Maurizio Pollini

Born in Milan, Italy on January 5, 1942, Maurizio Pollini was one of the greatest pianists of his generation. After studying piano with Carlo Lonati and Carlo Vidusso at the Milan Conservatory, he also trained in composition and conducting. His career was quickly launched on the international scene after he won first prize in the 1960 Frédéric Chopin Competition in Warsaw, Poland, supported by Arthur Rubinstein. The same year saw him record his first album with Paul Kletzki and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Favored by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, with whom he worked on his repertoire for several years until retiring from public recitals, the pianist returned to the public in 1968 for his American debut at New York's Carnegie Hall, before a first Japanese tour in 1974. Admired as a concert pianist by Karajan, Karl Böhm, and Claudio Abbado, with whom he forged a long friendship, Maurizio Pollini began a long and loyal collaboration with the Deutsche Grammophon label. His interpretation of Chopin's Preludes (1972) and numerous other recordings by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Schoenberg received the highest awards, including several Edison Prizes. Composer Luigi Nono offered him his piece Sofferte Onde Serene. Acknowledged as world renowned pianist, he was awarded the Ernst von Siemens Prize in 1996. A champion of contemporary music, he performed at the Progetto Pollini, Perspectives, and Kontrapunkte festivals. The Maurizio Pollini Edition box set (2002) summed up thirty years of dedication to the piano. In the 2000s, he fulfilled his wish to be a conductor by leading the Wiener Philharmoniker, without ceasing his activity as a pianist in recitals or in the studio. In 2015, he remained active with the release of a new complete set of Beethoven sonatas. The following year saw the release of a retrospective boxed set of his recordings for his loyal label, Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon, on 56 CDs. The pianist continued with further recitals devoted to Chopin (2017, 2019), Debussy (2018), and Beethoven: The Last Three Sonatas, Opp. 109-111 (2020) and The Late Sonatas Op. 101 & 106 (2022), his last recorded appearance. On March 23, 2024, Maurizio Pollini died at the age of 82.