Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; No. 1; Part 7

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<v Speaker>[Barry Douglas and orchestra play the Brahms piano concerto number 1]. <v Steve Allen>Well, Paul, we've heard the piano concerto number one and B, minor Opus Fifteen by
<v Steve Allen>Brahms. As you know and I was just thinking a moment ago, I personally am not capable <v Steve Allen>of distinguishing between that and perfection. <v Steve Allen>There may be some room for difference there, but I don't sense that the soloist course <v Steve Allen>Barry Douglas with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stanisław <v Steve Allen>Skrowaczewski. That's the concluding performance on this the first night <v Steve Allen>of the final round in the 1985 Van Cliburn International <v Steve Allen>Piano Competition. <v Paul Hume>This brilliant performance has brought us Barry Douglas, age 25 out of Belfast, <v Paul Hume>Northern Ireland, a citizen of the United Kingdom, and a marvelous performance of <v Paul Hume>the Brahms D-minor Concerto, one of my favorite concertos, which he played very <v Paul Hume>beautifully indeed. <v Steve Allen>And the orchestra distinguished itself, too, I thought. <v Paul Hume>Skrowaczewski and the orchestra couldn't have been more sympathetic or more supporting in <v Paul Hume>their accompaniment. <v Paul Hume>Wonderful sound. <v Steve Allen>This applause will continue for some time. <v Paul Hume>The audience is shouting and that's a nice thing to hear in Fort Worth because they get
<v Paul Hume>very excited when they hear pianists they like. <v Paul Hume>And I can see why they would like Mr. Douglas. <v Steve Allen>Mhm hmm. <v Steve Allen>Really thrilling. Well, we now have behind us 1 <v Steve Allen>out of the 3 nights in finals competition. <v Steve Allen>On Sunday at the end of 3 nights of concerto performances, <v Steve Allen>we'll find out who is to be the gold medalist. <v Steve Allen>And again, I don't envy the judges having to make that decision. <v Steve Allen>That top award in this competition is valued, as we mentioned <v Steve Allen>earlier, at more than 200 thousand dollars and includes a 12000 dollar cash <v Steve Allen>prize, concert engagements for 2 and a half years, a Carnegie <v Steve Allen>Hall recital, and a debut recording. <v Steve Allen>So there's a enormous amount at stake here. <v Steve Allen>At the beginning of the evening uh we referred to this final round as a musical suspense <v Steve Allen>story in 4 acts: 3 nights of performance, and finally, the announcement <v Steve Allen>of winners on Sunday. Well, Paul act 1 is now behind us.
<v Steve Allen>What are your thoughts on what we've heard so far? <v Paul Hume>Steve, let me put it this way. We still have 4 more pianists to hear. <v Paul Hume>If 1 or more of them is better than young Mr. Douglas with his command of these <v Paul Hume>essentials, the superb control of power, the expansive, poetic, <v Paul Hume>reflective performance of this Brahms concerto, then we are in for something very <v Paul Hume>special. Indeed. <v Steve Allen>Well, tomorrow we can look forward to hearing 2 of more famous, as you say, José <v Steve Allen>Feghali from Brazil and Károly Mocsári of Hungary. <v Paul Hume>Uh Mr. Feghali, we will hear playing the C Minor Concerto of Mozart, which we heard <v Paul Hume>tonight. And the big popular Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto, one of the most popular <v Paul Hume>concertos of all time. And Mr. Mocsári will play the D Minor Concerto <v Paul Hume>of Mozart and the D Minor Concerto, the third concerto of Rachmaninoff, <v Paul Hume>one of the biggest and most demanding and also by now one of the most popular of all <v Paul Hume>concertos.
<v Steve Allen>Well, we will be here again tomorrow night at the same time with a complete live <v Steve Allen>coverage. The seventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition <v Steve Allen>is presented by the Van Cliburn Foundation, Fort Worth, Texas. <v Steve Allen>Andrew Rayburn, executive director. <v Steve Allen>If you'd like more information about the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the <v Steve Allen>160-page official program- souvenir program is available. <v Steve Allen>You want one? Just send 3 dollars to cover postage and handling to Van Cliburn <v Steve Allen>competition, Box 32 0 7, Fort Worth, <v Steve Allen>Texas 7 6 1 0 2. <v Steve Allen>Address again. Van Cliburn Competition, Box 3 2 0 <v Steve Allen>7, Fort Worth, Texas 7 6 1 0 2. <v Steve Allen>And now for Station KERA, Dallas Fort Worth. <v Steve Allen>The technical director is John Allison, our broadcast engineer, <v Steve Allen>Mark Lambert, with technical support from Mike Simpson and Jim Fitzgerald <v Steve Allen>of Midcom Incorporated.
