Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (January 5, 1920–June 12, 1995) was an Italian classical pianist. He has been regarded as among the most commanding and individual piano virtuosos of the 20th century, among names such as Horowitz and Richter. Along with Ferruccio Busoni, he is often considered the most important Italian pianist. is the 5th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... A pianist is a person who plays the piano. ... Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (Russian: ; Ukrainian: ) (1 October 1903 – 5 November 1989) was a Russian-American[1][2] pianist. ... Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter (Russian: , Svjatoslav Teofilovič Rikhter) (March 20 [O.S. March 7] 1915 – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet pianist, widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. ... Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (April 1, 1866 – July 27, 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, music teacher and conductor. ...

Biography

Born in Brescia, he began music lessons at the age of three, initially with the violin, but quickly switched to the piano. At ten he entered the Milan Conservatory. In 1938, at age eighteen, he began his international career by entering the Ysaÿe International Festival in Brussels, where he placed seventh. (A brief account of this competition, at which Emil Gilels took first prize, is given by Arthur Rubinstein, who was one of the judges. According to Rubinstein, Michelangeli gave "an unsatisfactory performance, but already showed his impeccable technique.") A year later he earned first prize in the Geneva International Competition where he was acclaimed as "a new Liszt" by pianist Alfred Cortot, a member of the judging panel, which was presided by Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The Capitoline Temple. ... The Milan Conservatory, or the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, is a famous music school in Milan whose alumni include Giacomo Puccini, Giovanni Bottesini, Vittorio Giannini, Francisco Mignone, Italo Montemezzi, Alceo Galliera, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Maurizio Pollini, and Claudio Abbado. ... For other places with the same name, see Brussels (disambiguation). ... Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс, Emili Gregorievič Gilelis; October 19, 1916 – October 14, 1985) was a Soviet pianist. ... For the 19th century Russian pianist and composer, see Anton Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 Arthur Rubinstein (January 28, 1887 – December 20, 1982) was a Polish pianist who is widely considered as one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the 20th Century. ... Geneva (pronunciation //; French: Genève //, German:   //, Italian: Ginevra //, Romansh: Genevra) is the second most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich), and is the most populous city of Romandy (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). ... “Liszt” redirects here. ... Alfred Denis Cortot (September 26, 1877 – June 15, 1962) was a French pianist and conductor. ...

Michelangeli was known for his note-perfect performances. The music critic Harold Schonberg wrote of him: "His fingers can no more hit a wrong note or smudge a passage than a bullet can be veered off course once it has been fired...The puzzling part about Michelangeli is that in many pieces of the romantic repertoire he seems unsure of himself emotionally, and his otherwise direct playing is then laden with expressive devices that disturb the musical flow." The teacher and commentator David Dubal adds that he was best in the earlier works of Beethoven and seemed insecure in Chopin, but that he was "demonic" in such works as the Bach-Busoni Chaconne and the Brahms Paganini Variations. Harold Charles Schonberg (November 29, 1915 - July 26, 2003) was a American music critic and journalist, most notably for the New York Times between 1960 and 1980. ... David Dubal is an American pianist, teacher and author. ... Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized December 17, 1770 РMarch 26, 1827) was a German composer of Classical music, the predominant musical figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras. ... Fr̩d̩ric Fran̤ois Chopin as portrayed by Eug̬ne Delacroix in 1838. ... In music, the BACH motif is the sequence of notes B flat, A, C, B natural. ... Dante Michaelangelo Benvenuto Ferruccio Busoni (April 1, 1866 РJuly 27, Italian composer, pianist, music teacher and conductor. ... Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (May 7, 1833 РApril 3, 1897) was a German composer of classical music. ...

His repertoire was strikingly small for a concert pianist of such stature. Owing to his obsessive perfectionism relatively few recordings were officially released during Michelangeli's lifetime, but these are augmented by numerous bootleg recordings of live performances. Discographical highlights include the (authorized) live performances in London of Maurice Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, Chopin's Sonata No. 2 and Robert Schumann's Carnaval, Op. 9 and Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26. The Gaspard, as well as his playing of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G set standards for those works and his reading of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 4 is comparable to that of Rachmaninoff himself. His Debussy series for DG is something of a benchmark, if it is sometimes accused of being a little unatmospheric ("swimming in cool water," in Dubal's words). Several DVDs of live performances, and of a master class, are also available. Maurice Ravel. ... Gaspard de la nuit: Trois Poèmes pour Piano dapres Aloysius Bertrand (Treasurer of the Night: Three Poems for Piano after Aloysius Bertrand) is a piece for solo piano by Maurice Ravel. ... Chopin redirects here. ... Frédéric Chopin composed his Piano Sonata No. ... For other persons named Robert Schumann, see Robert Schumann (disambiguation). ... Faschingschwank aus Wien- Carnival Scenes/Jest from Vienna by Robert Schumann is a solo piano work in five movements: Allegro-Sehr Lebhaft- B-flat major Romance-Ziemlich Langsam- B-flat major Scherzino- B-flat major Intermezzo-Mit Grösster Energie- E-flat major (Depicting Schumanns troubles with Claras... Concerto in G major is a piano concerto by Maurice Ravel composed in the period of 1929–1931. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasilevič Rakhmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music. ... The Piano Concerto No. ... Claude Debussy Claude Achille Debussy (August 22, 1862 – March 25, 1918), composer of impressionistic classical music. ... Logo Deutsche Grammophon is a German record label. ...

Benedetti Michelangeli has written 19 Folksongs a cappella for the SAT man's chorus from Trent (Italy), this is his only little production as composer. This article is about the vocal technique. ...

Michelangeli was something of an hypochondriac, famous for last-minute cancellations of his concert recitals. His last concert took place on May 7, 1993 in Hamburg. After an extended illness he died in Lugano. is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... This article is about the city in Germany. ... Lake Lugano Lugano (Latin language: Luganum) is a town (130. ...

References

• Dubal, David (1989). The Art of the Piano. New York: Summit Books, pp. 180-181. ISBN 0-671-49238-1. 
• Garben, Cord (2002). Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: Gratwanderungen mit einem Genie. Hamburg: Europaische Verlagsanstalt. 
• Richter, Sviatoslav (1998). in Bruno Monsaingeon: Ecrits, conversations. Editions Van de Velde, pp. 260, 289, 310, 312. ISBN 2-85868-255-0. 
• Schonberg, Harold C.. The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present. New York: Simon & Schuster, pp. 424-425. ISBN 0-671-63837-8. 

External links

• Biography, articles and events
• Biography, discography, articles, music and events