Carlo Zecchi (Piano)

Born: July 8, 1903 - Rome, Italy
Died: August 31, 1984 - Salzburg, Austria

The Italian brilliant pianist, teacher asnd conductor, Carlo Zecchi, studied with Ferruccio Busoni and later with Artur Schnabel in Berlin. While he was in awe of Ferruccio Busoni's ideas and coaching, their association was rather brief, due to Busoni's final illness. Instead it was the lengthy period of study with Artur Schnabel that furthered Zecchi's musicality.

Carlo Zecchi made his Italian debut in 1920, first performed abroad in 1922, and made his first tour of the USA in 1931. In 1939 he had a car accident, which obliged him to abandon work as a soloist, although he continued playing the most demanding chamber music and conducting. He played as only as the duo partner of the cellist Enrico Mainardi. He toured America with the Florence May Festival Orchestra in 1957 and was permanent conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra from 1964 to 1976. In his last years, two fingers on his left hand were paralyzed, yet he performed Schubert's Trout Quintet. He also taught, mostly at the S. Cecilia Academy in Rome and the Salzburg Mozarteum.

Luckily several hours of Carlo Zecchi's playing were recorded, and he also made several recordings shortly before his death. His Schumann, Liszt and pieces from the Baroque era, such as the Antonio Vivaldi-J.S. Bach Concerto, Scarlatti and Galilei remain unparalleled. While Michelangeli was better known and often recorded, Zecchi represents the height of pianism to emerge from Italy.

Source: MusicWeb; Arbiter Records Website
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (March 2007)

Carlo Zecchi: Short Biography | Recordings of Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Carlo Zecchi (Arbiter Records)

Carlo Zecchi (Wikipedia) [German]