Clifford Curzon

Clifford Curzon was among the best possible English pianists from the twentieth hundred years, known for his obvious, ego-less performances from the German Classical and Intimate masterpieces. A peaceful intellectual who however possessed a formidable technique, Curzon performed from Mozart to Liszt with equivalent authority. His followers frequently cite this capability to highlight the personality of every composer, instead of his personal, as his most unique quality. Curzon documented for the Decca label for over 30 years, abandoning a modestly size, but musically amazing catalog. His recordings of Mozart and Schubert are believed his greatest. Curzon achieved achievement early, having a scholarship or grant to London’s Royal Academy of Music in 1919. His amazing student career gained him every reward open to a pianist in the Academy, and he produced his professional debut in 1923 — playing Bach’s Triple Concerto with conductor Henry Solid wood at a Promenade Concert in Queen’s Hall. In 1926, when still simply 19 years of age, he was asked to become listed on the Ram memory faculty; he continued to be within the faculty there until 1932, when he became a full-time carrying out pianist. During his period teaching in the Ram memory, Curzon spent many extended periods overseas learning with great pianists: 1st with Artur Schnabel in Berlin, and with Wanda Landowska and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. In 1936, Curzon produced a recital tour of European countries with violist Lionel Tertis, and in 1939, he produced his U.S. debut at New York’s City Hall. By 1941, he was producing information for Decca, starting a relationship that could last nearly to the finish of his existence. Curzon was an exacting perfectionist, frequently refusing to permit the discharge of recordings he experienced had been imperfect. This included recordings of Mozart concertos with famous brands George Szell, István Kertész, and Benjamin Britten performing. Because of this and additional reasons, he gained a reputation to be difficult, and sometimes extremely temperamental — an irony, taking into consideration his generally retiring character, as well as the restrained beauty of his playing. Curzon was knighted in 1977.