The American piano virtuoso Van Cliburn died Wednesday after a battle with bone cancer. He was 78. A native of Kilgore, Texas, he won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow at age 23, becoming an American hero during the Cold War. His last public appearance came in September at the 50th anniversary of the prestigious piano competition in Fort Worth that bears his name. "Never forget: I love you all from the bottom of my heart, forever," he said.
