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Maurizio Pollini

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Maurizio Pollini was born in 1942 in Milan and became one of the great Italian pianists of his time. His father was an architect and amateur violinist, his mother had studied to be a pianist and singer. He was taught by Carlo Lonati and then by Carlo Vidusso at the Milan conservatory. At fifteen he made his debut with études by Chopin. In 1957 he came second at the Geneva competition, after Martha Argerich, and in 1960 he won the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. After that he did not perform for a year and kept on studying. In the early 1960s he also worked for half a year with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.

Music and breakthrough

His recordings span a wide repertoire: Chopin, Beethoven, Schubert, Debussy and the Second Viennese School, with records such as Études op. 10 and op. 25 from 1973 and Schoenberg: The Piano Music from 1975. He also played new music by Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Luigi Nono, and felt that contemporary composers belonged in concert life. Nono, for example, wrote a piece for him in 1974 and 1976. His playing was known for technique and control, although some found it dry and cerebral in his early years.

Influence

In the 1960s and 1970s Pollini was also active on the left, together with Claudio Abbado and Luigi Nono, but he kept politics and music apart. In 1968 he made his debut at Carnegie Hall, and in 1974 he toured Japan for the first time. He died in 2024. He showed that a pianist from the classical tradition could build a bridge to the music of his own time.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a Chopin étude from Études op. 10 and notice the speed and evenness of the right hand: can you hear how much control it takes to make that sound so calm?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists