Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean and American pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

to 20th-century composers, especially Bach,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, Chopin, Schumann,

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

and Brahms. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century.

Life

Arrau was born in

Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Ñuble Region, Diguillín Province, Chile, located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the center of the country. It has been the capital of the new Ñuble Region since ...

, Chile, to Carlos Arrau, an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

who died when Claudio was only one year old, and Lucrecia León Bravo de Villalba, a piano teacher. He belonged to an old, prominent family of Southern Chile. His ancestor

Lorenzo de Arrau Lorenzo de Arrau (1735–1781) was a Spanish military engineer who served in Chile during the second half of the 18th century. Biography Arrau () was born in Barcelona in 1735. He was sent to the Captaincy General of Chile, Spanish colony o ...

was a Spanish engineer who was sent to Chile by King Carlos III of Spain. Through his great-grandmother, María del Carmen Daroch del Solar, Arrau was a descendant of the Campbells of Glenorchy, a Scottish noble family. Arrau was raised as a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, but gave it up in his late teens. BASA 80K 1 267 Claudio-Arrau 1929-11-27

Arrau was a

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

and he could read music before he could read words, but unlike many

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

s, there had never been a professional musician in his family. His mother was an amateur pianist and introduced him to the instrument. At the age of four, he was reading Beethoven sonatas, and he gave his first concert a year later. When Arrau was six, he auditioned in front of several congressmen and President Pedro Montt, who was so impressed that he began arrangements for Arrau's future education. At eight years old, Arrau was sent on a ten-year-long grant from the Chilean government to study in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, travelling with his mother and sister Lucrecia. He was admitted to the Stern Conservatory of Berlin where he eventually became a pupil of Martin Krause, who had studied under

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

. At the age of eleven, Arrau could play Liszt's '' Transcendental Etudes'', one of the most difficult works for piano, as well as Brahms's '' Paganini Variations''. Arrau's first recordings were made on Aeolian Duo-Art player piano music rolls. Krause died in his fifth year of teaching Arrau, leaving the 15-year-old student devastated by the loss of his mentor; Arrau did not continue formal study after that point. In 1935, Arrau gave a celebrated rendition of the entire keyboard works of

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

over 12 recitals. In 1936, Arrau gave a complete

keyboard works over 5 recitals, and followed with the complete

and Weber cycles. In 1938, for the first time, Arrau gave the complete

piano sonatas and concertos in Mexico City. Arrau repeated this several times in his lifetime, including in New York and London. He became one of the leading authorities on

in the 20th century. In 1937, Arrau married

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Ruth Schneider, a German national. They had three children: Carmen (1938–2006), Mario (1940–1988) – who fathered three sons: Shawn (1968), Paycer (1969), and Kip (1970) – and Christopher (1959). In 1941 the Arrau family emigrated from Germany to the United States, eventually settling in Douglaston, Queens, New York, where Arrau spent his remaining years. He became a dual US–Chilean citizen in 1979. On August 17, 1982, the first CD of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

in history was released by the PolyGram record company; its content consisted of waltzes by Chopin performed by Claudio Arrau. Arrau died on June 9, 1991, at the age of 88, in Mürzzuschlag, Austria, from complications of emergency surgery performed on June 8 to correct an intestinal blockage. His remains were interred in his native city of Chillán, Chile.

Tone and approach to music

Arrau was an intellectual and a deeply reflective interpreter. He read widely while travelling, and he learned English, Italian, German, and French in addition to his native Spanish. He became familiar with Jung's psychology in his twenties. Arrau's attitude toward music was very serious. He preached fidelity to the score, but also the use of imagination. Although he often played with slower and more deliberate tempi from his middle age onward, he had a reputation as a fabulous

earlier in his career, a reputation supported by recordings he made at this time, such as Balakirev's Islamey and Liszt's Paganini études. However, even late in his career, he often tended to play with less restraint in live concerts than in studio recordings. Arrau was a man of remarkable fortitude, even towards the end of his life he invariably programmed very large, demanding concerts, including works such as Beethoven's Emperor Concerto and Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1.

Contributions

Arrau was a frequent recital performer: from age 40 to 60 he averaged 120 concerts a season, with a very large repertoire. At one time or another, he performed the complete keyboard works of Bach,

and Chopin, but also programmed such off-the-beaten-path composers as Alkan and Busoni and illuminated obscure corners of the

repertoire. It has been estimated that Arrau's total repertoire would carry him through 76 recital evenings, not counting the 60-odd works with orchestra which he also knew. Arrau recorded a considerable part of the piano music of Schumann, Chopin and Liszt. He edited the complete Beethoven piano sonatas for the Peters Urtext edition and recorded all of them on the

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

label in 1962–1966. He recorded almost all of them once again in 1984–1990 along with Mozart's complete piano sonatas. He is also famous for his recordings of

