Few pianists have provoked greater awe and controversy than Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli: awe through his crystalline perfection, controversy through interpretations that ranged from the chilly to the sublime.
At his greatest, the results were unforgettable and, in common with one or two artists in each generation, he could eclipse even his most illustrious colleagues. All who heard him were left with indelible memories of this ‘difficult’ and autocratic arch-perfectionist of the keyboard.
Born in Brescia, Italy in 1920, Michelangeli had an exclusively Italian training and at the age of 18 he won seventh prize in the 1938 Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels (first and second places were taken by Emil Gilels and Moura Lympany respectively). A year later he eclipsed this modest success when he was the decisive winner in the Geneva International Piano Competition. The jury included Alfred Cortot, who exclaimed, “A new Liszt is born!” A musical genius with an ear for quality, Cortot knew a great pianist when he heard one, and it is interesting that he appreciated so fully an artist whose immaculate brilliance was the antithesis of his own dazzling but erratic pianism.
Here is Mr. Benedetti in music by Scarlatti:
