Van Cliburn ( 1934 - 2013 ) was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. Cliburn was relatively unknown until he won the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia during the height of the Cold War. This victory led to international stardom, and his recording of the Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 became the first classical CD to go platinum. Cliburn was forever linked with this work, and he subsequently recorded concertos by Chopin, Brahms and Rachmaninov. He took a 20 year hiatus and in the mean time launched a successful piano competition under his name.