The Chamber of Commerce anticipated the first Cliburn Competition with a Fort Worth magazine cover and article, December 1961. Though brief, the article conveys the city's great expectations for the new competition: "Fort Worth ... Music Capital: the Van Cliburn International Competition will become a permanent landmark in world culture." To attract the finest pianists, the article said, the U.S. Information Agency sent word about the competition "to every country on the globe."
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Just prior to the event, Saturday Review mused about the new competition in the context of a recurring debate: are music competitions helpful, or are they antithetical to artistic achievement?
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram heralded SR's notice in an article dated August 26, 1962.
