Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli

Delicacy and variability of touch, flawlessness of technique and profound musicianship: all these attributes helped make Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli one of the pianistic legends of the 20th century. To his fans, he was known by the acronym "ABM". His perfectionism, the impenetrability of his aristocratic manner, the unchanging expression of unamusement, the ease with which he was disturbed by the slightest noise from the audience and his refusal to play on instruments other than his own made him one of the most unapproachable artistic personalities of the classical music world – and also, as a result, one of the most fascinating. The richness of colour and the crystal-clear transparency of his Chopin, Ravel and Debussy interpretations retain a magical attraction to this day, and the pianist, who had only a narrow repertoire in public, also made reference recordings of piano concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann and Grieg. Born into a noble family in Brescia, Italy, Michelangeli initially learned the violin, but switched to the piano at an early age; despite his exceptional talent, he did not embark on a career as a prodigy, and he had started upon a course in medicine when he achieved his big breakthrough breakthrough, winning first prize at the inaugural Concours de Genève. Jury member Alfred Cortot described the then 19-year-old as the "new Liszt". The war – in which he had a spell as a pilot in the Italian Air Force and spent time in the anti-fascist resistance – interrupted his career, but the post-war period saw his international fame consolidated, even though serious illness forced him to abandon his touring activities during 1952. Through his career he gained a reputation for elusiveness and cancelling concerts, but this only added to his mystique. While performing in France in 1988 he suffered a heart attack. A few months later he made a comeback, but he died in 1995. He shared an artistic friendship with the similarly perfectionist and idiosyncratic Sergiu Celibidache, with whom he gave several concerts. Michelangeli was also highly regarded as a pedagogue: two of the most important pianists of the generation that followed him – Martha Argerich and Maurizio Pollini – counted among his students.