Died the Italian pianist Maurizio Pollini at 82 years old. Icon of Italian classical music, the artist was characterized as a great interpreter of Chopin and Beethoven.
The news about the death of Pollini was communicated by La Scala Theater in Milan. In recent years, the pianist had been in poor health and had been forced to cancel some concerts.
The statement from La Scala on the death of pianist Maurizio Pollini
In the statement, La Scala described Pollini as “one of the great musicians of our time and fundamental reference in the artistic life of the theater for more than 50 years”.
According to details, the pianist played in the theater 168 times from 1958 until his last recital in February 2023. This, without including countless workshops with students and conferences.
“Pollini was an interpreter capable of revolutionize the perception of composers such as Chopin, Debussy and Beethoven himself, and to promote (…) listening to the historical avant-garde, especially Schönberg, and current music,” La Scala stressed.
Maurizio Pollini died: how he became an icon of Italian music
The Italian pianist was born on January 5, 1942 in Milan into a family of artists. In 1960when Pollini was 18, burst onto the classical music scene and, being the youngest participant, won the Warsaw Chopin Competition.
Then, instead of devoting himself directly to the concert scene, the artist put aside his career to study and explained that making the decision to play immediately would have been “premature for him“.
In the late 1960s, Maurizio Pollini participated in improvised concerts in factories and programs for students and workers at La Scala, which were directed by his friend Claudio Abbado.
In 1968 the pianist made his first tour in the United States and, from the 70s to the 90s, he made some recordings with the prestigious label Deutsche Grammophon. Meanwhile, he became an acclaimed performer of Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann, Franz Schubert and Johannes Brahms.
As for awards, Pollini’s albums have won numerous of them, among which stands out a Grammy for Best Instrumental Solo Performance that they gave him in the year 2007.
Source: Ambito
