Unabridged Audiobook
It is fascinating to see the links with Cliburn’s life in history, politics (the cold war) through his piano playing. We hear in immense detail about the influences on Cliburn’s life. This is Reich’s laudable attempt to explain the man, so we can understand how he became the pianist and person he was. So, it is surprising that there is not one single mention of the (at least two men) that Cliburn shared much of his adult life with. What’s being gay got to do with playing the piano you might ask. But consider, if Cliburn had been a pianist who was a woman, or a pianist who was black - taking the world by storm winning the 1958 Tchaikovsky Completion at the height of the cold war - do you think Reich might have mentioned that en passant? Intense and very good coverage of the musical and personal life of a pianist with a far-reaching effect on the world, bar this one silly omission.
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