Arturo benedetti michelangeli biography of barack obama

Home / General Biography Information / Arturo benedetti michelangeli biography of barack obama

When I am at the piano, everything else disappears. He founded his own school in Bolzano and organized summer masterclasses for young pianists in Arezzo.

A Change of Scenery and a Legacy that Endures

In 1967-1968, a failed record company left Michelangeli in financial ruin. At the insistence of his father he studied medicine for a brief period of time.

While his technical mastery made him one of the great keyboard exponents of the Romantic repertoire, his sympathies ranged widely, from early music to the 20th century. His reputation quickly spread throughout the musical world and soon led to his appointment at the Bologna Conservatory and, later, to the Conservatories of Venice and Bolzano as well.

He then concretised in the USA, Israel and, once again, in Germany. In addition, he also gave master classes in Arezzo; Siena, Turin and Lugano.

 

Tokio, September 1992

Last Recital, May 7, 1993

 

After a health-related pause in his career, he returned to the concert podium in 1964; when he travelled to Russia.

He subsequently went on to continue his musical education in Milan, where he studied piano and composition under Giovanni Anfossi as well as violin with Renzo Francesconi.

 

He obtained his soloist's diploma at the age of fourteen, and immediately launched his concert career.

From 1941 to 1943 Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli served in the Italian Air Forces, and then joined the anti-Fascist partisan movement.

In 1949, he was requested to take part in the festivities honouring (commemorating) the 100th anniversary of Chopin's death in Warsaw. A deeply private man, he had a tendency to distort the truth during interviews, making it difficult for musicologists and hto build an accurate portrait of his life; he will likely remain a fascinating, little-understood man.

Biography

 

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was born during the night of 5 to 6 January 1920 in Brescia, Italy.

He began his musical training at the age of four at the "Istituto Musicale Venturi" under the direction of Paolo Chimeri. However, due to health issues, he was forced to switch to the piano.

arturo benedetti michelangeli biography of barack obama

He was known for his note-perfect performances. His extraordinary talent was recognized immediately and was first honoured in 1939 when Michelangeli won the first prize of the prestigious Geneva International Competition, whose jury was headed by Ignaz Paderewski. A generous man, he funded each and every one of his students out of his own income, maintaining that music is an inalienable right for those who have the gift.

In 1968 Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli went into voluntary "exile" from Italy, angered at the government for impounding his pianos after a company in which he was a partner went bankrupt.

He believed that his role as a performer was to "express the composer's intention, the composer's will, to embody the spirit and the letter of the music I play."

His pursuit of perfection extended to his relentless touring with his own piano and tuner. His reputation quickly spread throughout the musical world led to his appointment later, to the Conservatories of Venice and Bolzano as well.

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. He passed away on June 12, 1995, leaving an enduring legacy as one of the most enigmatic and extraordinary pianists of the 20th century.

His music continues to captivate audiences worldwide, a testament to his unwavering dedication to perfection and the profound emotional depth he brought to every performance.

The celebrated Italian pianist and pedagogue, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, began music lessons at the age of 3, initially with the violin, but quickly switched to the piano.

Its dazzling climaxes were reached in two Mozart CDs and in the exceptional Bremen concerts of 1989 and 1990, the Munich concerts conducted by Celibidache, the extensive Japan tour of 1992 and, finally, in the Hamburg concerto of 7 May 1993, which was Michelangeli's last public appearance.

 

Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli died in Lugano on 12th June 1995 and was buried in Pura.

 

.

He could spend years refining a single piece before adding it to his concert programs.

Mastery of Technique and Interpretation

Michelangeli's pianism was renowned for its unparalleled finesse and technical brilliance.

The Gaspard as well as his playing of Ravel's Piano Concerto in G set standards for those works and his reading of Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 4 is comparable to that of S. Rachmaninov himself. Michelangeli's first mentor was Paolo Camerini, and at fourteen, he graduated from the Milan Conservatory under the tutelage of renowned pianist Giovanni Anfossi.

A Life of Intrigue and Adventure

Michelangeli's path took an unexpected turn when he withdrew to a Franciscan monastery to become an organist.

In 1938, at age 18, he began his international career by entering the Ysaÿe International Festival in Brussels, where he placed seventh.