Classical Principle Weekly
November 1, 2022
CLASSICAL MUSIC AND THE COLD WAR
The topic of “War” has been on our tongue, much of this year. In light of this, we would like to remember a similar situation when classical culture fostered a more rational approach in world leaders.
In 1956, then the world’s most beloved and famous cellist, Pablo Casals, who protested the acceptance of fascism in Spain by living in French Catalonia and lrefusing all public perform (except for a brief interlude in 1950-52), established the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. In 1958, he established the Puerto Rico Symphony, and in 1959, a conservatory there. In an effort to reach out to the USA, in November of 1961, he accepted an invitation to play at the White House for JFK and Jackie Kennedy. (Casals at the White House for JFK in 1961: https://youtu.be/lnpB0lFnbFY)
The Soviets had stunned the world with Sputnik in 1957, and the First International Tchaikovsky Competition, in 1958 was meant to demonstrate Soviet cultural superiority. The jury was supervised by composer Dmitri Shostakovitch, chaired by pianist Emil Gilels, and included Sviataslav Richter, Lev Oberon, Dimtry Kabalevsky, as well as some international judges, such as Sir Arthur Bliss. The story goes that the fix was in for Lev Vlassenko to win for piano. Richter in particular was upset by this, and reportedly started giving perfect 25's to Cliburn, and very low numbers, including 0's, to Vlassenko and others, so that Cliburn would not be eliminated.
The then 23-year-old Texan, Van Cliburn was a remarkable pianist. His mother had started teaching him at the age of 3, and taught him to sing everything, before playing it. There was a fear in the jury of giving the award to an American. Gilels nervously approached General Secretary Krushchev about the matter. Krushchev asked, "Is he the best?" On behalf of the jury, Gilels said "Yes." Krushchev replied, "Then give him the award."
In that same year, 1958, Pablo Casals joined forces with famed organist, Bach expert, and missionary, Albert Schweitzer in calling for an end to the arms race. Casals led a “Concert for Peace” at the United Nations to celebrate the UN's anniversary. In his message to that concert, he wrote:
“...Never has the world been closer to catastrophe than at this moment.... The anguish of the world caused by the continuation of nuclear war..is increasing every day, all realize the horrifying consequences of a nuclear war...How I wish that there could be a tremendous movement of protest in all countries.. The Hymn for Joy of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony has become a symbol of love. And I propose that every town that has an orchestra and a chorus should perform it on the same day, and have it broadcast by radio to the smallest communities and to all corners of the world, and to perform it as another prayer through music for the peace that we all desire and wait for.”
The concerts took place in New York, Paris and Geneva, including David Oistrakh and Yehudi Menuhin playing the Bach Concerto for two violins, Ravi Shankar (before the Beatles), and Beethoven's Ninth conducted by Ernest Ansermet (a close friend of the late Maestro Tony Morss), and broadcast through 4 continents by 75 channels.
Van Cliburn is the first and last American to ever win the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He is also the only classical musician to ever be honored with a ticker tape parade in NYC. At that parade he said:
"I appreciate more than you will ever know that you are honoring me, but the thing that thrills me the most is that you are honoring classical music. Because I'm only one of many. I'm only a witness and a messenger. Because I believe so much in the beauty, the construction, the architecture invisible, the importance for all generations, for young people to come that it will help their minds, develop their attitudes and give them values. That is why I'm so grateful that you have honored me in that spirit."
In the USSR, he became affectionately known to millions as "Vanusha". In the U.S., the cold war aspect was played up. The CIA had been promoting anti-communism through the CCF (Council for Cultural Freedom) with its unfortunate choice of ugly atonal music. However, Van Cliburn's recording of the Tchaikovsky Concerto was the first classical album to sell over a million copies. Krushchev became a fan of Van Cliburn, and arranged many exchanges. Later in 1960, Richter performed a sensational all-Beethoven concert at Carnegie Hall, and Cliburn brought Soviet conductor Kiril Kondrashin to the USA.
In May of 1960, the Cold War escalated with the U-2 incident, the shooting-down of a high-altitude U.S. spy plane. All diplomatic missions were abruptly shut down, but Kruschev surprised everyone when he insisted that a Van Cliburn concert scheduled for June in Baku, Azerbaijan, take place. It did.
In 1960, Casals was brought to teach in the U.S. at the Marlboro Festival at the invitation of Rudolf Serkin and the Busch brothers. He came every year for the next 12 years. Casals had a wry sense of humor. When asked why he still practiced the cello every day in his 90's, he responded: " I'm beginning to notice some improvement." When criticized for marrying a 21 year-old at the age of 80? "I look at it this way. If she dies, she dies."
In 1963, Casals conducted his Oratorio "Le Pessebre" (The Manger), in another peace conference at the UN. A young William Warfield sang in it.
In 1962, Cliburn initiated the First Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth Texas, and invited competitors from all over the USSR to come over and compete in it. For the party, he specified southern-fried chicken, cornbread, black-eyed peas, mustard greens, okra "without the slick", and peach cobbler. Ans on June 14th 1962, Van Cliburn performed in Moscow. Krushchev and Gromyko were in the audience and applauded vociferously. That is only four months before the Cuban Missile Crisis!
Why tell these stories? We would like to present a hypothesis that leaders steeped in classical culture will treasure what humanity has accomplished, and be far more willing to make every effort to save it. Nations that discover that they share a rich cultural heritage will think differently. What is the culture of today's leaders? What is their view of humanity?
What was Castro's view at the time? He was furious at Krushchev for removing certain missiles that the U.S. did not know about, without Cuban consent, and urged him to fire all the missiles, in the event of an invasion of Cuba he was sure would come. On October 27th, 1963, a U.S. spy plane was shot down by a Soviet SA-2 missile. That almost started a war. Kennedy withheld from responding with an attack, as he had stated he would do. Krushchev told his son that it was likely done by Raul Castro. The same day, the U.S. dropped "practice" depth charges on a Soviet submarine. The sub captain and the political officer ordered a nuclear strike. Fortunately the Chief of Staff of the flotilla was on board and prevented it. We came very close.
If you want to hear Van Cliburn's vocal qualities, listen to his Beethoven from June 14th 1962 in Moscow. Hear how the long descending passages change voice.