Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995) There is little need for me to introduce Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, one of the greatest pianists and musicians of all time. I have been listening to a remarkable live recording of a concert he gave in Warsaw in 1955. His Bach/Busoni Chaconne from the Partita in D minor No.2 BWV 1004 is surely one of the greatest ever recorded. Michelangeli's knowledge and command of the piano as an instrument was unequaled, permitting his soul and ours to take unhindered flight. His total identification with the music, his majestic 'Olympian' and 'Apollonian' playing has often been described as 'unearthly' even to the point of bordering on the cold classicism of a perfect Athenian statue. I once heard him play Debussy and Beethoven many years ago in the Royal Festival Hall in London, performing on two distinct Steinway concert grand pianos, one for each composer, individually tuned and prepared by himself. His hea...
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