Cliburn
HOLLYWOOD -- Pianist Van Cliburn will receive the President's Merit Award from the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences on Feb. 24 as part of Grammy Week ceremonies.
Cliburn, who has performed with every major orchestra and conductor in his nearly 50-year career, will receive the award at the Salute to Classical Music reception and luncheon at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. Guests will include prominent members of the classical music community.
In addition to other awards already announced, the Academy has inducted 55 more recordings into the Grammy Hall of Fame, bringing the list to 585 titles.
Included are the recordings "Highway 61 Revisited" by Bob Dylan; "Red Headed Stranger" by Willie Nelson; the Doors' 1967 self-titled debut; Rufus Thomas' Memphis soul gem "Walking the Dog"; Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant"; and "Horowitz at Carnegie Hall -- An Historic Return," recorded in 1965 by Vladimir Horowitz.
Several socially conscious songs were inducted this year, including Pete Seeger's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and Marvin Gaye's 1971 environmental lament "Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology)."
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