Cor de Groot (July 7, 1914May 26, 1993) was a Dutch

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

and composer. He was born in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. He studied piano with Egbert Veen and Ulferts Schults, and composition and conducting under

Sem Dresden Samuel "Sem" Dresden (April 20, 1881 in Amsterdam – July 30, 1957 at The Hague) was a Dutch conductor, composer, and teacher. Life Dresden was born into a Jewish diamond-broking family and initially studied musical theory with Fred Roeske and c ...

. In 1932 he graduated with highest honours, playing a piano concerto written by himself. After becoming a soloist with the

Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklĳk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...

, he won the fifth prize at the 1936 international contest for pianists in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He played all over the world and recordings that exist demonstrate a strong sense of structure, a clean rhythmic attack and very precise dynamic shadings. He was a member of the

Queen Elisabeth Music Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in City of Brussels, Brussels. The competition is n ...

's jury in 1956. In 1959 a nervous disorder developed in his right hand but he continued playing repertoire for the left hand. He arranged more than 80 pieces for the left hand; his ''Apparitions, voor piano (linkerhand alleen)'' (1961) were described by one reviewer as "intense and expressive piano music that should make it a joy for a pianist to develop his left hand." Slowly he regained power over his right hand. He became musical director of the Dutch Broadcasting Foundation and promoted Dutch contemporary music. He made many recordings but also continued composing. His compositions include music for piano solo such as ''Variations imaginaires'' (1967); orchestral music; vocal work; and chamber music such as ''Sonatine pastorale'' for oboe and piano (1961). It has been stated that Dutch composer Gerard Schurmann composed his Bagatelles (1945) for de Groot, but this is not, in fact, the case.
As can be seen, de Groot performed their UK première, but they were written for

Kathleen Long Kathleen (Ida) Long CBE (7 July 189620 March 1968) was an English pianist and teacher. Life and career Long was born in Brentford, a suburb of London in the UK. McVeagh, Diana"Long, Kathleen"''Grove Music Online'', Oxford Music Online, accessed ...

. He died in Amsterdam in 1993.

References

20th-century classical composers Dutch classical pianists Classical pianists who played with one arm Musicians from Amsterdam 1914 births 1993 deaths Philips Records artists 20th-century classical pianists Male classical composers Male classical pianists 20th-century Dutch male musicians {{Netherlands-music-bio-stub