<v Steve Allen>The portable satellite uplink facility is provided by IDB Incorporated. <v Steve Allen>The audio coordinator with the Van Cliburn competition is John Moran. <v Steve Allen>Andrew Rayburn is audio producer. <v Steve Allen>Steve Proffitt, is our Features producer with reports contributed by Craig Allen, <v Steve Allen>Nancy Lamb, and Chris Douridas. <v Steve Allen>The assistant director is Jacqueline Cummings, and Patricia Silverman <v Steve Allen>has been enormously helpful here in the booth was with us as our associate producer. <v Steve Allen>This program was produced and directed by Ara Guzelimian, executive <v Steve Allen>producers Michael Nitka, and this has been a production of KERA Dallas <v Steve Allen>Fort Worth. Paul Hume, speaking just personally, it's been lot of fun, <v Steve Allen>very instructive and a great pleasure to have your company for these broadcasts. <v Steve Allen>I assume we'll be meeting again tomorrow night, same time, same place. <v Paul Hume>Steve, I wouldn't miss it. And the race is still wide open. <v Paul Hume>See you tomorrow. <v Steve Allen>Okay. Goodnight. This is Steve Allen. <v Steve Allen>Thanks for joining us. And please plan to be with us tomorrow night for the second finals <v Steve Allen>concert from the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
<v Steve Allen>Till then, good night from all of us from Fort Worth. <v Radio Host>Possible by grants from the Mobil Oil Corp. <v Radio Host>and Tandy Corporation RadioShack.
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Series
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
Episode Number
No. 1
Segment
Part 7
Producing Organization
KERA
Contributing Organization
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip-526-ww76t0j78n
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip-526-ww76t0j78n).
Description
Episode Description
This includes the first night of the final round of the 7th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Emma Tahmizian from Bulgaria and Barry Douglas from the United Kingdom perform.
Series Description
"'The live coverage of the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition presented some engrossing and engaging live radio. In my book, this is what live broadcast coverage is all about. There was drama, tension, information and sweat-on-the-keyboard excitement.' --Noah Andre Trudeau, Fanfare, Sept.-Oct., 1985 "Pianist/composer/entertainer Steve Allen and music critic Paul Hume co-hosted four nights of live national coverage of the Seventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The coverage was produced by Dallas/Fort Worth public radio station KERA and broadcast nationwide by American Public Radio. "KERA chose to capture the last four nights of the three-week competition -- four dramatic nights when 36 contestants had dwindled to six finalists who would perform with the Forth Worth Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Stanislaw Skrowaczewski. Here were supremely talented young musicians battling to win one of the world's most prestigious music competitions. The winner would receive prizes valued at more than a quarter million dollars and, more importantly, an ideal springboard for a concert career. "Allen and Hume contributed style and visibility to the coverage. Allen is known for many performance achievements outside of classical music. Hume is recognized as a leading American classical critic. Their chemistry provided insight, depth and humor. Listeners unversed in classical music were attracted to listen by Allen's presence and could identify with his 'every-man' approach and questions to Hume; Hume provided the commentary and criticism required by the serious music listeners. "These were concert programs, but more to the point, these were programs with compelling stories to tell: the stories of young artists striving to excel; of musicians from around the globe with their adopted host families in Fort Worth, Texas; of the monumental task of keeping a dozen fine concert grands tuned during three weeks of Texas heat; and, inevitable, of competitors' losing what they wanted most to win. "There were other stories: the guest conductor with five days to prepare an orchestra to perform 12 concertos with six different soloists; the Competition's birth during the Cold War; the task of jurors who were charged with quantifying the unquantifiable; the Forth Worth matron who has served as surrogate mother to competitors for 23 years; the previous winners and the Competition's effect on their careers. "The programs ask, tell, laugh, share, probe, inform -- and revel in the artistry and beauty of it all."-- 1985 Peabody Awards entry forms
Broadcast Date
1985-05-30
Asset type
Episode
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:31:32.496
Credits
Associate Producer: Silverman, Patricia
Director: Guzelimian, Ara
Executive Producer: Nitka, Michael M.
Host: Allen, Steve
Host: Hume, Paul
Producer: Guzelimian, Ara
Producing Organization: KERA
Writer: Guzelimian, Ara
AAPB Contributor Holdings
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia
Identifier: cpb-aacip-1f7f4e017cc (Filename)
Format: 1/4 inch audio cassette
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
Citations
Chicago: “Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; No. 1; Part 7,” 1985-05-30, The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 10, 2026, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-ww76t0j78n.
MLA: “Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; No. 1; Part 7.” 1985-05-30. The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 10, 2026. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-ww76t0j78n>.
APA: Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; No. 1; Part 7. Boston, MA: The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-526-ww76t0j78n