West Side Story (Hollywood musical), 80
We Will Meet Again (TV show), 272
What’s My Line? (game show), 217, 223, 321
White, Marjorie, 227–28
White, Newton H., III, 227–28
White House
Bolshoi Ballet dancers invited to, 303
Khrushchev at, 243
Khrushchev’s cable to, 299
Kremlin’s relations with, 288
“Moscow Nights” played at, 357, 358
piano at, 251
reception for Tchaikovsky Competition winners, 315
Scali’s tip to, 300
telephone hotline with Kremlin, 305
Van’s first visit to, 211
Van’s forgotten attire and, 320–21
White House Festival of the Arts, 313
Whittlesey, Mrs. Raymond, 64
“Widmung” (Schumann-Liszt), 71, 354
Will, George, 357–58
Wilson, Harold, 339
Wingreen, Harriet, 124, 152, 169, 172
Winston, Elizabeth, 200, 211, 216
Wodlinger, David, 108–9
Wood, Natalie, 245
World Federation of Democratic Youth, 91
World War I, 15–16, 33
World War II, 11, 19
WQXR, 67, 215
Yakovlev, Alexander, 357
Yarborough, Ralph, 212
Ye Jianying, 317, 319, 329, 334, 335–36, 349
Yellow River Concerto, 335, 336
Yin Chengzong, 287, 335, 336
Yugoslavia, 230
Zaremba, Tom, 341, 344, 352, 363
Zharov, Sergei, 9
Zhou Enlai, 229, 329, 335
Zhukov, Georgy, 61, 90, 91
Zimbalist, Efrem, 132, 175
About the Author
NIGEL CLIFF is a historian, biographer, critic, and translator. His first book, The Shakespeare Riots, was a finalist for the National Award for Arts Writing and was chosen as one of the Washington Post’s best books of the year. His second book, The Last Crusade: The Epic Voyages of Vasco da Gama, was a New York Times Notable Book. His most recent book is a new translation of The Travels by Marco Polo. A former film and theater critic for the London Times and contributor to the Economist, he writes for a range of publications, including the New York Times Book Review. He lives in London.