, Brahms and

Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

. At the time of his death at age 88 in the midst of a European concert tour, Arrau was working on a recording of the complete works of Bach for keyboard, and was also preparing some pieces of Haydn, Mendelssohn, Reger and Busoni, and Boulez's third piano sonata. Numerous pianists studied with Arrau, including Karlrobert Kreiten, Garrick Ohlsson, Roberto Szidon, Stephen Drury, Roberto Eyzaguirre, Edith Fischer, David Lively, Paul Kiss, Rafael de Silva, Arturo Nicolayevsky, among others. On March 26, 2021, Pristine Classical released what it called "a sonic overhaul" of Arrau's "stunningly brilliant" 1942 RCA studio recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, remastered from an issue in 1988, which had "sat in the vaults f RCAfor 46 years."

Critics

* Olin Downes, reviewing a recital of Mozart, Schumann, Ravel and Debussy works in ''The New York Times'', described Claudio Arrau as "a pianist of most exceptional equipment, imagination and unfailing taste." *In 1963, according to various critics, he was a man with "no equal at the present time in point of technical stature and depth of musical imagination," "the No. 1 pianist of our time," a "pianistic titan," a "lion of the piano," or, if you like, a "neo-Liszt from the Tropic of Capricorn". *

Daniel Barenboim Daniel Moses Barenboim (; born 15 November 1942) is an Argentines, Argentine-Israeli classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, who also has Spain, Spanish and State of Palestine, Palestinian citizenship. From 1992 until January 2023, Bare ...

said that Claudio Arrau had a particular sound with two aspects: first a thickness, full-bodied and orchestral, and second an utterly disembodied timbre, quite spellbinding. * Joachim Kaiser: "Arrau is the noblest, the most conscientious, most respectable pianist of our time." * Sir Colin Davis said: "His sound is amazing, and it is entirely his own... no one else has it exactly that way. His devotion to Liszt is extraordinary. He ennobles that music in a way no one else in the world can." *According to American critic Harold C. Schonberg, Arrau always put "a decidedly romantic piano tone in his interpretations". *Karl Schumann, Germany's leading music critic, said in the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' on June 2, 1986: "Is it not Claudio Arrau who is the most musical and deeply serious piano phenomenon of our time?". *According to Joseph Horowitz: "His earliest recordings, extending into the forties, are his most mercurial, and are buffed with the glistening tonal refinements mentioned in his early New York reviews. His recorded performances of the following decade or so are more majestically placed; given room to maneuver, he is more likely to linger than to bolt. (...) Then, sometimes around 1960, the recordings document a different change. An emerging undercurrent of raw feeling not only dictates yet slower tempos and grander rubatos, but adds to the dignified architecture of Arrau's sound a steady projection of human frailty. (...) How did this change come about? (...) At the risk of resorting to cut-rate psychology, I am tempted to cite, as well, the event Arrau recalls as 'the greatest shock in my life': his mother's death in 1959. Perhaps mourning opened new emotional pathways. Perhaps the disappearance of a pervasive authority figure freed or emboldened him to make a more vulnerable statement in his art." *John von Rhein wrote in 1991 in the ''Chicago Tribune'': "He was among the least flamboyant of pianists, avoiding virtuosic display as rigorously as some pianists seek it out; yet there was never any doubt of his virtuoso technique. He commanded a rich sonority, each chord superbly weighted, the fingerwork a model of finely chiseled clarity, the shape of each phrase deeply considered. Sometimes Mr. Arrau's penchant for slow tempos and emphasis on inner detail could seem fussy, depriving his performances of spontaneity and momentum. At his considerable best, however, he was among the most deeply satisfying interpreters of Mozart, Brahms, Schumann, Liszt, Chopin and particularly Beethoven, whose works held a position in his repertoire comparable to that of his great colleague, pianist

Rudolf Serkin Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century. Early life, childhood debut, and education Serkin was born in ...

Honours

List of awards, recognitions and medals awarded to Claudio Arrau. * 1915–1918: * 1915: Prize Rudolph Ibach :* Gustav Holländer Medal :* Sachsen-Gothaische Medal * 1918: Stern Conservatory's Exceptional Honours Diploma in Piano * 1919–1920: Liszt Prize in

* 1924: Permanent Active Member of the Bach Society in

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

) * 1927: Grand Prix of the Concours International des Pianistes (International Pianist Competition) from

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Suiza. The jury was composed by Arthur Rubinstein, Joseph Pembauer, Ernest Schelling, Alfred Cortot and José Vianna da Motta. * 1941: Illustrious Son of Chillán * 1944: Gold Medal in Appreciation from the Chilean government * 1949: Favorite Son of Mexico * 1949:

Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

* 1954: Honorary Member of the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

's Faculty of Music * 1954: Illustrious Son of Santiago * 1958:

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

medal * 1959: Honorary Citizen from

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

* 1959: Worthy Son of Chillán * 1959: Gold Medal and Honorary Citizen of Concepción * 1959: Honorary Member of the University of Concepción * 1965: Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France * 1970: The Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany * 1973: Citation by United Jewish Appeal for support and contribution in solidarity with the Jewish people * 1980: Hans von Bülow Medal by

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

* 1982: Doctor of Humane Letters by

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

* 1983: La Orden del Águila Azteca (The Order of the Aztec Eagle) in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

* 1983: Honorary Member of the Pan American Society * 1983: The

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

's bowl,

* 1983: First Honorary Member of the

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Society * 1983: Commander of the Legion of Honor in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

* 1983: The International Music Award by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

* 1983: Commander of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia * 1983: Beethoven's medal in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

* 1983:

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

* 1983: National Prize of Musical Arts of Chile * 1984:

from the University of Concepción * 1984:

from the University of Biobío * 1984: Honorary Member from Academy of Fine Arts of Chile * 1984: Highest Distinction Award from the Inter-American Music Council and the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

* 1986: Freedom Award from the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of the

* 1988: The Teresa Carreño Medal in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

* 1988: Honorary Member of the

of London * 1990: Gold Medal from the

of London (posthumously delivered to his daughter Carmen) * 1991: Unfinished Arrau performance with his Robert Schumann Medal at a recital scheduled for June 1991 in

. * 1991: The

Society established the Arrau Medal in 1991. The medal is awarded to a pianist who is especially committed to the spirit and tradition of Claudio Arrau's keyboard art. Examples include András Schiff, Martha Argerich and Murray Perahia. * 1991: Cultural Medal known as Citizen of the World, awarded by the Palacio de la Moneda de Chile. * 2012: Entry into the Gramophone Hall of Fame

Partial discography

* Beethoven, Conc. pf. n. 4, 5 - Arrau/Haitink/CGO, 1964 Philips * Beethoven, Piano Concertos Nos. 4 & 5 - Claudio Arrau/Sir Colin Davis/Staatskapelle Dresden, Philips * Beethoven, The 5 Piano Concertos - Claudio Arrau/Sir Colin Davis/Staatskapelle Dresden, 1988 Philips * Beethoven, Sonatas. pf. n. 1-32 - Arrau, 1964 Decca * Beethoven, Sonatas. pf. n. 8, 14, 23 - Arrau, 1962/1967 Decca * Beethoven: The Late Piano Sonatas, Op. 101, 106, 109, 110, & 111 - Claudio Arrau, Philips * Beethoven: Complete Piano Sonatas - Claudio Arrau, Decca * Chopin, Ballate n. 1-4/Scherzi n. 1-4 - Arrau, 1977/1984 Decca * Chopin, Claudio Arrau Plays Chopin - Arrau/Inbal/LPO, Decca * Chopin, Conc. pf. n. 1-2/Krakowiak - Arrau/Inbal/LPO, 1970/1980 Philips * Chopin, Nocturnes n. 1-21 - Arrau, 1978/1980 Philips * Chopin, Valzer n. 1-19 - Arrau, 1980 Decca * Chopin, 26 Preludes & 4 Impromptus - Claudio Arrau, Philips * Chopin: Études Op. 10 and Op. 25 - Claudio Arrau, 1957 EMI Great Recordings of the Century * Debussy: Preludes & Images & Estampes - Claudio Arrau, 1991 Philips * Liszt, 12 Etudes d'exécution transcendante - Claudio Arrau, 1977 Philips * Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, 2 Études de concert - Claudio Arrau, Philips * Mozart, Son. pf. n. 1-18/Fant./Rondò - Arrau, 1973/1987 Decca * Schubert: Late Piano Sonatas - Claudio Arrau, Decca * Schumann: Carnaval; Kinderszenen; Waldszenen - Claudio Arrau, 1987 Philips * Arrau, Beethoven/Chopin/Liszt - Davis/LSO, 1976/1985 Decca * Arrau, The legacy - Bach/Beethoven/Schubert/Debussy, 1988/1991 Decca

Filmography

Books

* 1984: ''Leben mit der Musik'' (with Joseph Horowitz) * 1985: ''Arrau parle: conversations avec Joseph Horowitz'' (with Joseph Horowitz) * 2009: ''Liszt: A Listener's Guide to His Piano Works'' (with John Bell Young)

References

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

Online
Arrau's Museum
*
Piano Lessons with Claudio Arrau: A Guide to His Philosophy and Techniques by Victoria A. von Arx
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arrau, Claudio 1903 births 1991 deaths People from Chillán Chilean people of Catalan descent Chilean classical pianists American classical pianists Male classical pianists American male pianists 20th-century male pianists Chilean emigrants to the United States Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medallists Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Berlin University of the Arts alumni Honorary members of the Royal Philharmonic Society Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Commanders of the Legion of Honour 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians