Pianist Van Cliburn, cold war "musical envoy," dies of cancer at 78

NYTimes: "Van Cliburn, the American pianist whose first-place award at the 1958 Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow made him an overnight sensation and propelled him to a phenomenally successful and lucrative career, though a short-lived one, died Wednesday morning in Fort Worth." Bone cancer. He was 78. (HT: Joe Sabia)