Maurizio Pollini
January 5, 1942 - Milan (Italy) — March 23, 2024
© Mathias Bothor / Deutsche Grammophon
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Born in 1942 in Milan, Maurizio Pollini gave his first concert aged ten. He was a pupil of Carlo Lonati and Carlo Vidusso. In 1960, he won first prize at the prestigious International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Since then, he has regular invitations from the greatest concert halls in Europe, America and Japan.
He regularly plays with the most famous conductors including the late Karl Böhm, the late Herbert von Karajan, the late Sergiu Celibidache, Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti and Wolfgang Sawallisch. In 1995, he inaugurated the festival in Tokyo dedicated to Pierre Boulez. The same year and once more in 1999, the Salzbourg Festival entrusted him with their concert series programme which, in tune with his multiple centres of interest, covered as diverse eras and genres as the masterpieces of polyphony to premieres commissioned from contemporary composers.
Maurizio Pollini’s repertoire spans J.S. Bach to present day music and includes the entirety of Beethoven’s sonatas which he played from 1993 to 1997 in Berlin, Monaco, Milan, New York, London, Vienna and Paris. Maurizio Pollini has recorded exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon works from the classical and romantic repertoire, Schoenberg’s complete piano works as well as works by Berg, Webern, Nono, Manzoni, Boulez and Stockhausen. In 2002, Deutsche Grammaphon edited a presentation box containing thirteen CDs to celebrate Maurizio Pollini’s sixtieth birthday and thirty years exclusive recordings with their company.
His recordings have received numerous international awards including, in February 2007, a Grammy for the best International Soloist Performance, as well as a Choc du Monde de la Musique, a Victoire de la Musique and a Diapason d’Or. His last recording of Chopin Nocturnes has aroused enormous enthusiasm from both critics and the public alike.