Maurizio Pollini
A marquee name among classical pianists since the 1970s, Maurizio Pollini was noted for performances of some of the most monumental works of contemporary music and for pairing such works with standard repertory of the 19th century. Pollini's decades-long relationship as a recording artist with the Deutsche Grammophon label was among the most stable in the early 21st century.
Pollini was born on January 5, 1942, in Milan. His father was modernist architect and educator Gino Pollini. In Milan in 1957, he performed a concert of Chopin etudes that drew wide attention. Pollini attended the Milan Conservatory and won several major prizes as he completed his formal education, including the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1960. Arthur Rubinstein, one of the judges, is said to have remarked that the boy "can play the piano better than any of us." Pollini's concert and recording careers were launched, and he made his recording debut on the EMI label with the Philharmonia Orchestra, playing Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11. In the early and mid-'60s, however, Pollini hesitated, withdrawing from the scene for further study with Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. Michelangeli's precise and graceful style exerted a formative influence on Pollini, who returned to the scene amidst the student unrest in the late '60s and, together with conductor Claudio Abbado, performed concerts for students and workers.
Pollini made a major reappearance with his Carnegie Hall debut in New York in 1968, and for the next 50 years, he would be an almost uninterrupted presence in the world's top concert halls. He made his first recording for the Deutsche Grammophon label in 1971, featuring works by Stravinsky and Prokofiev. Pollini played contemporary works, including some, such as Luigi Nono's ...sofferte onde serene... that were composed for him, and he often collaborated with the likes of Nono, Pierre Boulez (whose profoundly difficult Piano Sonata No. 2 was one of his specialties), and Karlheinz Stockhausen to perform Beethoven, Schubert, and Schumann, as if to emphasize the continuity of the classical tradition. In 1987, he rejoined Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in New York for performances of all five of Beethoven's piano concertos.
Later in his career, Pollini conducted piano concertos from the keyboard and sometimes led performances of opera. Beginning in 2000, he presented a concert series under the name "Pollini Project" (or "Progetto Pollini") that moved between the 19th century and contemporary works. In 2019, he released a recording on Deutsche Grammophon of works by Chopin, who always remained at the center of his repertory. Although sometimes sidelined by illness, he remained active in the concert hall and recording studio well into old age. In 2020 and 2022, he released a pair of albums covering Beethoven's technically difficult final five piano sonatas. By the time he died in March 2024, Pollini's recording catalog comprised some 150 CDs and many LPs. Among his many awards was a 2007 Grammy for Best Solo Instrumental Performance, again on Deutsche Grammophon, with his recording of Chopin.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Beethoven: The Last Three Sonatas, Opp. 109-111
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Quintet Op.34
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Classical - Released by Piros Comercial Digital on 20 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven, Stravinsky & Prokofiev: Piano Works (Live)
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Classical - Released by Archipel on 21 Aug 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin & Haydn: Orchestral Works (Live)
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Young Maurizio Pollini (Beethoven, Stravinsky, Prokofiev: Concertos for Piano)
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Classical - Released by OperaPrima-Carillon on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin Piano Concerto No 1
The Philharmonia Orchestra, Maurizio Pollini
Classical - Released by Hallmark on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Classical - Piano Giants, Vol.7
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 13 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto, No. 1
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Classical - Released by Digital Revival on 1 Jan 2020
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Piano Giants, Vol. 7
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 13 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto No.1 in E minor Op.11
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Classical - Released by Classically on 25 Mar 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Frédéric Chopin: Piano Concerto No.1 (Album of 1960)
Maurizio Pollini, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by In Memoriam on 25 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 (Mono Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki, Maurizio Pollini
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Concerto pour piano No. 1, Op. 11 (Stereo Version)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki, Maurizio Pollini
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Opp. 31 & 49
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 14 Nov 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paul Kletzki, Vol. 7 : Chopin
Maurizio Pollini, Witold Małcużyński, Orchestre National de France, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paul Kletzki
Classical - Released by Intense Media GmbH on 18 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Piano Concerto No.1 in E Minor Op.11
Maurizio Pollini, Paul Kletzky, Philarmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Ancien Prodige on 25 Mar 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo