Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (Italian:[arˈtuːrobeneˈdettimikeˈlandʒeli]; 5 January 1920 – 12 June 1995)[1] was anItalianclassicalpianist. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century.[2] According toThe New York Times, he was perhaps the most reclusive, enigmatic and obsessive among the handful of the world's legendary pianists.[3]
Benedetti Michelangeli was born nearBrescia, inItaly. His date of birth is usually given as 5 January 1920.[4] He himself once said that he was born 'during the first hour of the morning of 6 January 1920'. His father, who was a count and a lawyer by profession, was also a musician and a composer and began teaching music to Benedetti Michelangeli before he was four years old. Benedetti Michelangeli learned to play the violin at the age of three and would later study the instrument at the Venturi Institute in Brescia[5] before switching to piano under Dr. Paolo Chimeri, who accepted him into his class following an audition.[6] He also studied organ and composition. When he was nine, he began having private lessons with Giovanni Anfossi inMilan.[7]
At ten years old, Benedetti Michelangeli began his formal music education at theMilan Conservatory, where he graduated with honours at the age of 14.[1] Although Benedetti Michelangeli's parents were passionate about music, they did not want Arturo to become a pianist. In view of his family's attitude[8] Benedetti Michelangeli studied medicine for several years although he never set music aside and continued to play regularly.[9]
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In May 1938, at the age of eighteen, Michelangeli began his international career by entering theYsaÿe International Festival inBrussels,Belgium, where he finished seventh.[10] A brief account of the competition, at whichEmil Gilels took first prize andMoura Lympany second, is given byArthur Rubinstein, who was one of the judges. According to Rubinstein, Benedetti Michelangeli gave "an unsatisfactory performance, but already showed his impeccable technique." A year later he won the first prize in theGeneva International Music Competition, where he was acclaimed as "a newLiszt" by pianistAlfred Cortot, a member of the judging panel, which was presided over byIgnacy Jan Paderewski. Upon winning the competition,Benito Mussolini gave Michelangeli a teaching position at the Martini Conservatory in Bologna, Italy.[11]
The outbreak of World War II interrupted Michelangeli's career just as it had begun. Despite future Queen of ItalyMaria José Savoia's efforts to exonerate him from the army, Michelangeli was drafted. He joined the Italian airforce, and as soon as the war was over, returned to music.[12] After a long break, his first appearance was in Warsaw during the5th Chopin Festival, where he dropped out of the competition in protest asVladimir Ashkenazy, who he believed should have won, finished second toAdam Harasiewicz by a small margin.[13] In 1948 Michelangeli toured the United States for the first time, making his orchestral debut atCarnegie Hall in November, performingSchumann's Piano Concerto in A minor Op. 54 with theNew York Philharmonic andDimitri Mitropoulos. In January 1949 he made his solo debut at Carnegie Hall.[14] Following his spell at Conservatorio in Bologna,[15] Michelangeli's teaching activity continued inVenice,Berlin,Geneva andBudapest. His concept of training students to become professional piano concertists[definition needed] was unorthodox but successful, and he taught for several years inBozen, and from 1952 to 1964 inArezzo (with a break caused by ill health between 1953 and 1955). The courses eventually resulted in the foundation of the Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli International Piano Academy, which was to be organized by the city and provincial authorities in Arezzo, in cooperation with the 'Amici della Musica' Society. Unfortunately, the project did not come to fruition. He ran further courses inMoncalieri,Siena, andLugano, and from 1967 he gave private tuitions at a Rabbi[clarification needed] in his Alpine villa in the province ofTrento.[16]
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 Michelangeli performingMaurice Ravel'sPiano Concerto in G major (London, Apr 1982) accompanied bySergiu Celibidache and theLondon Symphony Orchestra. |
In 1988, Michelangeli suffered a ruptured abdominal aneurysm during a concert inBordeaux.[17] After more than seven hours of surgery, he overcame this health issue.[18] A few months later, on 7 June 1989, he played Mozart concertos Nos.20 and25 with theSymphony Orchestra of Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) conducted by Cord Garben.[19] In 1990, he again recorded two Mozart concertos, KV. 415 and KV. 503 inBremen.[20] Michelangeli's last public performance was held in Hamburg on 7 May 1993.[15]
As a composer, Benedetti Michelangeli arranged 19 Italian folk songsa cappella for theCoro della Società Alpinisti Tridentini and a men's chorus fromTrento (Italy). A recording of these pieces are available on the DIVOX music label.
Benedetti Michelangeli's students includedMaurizio Pollini,Martha Argerich,Ivan Moravec,Paul Stewart, Aldo Antognazzi,Vladimir Krpan, Lucia Passaglia[21] and Carlo Dominici.[22]
Sergiu Celibidache considered Benedetti Michelangeli a fellow conductor, and not merely a pianist: "Michelangeli makes colors; he is a conductor."[23] Celibidache also described Michelangeli as one of the "greatest living artists".[24]
Teacher and commentatorDavid Dubal argued that Benedetti Michelangeli was at his best when he performed the earlier works ofBeethoven but seemed insecure withChopin. He added that Benedetti Michelangeli was "demonic" in works such as theBach-BusoniChaconne andBrahms'sPaganini Variations.[25]
Benedetti Michelangeli's highlights include the (authorized) live performances in London ofRavel'sGaspard de la nuit,Chopin'sMazurkas andSonata No. 2,Schumann'sCarnaval, Op. 9 andFaschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26 as well as various recordings of Beethoven'sPiano Concerto No. 5, Liszt'sPiano Concerto No. 1 andTotentanz, Ravel'sPiano Concerto in G major,[23] and the piano concertos ofRobert Schumann, andEdvard Grieg.[25]
On 20 September 1943 Benedetti Michelangeli married pianist Giulia Linda Guidetti, who was a pupil of his father. They lived inBornato, nearBrescia,Bolzano andArezzo. They separated in 1970.[3] In the 1970s Michelangeli lived in Switzerland and refused to live or perform in his native Italy for over a decade.[3]
Following his divorce, his secretary, and later his agent and partner, Marie-José Gros-Dubois organized concerts and dates for him, and also presided over his financial affairs.[3]
In an interview, Gros-Dubois recalled that Benedetti Michelangeli could not believe his musical career was so financially successful. After a concert, she reported that he gloomily said: "You see, so much applause, so much public. Then, in half an hour, you feel alone more than before."[26]
Benedetti Michelangeli was obsessed with piano mechanics and insisted that his concert instruments be in perfect condition. His last concert took place on 7 May 1993 inHamburg,Germany. After a long illness he died on 12 June 1995 inLugano,Switzerland.[10] He is buried in nearbyPura.[27]
Michelangeli was a three-time competitor in theMille Miglia road race.[2]
Michelangeli was chosen by an international panel as the official pianist for the 100th anniversary of Chopin's death (1949).[31]
In 1962, the 'Amici della Musica' Society inArezzo organized the first Benedetti Michelangeli Festival. Michelangeli's pupils took part, giving concerts in various locations in Tuscany. The festival concluded with a performance in Arezzo by Michelangeli himself. A similar event took place the following year.
In 1964, Benedetti Michelangeli founded the International Piano Festival of Brescia and Bergamo – one of the major world events dedicated to piano music, intended both as a solo instrument and as an orchestra interlocutor.[32]
From 1964, the festival moved toBrescia andBergamo, and Michelangeli remained its artistic director for about three years.[33] Pianists appearing at the festival include Magaloff,Richter,Arrau,Pollini,Ashkenazy,Radu Lupu,Zimerman,Brendel,Martha Argerich,Evgeny Kissin,Grigory Sokolov, and instrumentalists, singers and conductors such asMstislav Rostropovich,Mischa Maisky,Uto Ughi,Luciano Pavarotti,Riccardo Muti,Claudio Abbado,Gergiev,Giulini,Sawallisch,Solti, Maazel and Chung.[32]
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 You may hear Michelangeli performingSergei Rachmaninoff'sPiano Concerto No. 4 (London, Nov 1957) accompanied byEttore Gracis and thePhilharmonia OrchestraHere on archive.org |
| Date of Recording | Album Details | Collaborating Artists | Record Label | Catalogue No. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Brahms:Variations on a theme of Paganini, Op. 35 | [34] | |||
| 1948 | Bach-Busoni: Chaconne fromPartita for Solo Violin No. 2, BWV 1004 | [35] | |||
| 1957 | Rachmaninoff:Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 | [36] | |||
| 1957 | Ravel:Piano Concerto in G major, M. 83 | [36] | |||
| 1975 | Haydn: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Hob. XVIII:4;Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major, Hob. XVIII:11 | ||||
| 1980 | Beethoven:Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15 | ||||
| 1981 | Brahms:Ballades, Op. 10 | [37] | |||
| 1981 | Schumann:Carnaval,Faschingsschwank aus Wien | ||||
| 1982 | Beethoven:Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73, "Emperor" | [38] ref> | |||
| 1987 | Beethoven:Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 | ||||
| 1989 | Mozart:Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466;Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503 | ||||
| 1990 | Mozart:Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major, K. 413;Piano Concerto No. 15 in B♭ major, K. 415 |
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