TRIBUTE TO MAURIZIO POLLINI, ONE OF THE GREAT PIANISTS OF OUR TIME | EUROtoday
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Lhe pianist Maurizio Pollini, born January 5, 1942 in Milan, has simply handed away this Saturday March 23, taken away by sickness, on the age of 82.
At the distinguished Scala in Milan
How many occasions have I seen and heard him play, masterfully, essentially the most lovely scores of Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms or Schumann on the prestigious Scala in Milan, his birthplace, the place I personally inhabited, from 1982 to 1993, whereas I used to be professor of up to date literature and trendy civilization on the French Cultural Center.
READ ALSO Santa's RecordsHis legendary performances on this legendary live performance corridor had been at all times eagerly awaited by this notably demanding viewers, a wonderful connoisseur in addition to an knowledgeable music lover, when it comes to classical music, and never simply opera. I heard him carry out, on this excessive temple of music, the romantic repertoire in its noblest expression and, particularly, his expensive Frédéric Chopin.
Early genius on the Chopin competitors
Because, in truth, it was solely on the age of 18, in 1960, that Maurizio Pollini, a prodigy whose precocity was matched solely by his humility, received, in Warsaw, first prize within the International Chopin Competition, whose one of many members of the jury that yr was none apart from the sensible Arthur Rubinstein.
Rubinstein who, impressed by a lot virtuosity and musicality on the similar time, stated of this similar Pollini: “He performs higher than any of us. » Whose act!
No surprise, then, if, on this fruitful yr 1960, Sergiu Celibidache himself, one of the vital illustrious conductors of the twentiethe century, invited this similar Maurizio Pollini, who was nonetheless solely 18 years outdated, to play underneath his path, already at La Scala, the 2 fabulous piano concertos, notably technically tough, by Chopin, many times!
At the highest of his artwork
The sequel will probably be no much less fruitful: it’s underneath the magic wand of Karl Böhm (with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), Herbert von Karajan (in Berlin), Pierre Boulez (in Paris) after which underneath that, successively, of the good masters, additionally Italian, of La Scala – Carlo Maria Giulini, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, all three of whom benefited from the valuable teachings of the discreet however masterful Arturo Toscanini – that Maurizio Pollini reached the summit of his artwork.
This creative summit, the place the piano taking part in goals to be directly sensible, clear, exact, ample and melodious, the place every be aware is adorned with a brilliance whose limpidity borders on perfection, Maurizio Pollini owes it, nonetheless, to a different genius, notably demanding, of the piano: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (the most effective interpreter, when it comes to impressionism, of Debussy), whose extraordinary grasp courses he assiduously adopted on the Milan Conservatory.
At the legendary Deutsche Grammaphon
Having reached the peak of his musical expressiveness, Maurizio Pollini was in a position to produce, in a comparatively quick time frame, among the most legendary recordings of the well-known German recording firm Deutsche Grammophon, for whom he notably recorded, amongst different masterpieces work, the most recent and most lovely sonatas of Beethoven or the research, preludes, Polish ballads and different splendid Nocturnes by Chopin.
Maurizio Pollini, a fervent admirer in addition to an distinctive interpreter of German romanticism, didn’t, nonetheless, restrict himself, all through his prodigious profession, to this single musical type. An open and curious thoughts, as delicate to novelty as an professional in classicism, he additionally didn’t disdain to enterprise, with the identical shared happiness, into much less typical spheres, by his attraction in the direction of modernity, to the general public's style. .
From German romanticism to atonal music: eclecticism as a mode
Thus, having fun with additionally exploring the mysteries of twelve-tone music, he started to interpret, with the identical ardour, the pianistic scores of up to date composers, thought of tough by laymen, akin to Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg or Karlheinz Stockhausen . Moreover: it’s in the direction of atonal compositions, akin to these advised by his compatriots Luigi Nono or Luciano Berio, that he didn’t hesitate to maneuver later, on the danger of generally disorienting his devoted viewers. It was maybe additionally this musical eclecticism fabricated from creative tolerance, his essential mark, like true geniuses, in issues of favor.
Tribute is certainly paid right here, for his immense expertise in addition to his creative intelligence, to the good Maurizio Pollini!
*Daniel Salvatore Schiffer is a thinker, author, creator of round forty books, director of the collective work, round 33 main intellectuals, Humans on the heart of the world – For a humanism of current and future occasions (Editions du Cerf).
https://www.lepoint.fr/culture/hommage-a-maurizio-pollini-l-un-des-grands-pianistes-de-notre-temps-24-03-2024-2555806_3.php