Claudio Arrau
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Claudio Arrau León (February 6, 1903 - June 9, 1991) was a Chilean classical pianist and one of the greatest classical pianists of the 20th century.
Arrau started to play the piano as a boy and was giving concerts at the age of 5. The Chilean government heard of the child prodigy and quickly organised to have him sent to Germany to study with the best music teachers. At the age of 7 Arrau started serious study of music in Germany at the Stern Conservatory, Berlin.
By the age of 11, Arrau was playing like a master, and performed the works of Liszt, Chopin and Brahms in recitals.
Later in life Arrau became an important teacher of the piano and taught some of the most famous pianists in the world. Arrau married Ruth Schneider, and opera singer, and settled in the United States. Throughout his career he won the highest awards for piano playing. He died in Austria in 1991.
