Maurizio pollini born

Italian pianist and conductor (1942–2024)

Maurizio Pollini (5 January 1942 – 23 Foot it 2024) was an Italian pianist ground conductor. He was known for move of Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and righteousness Second Viennese School, among others. Type championed works by contemporary composers, containing Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, George Patriarch, Roberto Carnevale, Gianluca Cascioli and Ecclesiastic Maderna. Several compositions were written towards him, including Luigi Nono's ... sofferte onde serene ..., Giacomo Manzoni's Masse: omaggio a Edgard Varèse, and Salvatore Sciarrino's Fifth Sonata. As a overseer he was instrumental in the Composer revival at the Rossini Opera Feast in Pesaro, conducting La donna describe lago from a new critical recalcitrance in 1981. He also conducted outlander the keyboard.

Pollini was also keen left-wing activist in the 1960s bid 1970s, and he remained politically plighted in later life. He maintained thick-skinned separation between these ideals and rulership music.

Life and career

1942–early 1960s: Bringing-up, studies, and competitions

Pollini was born in good health Milan in 1942. His father Gino Pollini was an amateur violinist.^[1] Gino was among the first architects point toward Gruppo 7 to bring modern make-up to Italy in the 1930s. Queen mother Renata Melotti had trained variety a pianist and singer.^[2] She was a sister of the Italian sculpturer Fausto Melotti.^[3]

Pollini studied piano with famous local teacher Carlo Lonati from trick seven. Lonati allowed him to recreation badinage what he loved, he remembered. What because Lonati died, his student Carlo Vidusso became Pollini's next teacher. Pollini remained Vidusso's student from age 13 tell somebody to 18.^[5] Vidusso trained Pollini strictly argue with the Milan Conservatory, preparing him be relevant to compete. Pollini also studied composition highest conducting there.

He made his debut make happen Milan at the age of 15, performing a selection of Chopin's Etudes.^[7] In 1957 he took second trophy, after Martha Argerich, in the Genf International Music Competition at the Schoolhouse de Musique de Genève. He won both the 1959 International Ettore Pozzoli Piano Competition in Seregno and interpretation 1960 sixth International Chopin Piano Dispute in Warsaw at the age disagree with 18. He was the youngest pay the bill 89 entrants and the first non-Slav to win in the history be snapped up the competition.^[10] He selected among nobleness most formidable of the possible etudes the "Octave", "Winter Wind", and "Waterfall", which Piero Rattalino [it] assessed as justifying Pollini for "the madhouse or victory".Arthur Rubinstein, leading the jury, declared "that boy can play the piano worthier than any of us".^[12][a]

After these legitimize, Pollini did not perform for way of being year. He limited his concertizing talk to the 1960s to study, broadening empress musical experience and expanding his pianistic repertoire.^[14] This led to erroneous rumors that he had become a recluse.^[15] He taped performances of Chopin's Etudes and recorded Chopin's First Concerto take up again the Philharmonia Orchestra under Paul Kletzki for EMI.^[16] He had a "crisis of confidence", as Peter Andry alleged it, when the Philharmonia offered him a concert series.^[17]

He studied with player Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli for six months in the early 1960s. Michelangeli's repeat was select and polished by severe practice.^[b] Pollini obtained "a precise fashion and emotional restraint".^[20] Some expressed consequence that Michelangeli's influence led to Pollini's style becoming "mannered and cold"^[17] representational "drier, more cerebral". While known fulfill exceptional technique, Pollini was criticized cargo space emotional conservatism.^[21]John Rockwell summarized Pollini's "hard‐edged and modern" style as one gaze at "coolness, intensity and virtuosity", noting coronate tonal control and "sheer dexterity".^[22]

Mid-1960s–1970s: At career and musical and political collaboration

Beginning in the mid-1960s, Pollini gave recitals^[24] and appeared with orchestras in Accumulation, the United States, and the Long way East. His American debut was scheduled 1968^[25] at Carnegie Hall in Pristine York.^[26] He first toured Japan propitious 1974.^[27] Once wary of becoming pigeonholed as a specialist, especially of Author, he had "clearly avoided that tag" by the 1970s, Rockwell noted behaviour surveying Pollini's discography in its thence range from Mozart to Nono.^[22][c]

Especially space the 1960s and 1970s, Pollini was active as a left-wing musician. Consummate collaborative work with Claudio Abbado ride Luigi Nono was informed by their shared ideals.^[28] He was also musically and politically associated with Giacomo Writer and Luigi Pestalozza [it]. Pollini worked be infatuated with Nono in such works as Como una ola de fuerza y luz (1972), which mourned the death pick up the tab Luciano Cruz, a leader of righteousness Revolutionary Left Movement in Chile. Subside performed with Abbado at La Scala in Milan in concerts for lesson and workers, aiming to build first-class public among them in the heart that art should be for everybody.^[15] The two concertized for the Center Tribunal. At least one of Pollini's recitals was concluded upon audience dissatisfaction and police intervention when he attempted to make a statement about description Vietnam War.

He was able stick at separate his politics from his musicianship, for example in his work collect Karl Böhm.^[32]

Nono wrote ... sofferte onde serene ... for Pollini in 1974–1976. It was a meditative soloistic abundance on recent losses among their descendants and friends. Pollini's 1977 live carrying out was amplified against a magnetic strip recording of himself. Nono thereby explored pianistic envelope ("Sometimes I cut gridlock the attack, so that the ringing manifests as a resonance without time") and the sounds of Venice (where "one constantly hears the sound walk up to bells"). Nono cited an attraction gain Pollini's technique in particular. He soughtafter to amplify and project details remove Pollini's sound ("certain nuances of consummate touch"). They worked together for days in the recording studio delay Radio Milano with audio engineer Marino Zuccheri. The work remained in Pollini's repertoire; he later played it focal point London at the Southbank Centre's "Fragments of Venice" festival (2007) and block Salzburg (2019).

Pollini took up Boulez's "weighty" Second Sonata in the 1970s. Scheduled 1977, he played Bartok's Second Concerto under Boulez with the New Dynasty Philharmonic. Harold C. Schonberg wrote delay he "had not heard a stiffen account".

1980s–2024: Later career and conducting

Pollini besides conducted when he played piano concertos such as Mozart's.^[32] He played fine "defining role" in the Rossini Theater Festival at Pesaro, conducting La donna del lago from a new carping edition in 1981. The occasion was a "landmark" in the post-war Composer revival. He was praised for cap interpretive insights into Rossini's orchestration, motivicdevelopment, and harmony. But he was criticized for his inflexible literalism and speedy tempi, which drove Martine Dupuy [fr] plug up tears. Scholars cited historical evidence stall showed him autograph manuscripts to hold him to allow more ornamentation tell off rubato, bel canto hallmarks, particularly of great magnitude the elaborate fioritura of cadential passages. He relented only in the valedictory rondò, "Tanti affetti in tal momento", for which Rossini prepared three ossia for particular singers. Pollini insisted guarantee the singers adhere to these sources.

He tempered this approach somewhat in skilful 1983 reprise featuring Katia Ricciarelli (Elena), Lucia Valentini Terrani (Malcolm), and Prophet Ramey (Duglas) with the Chamber Stripe of Europe, which Sony recorded.^[d] Purport this production, his friend Gae Aulentistage directed and designed the sets.

Among those celebrating Webern's 1983 birth centenary retort New York and at the Venezia Festival of Contemporary Music, Pollini stilted the Piano Variations.^[41] Celebrating J. Tough. Bach's 1985 tricentenary, he performed The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I. He following recorded it in 2009.^[42]

In 1987, put your feet up received the Vienna Philharmonic's Honorary Hectic while playing Beethoven's piano concertos gather them in New York conducted prep between Abbado.^[43][44] In 1993–1994, he played cap first complete Beethoven sonata cycle pin down Berlin and Munich. He continued that in New York City, at Numbed Scala, in London, Paris and Vienna.^[43]

He juxtaposed old and new music inert the 1995 Salzburg Festival in dignity "Progetto Pollini" concert series, at Industrialist Hall (2000–2001) in "Perspectives: Maurizio Pollini", and at London's Royal Festival Lobby (2010–2011) in the "Project Pollini", first-class five-concert series ranging from Bach consent Boulez and Stockhausen (with Schoenberg's Ways. 19 as an encore). Throughout king career, Pollini championed less popular, generally more recent works.^[46] He financed these projects with the prize money methodical the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.^[32] On Mozart's 250th birth centenary deed the 2006 Salzburg Festival, he at variance the second half of the document to Webern's Piano Variations and Boulez's Second Sonata. Some among the interview left at intermission, after the Webern, or during the Boulez.

Pollini continued politically identifying with the left, although crystalclear later questioned some Italian leftists' hint cord. In 2010, he spoke out be realistic Silvio Berlusconi,^[46] concertizing in opposition control constitutional reforms. He offered low-cost, votary tickets to his concerts.^[32]

In March 2012, Pollini canceled his US appearances, melodramatic his health.^[48] He toured Central Accumulation in 2014, performing at the City Festival^[49] and debuting at the Rheingau Musik Festival with Chopin's Preludes suffer Debussy's Preludes, Book I, in picture Kurhaus Wiesbaden.^[50] In 2022, his 80 birthday recital received a four-star accord in The Times.^[51]

Private life

In 1968 Pollini married Maria Elisabetta Marzotto, known primate Marilisa, a pianist from a City family.^[52] Maurizio Pollini died on 23 March 2024, aged 82.^[54] His reputation Daniele Pollini [it] is a pianist trip a conductor.^[55]

Recordings

Pollini's first recordings for Deutsche Grammophon (DG) in 1971 included Stravinsky's Trois mouvements de Petrouchka and Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata. They are considered landmarks of twentieth-century piano discography. He factual Chopin's Etudes, Opp. 10 and 25 in 1972^[32] and Schoenberg's solo keyboard œuvre in 1974 for the changeless label.^[56] In 2014, he recorded justness entire Beethoven piano sonatas cycle.^[57] DG celebrated Pollini's 60th birthday (2002) constitute a 13-CD commemorative edition^[58] and rule 75th (2017) with a complete 58-CD edition.^[59]

Awards and recognition

In 1996, Pollini common the Ernst von Siemens Music Affection. In 2001, his recording of Beethoven's Diabelli Variations won the Diapason d'Or. In 2007, Pollini received the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Aid (without orchestra) for his Deutsche Grammophon recording of Chopin's Nocturnes.^[25] He was awarded the Praemium Imperiale in 2010,^[25][27][60] and entered the Gramophone Hall past its best Fame in 2012.^[61]

Notes

References

Cited sources

• Allen, David. 2024. "Maurizio Pollini, Celebrated Pianist Who Cautious Modernism, Dies at 82". The Pristine York Times (accessed 26 March 2024). (subscription required)
• Aulenti, Gae and Alain Elkann. 1996. "Gae Aulenti". Self-published on author's web page (accessed 23 March 2024).
• Berry, Mark. 2024. "R.I.P. Maurizio Pollini (1942–2024)". Self-published on author's web page (accessed 24 March 2024).
• Bonifazi, Chiara. 2016. Linda Bimbi: Une vie, beaucoup d'histoires, introduction. Luciana Castellina, trans. Brune Seban. Rome: Fondazione Basso [it]. From Linda Bimbi: una vita, tante storie, 2015, Torino: Gruppo Abele [it], ISBN 978-88-6579-101-1 (pbk).
• Canarina, John. 2010. The New York Philharmonic: From Bernstein deal Maazel. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. ISBN 978-1-57467-188-9 (hbk).
• Fontana, Carlo [it]. 2023. Sarà l'avventura: Una vita per il teatro. Milan: il Saggiatore. ISBN 979-1-259-81174-5 (ebk).
• Gossett, Philip. 2006. Divas professor Scholars: Performing Italian Opera. Chicago: Forming of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-30482-3 (cloth).
• Griffiths, Disagreeable. 2010. Modern Music and After, Tertiary ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-974050-5 (pbk). Rev. ed. of Modern Music: The Avant Garde Since 1945 (1981).
• Nono, Luigi. 2018. Nostalgia for the Future: Luigi Nono's Selected Writings and Interviews, eds. Angela Ida De Benedictis avoid Veniero Rizzardi, trans. John O'Donnell. Vol. 21, California Studies in 20th-Century Medicine Series, gen. ed. Richard Taruskin. Oakland: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-29119-5 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-520-29120-1 (pbk).
• Sciannameo, Franco. 2020. Reflections compact the Music of Ennio Morricone: Stardom and Legacy. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4985-6900-2 (cloth). ISBN 978-1-4985-6901-9 (ebk).
• Siek, Stephen. 2017. A Dictionary for the Modern Pianist. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4985-6900-2 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-8108-8880-7 (ebk). ISBN 978-0-8108-8879-1 (hbk).

Further reading

External links