Maria Curcio (27 August 1918
/ref> or 191930 March 2009) was an Italian classical

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, ja ...

who became a sought-after teacher. Her students included Barry Douglas,

Ignat Solzhenitsyn Ignat Aleksandrovich Solzhenitsyn (russian: links=no, Игнат Александрович Солженицын; born 23 September 1972) is a Russian-American conductor and pianist. He is the conductor laureate of the Chamber Orchestra of Ph ...

Martha Argerich Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: �ɾʒəˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and education Argerich was born in Buenos Ai ...

, Evelyne Brancart,

Radu Lupu Radu Lupu (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time. Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teach ...

, Dame

Mitsuko Uchida is a classical pianist and conductor, born in Japan and naturalised in Britain, particularly noted for her interpretations of Mozart and Schubert. She has appeared with many notable orchestras, recorded a wide repertory with several labels, w ...

, Myung-Whun Chung,

Leon Fleisher Leon Fleisher (July 23, 1928 – August 2, 2020) was an American classical pianist, conductor and pedagogue. He was one of the most renowned pianists and pedagogues in the world. Music correspondent Elijah Ho called him "one of the most re ...

, Rafael Orozco,

Christopher Elton Christopher Elton is a British piano teacher, former Head of the Keyboard department of the Royal Academy of Music in London and a professor emeritus of the University of London. Biography Christopher Elton was born in Edinburgh and studied at t ...

, Hilary Coates,

Simone Dinnerstein Simone Andrea Dinnerstein (born September 18, 1972) is an American classical pianist. Education Dinnerstein was born in New York City, New York, United States to a Jewish family. She is the daughter of Renee and Simon Dinnerstein. She studied in ...

, Massimiliano Mainolfi,

Matthew Schellhorn Matthew Schellhorn (born 4 February 1977 in Yorkshire) is an English classical pianist. Biography Education Matthew Schellhorn studied at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester and Girton College, University of Cambridge. His teachers include ...

and

Geoffrey Tozer Geoffrey Peter Bede Hawkshaw Tozer (5 November 195421 August 2009) was an Australian classical pianist and composer. A child prodigy, he composed an opera at the age of eight and became the youngest recipient of a Churchill Fellowship award at 13 ...

. She was the last student of

Artur Schnabel Artur Schnabel (17 April 1882 – 15 August 1951) was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th centur ...

and she passed on his teachings to her own students.

Biography

Maria Curcio was born in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1918, to an Italian father and a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish-

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian mother, also a pianist who had studied with a pupil of

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

.Times Online, 25 April 2009
/ref> She was playing by age three, and at age seven was taken to Rome to play for

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, but refused to do so. She was tutored at home to leave more time for practising, but she did not have a happy childhood, as she was pushed into accepting too many engagements too soon, and there was no time to play or have friends.

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions r ...

invited her to give a recital at his house. She was accepted to the Naples Conservatory at age nine, receiving her degree by 14. Her mother arranged for her to study with

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a f ...

and

Carlo Zecchi Carlo Zecchi (8 July 190331 August 1984) was an Italian pianist, music teacher and conductor. Zecchi was born in Rome. A pupil of F. Baiardi for piano and of L. Refice and A. Bustini for composition, he began his career as a concert pianist at o ...

(a pupil of

) in Italy, and with

Nadia Boulanger Juliette Nadia Boulanger (; 16 September 188722 October 1979) was a French music teacher and conductor. She taught many of the leading composers and musicians of the 20th century, and also performed occasionally as a pianist and organist. From a ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. She also studied with Artur Schnabel himself from age 15; he did not normally take young pupils, but his son Karl Ulrich persuaded him to audition her. When he did so, he described her as "one of the greatest talents I have ever met". When Schnabel was on tour, she had lessons with

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia, to a musical family, and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior p ...

. She made her London debut in 1939,Liverpool Daily Post, 9 April 2009
/ref> but at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she was 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 ...

, where she had followed Schnabel's secretary

Peter Diamand Peter Diamand, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (8 June 191316 January 1998) was an arts administrator and director of the Edinburgh International Festival from 1965 to 1978. Diamand was born in Berlin on 8 June 1913, and educat ...

, and where she performed frequently. However, during the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

from 1940, when Jews were banned from playing in public, she turned down all offers of engagements in protest (Diamand was Jewish). Diamand spent some time in a Dutch concentration camp before escaping. They then needed to hide from the Nazis, in attics and other cramped places, with inadequate food. She became a victim of malnutrition and

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, unable to even walk properly, let alone play. Her performing career was now effectively over. She married Diamand in 1948, but she needed years of therapy to restore her power to her legs, arms and fingers.

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

wanted to record with her, but by the time he died in 1954 she still had not recovered sufficient strength. She did, however, finally return to playing; she collaborated with such artists as

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Carlo Maria Giulini Carlo Maria Giulini (; 9 May 1914 – 14 June 2005) was an Italian conductor. From the age of five, when he began to play the violin, Giulini's musical education was expanded when he began to study at Italy's foremost conservatory, the Conserva ...

Szymon Goldberg Szymon Goldberg (1 June 190919 July 1993) was a Polish-born Jewish classical music, classical violinist and Conducting, conductor, latterly an American. Born in Włocławek, Congress Poland, Goldberg played the violin as a child growing up in Warsa ...

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (14 May 18856 July 1973) was a 20th-century conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the US, Hungary and finally Britain. His early career was in opera houses, but he was later better known as a concer ...

Josef Krips Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. Life and career Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...

Pierre Monteux Pierre Benjamin Monteux (; 4 April 18751 July 1964) was a French (later American) conductor. After violin and viola studies, and a decade as an orchestral player and occasional conductor, he began to receive regular conducting engagements in ...

and

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...

. Her last performance was in 1963. She then turned to teaching and giving

master class A master class is a Class (education), class given to students of a particular Academic discipline, discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also science, painting, drama, games, or on any other occasion where skills are b ...

es. She also coached singers at Josef Krips's request when he conducted the

Netherlands Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

. In the meantime, Peter Diamand had been appointed director of the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

and they had moved to the UK. She served on the jury of the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in 1966, and on the jury of the Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition in 1978. She was appointed Visiting Professor at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. She played privately with Sir

Clifford Curzon Sir Clifford Michael Curzon CBE (né Siegenberg; 18 May 19071 September 1982) was an English classical pianist. Curzon studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and subsequently with Artur Schnabel in Berlin and Wanda Landowska and Nad ...

, who had introduced her to Benjamin Britten,

Peter Pears Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( ; 22 June 19103 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years. Pears' musical career started ...

and their circle in 1947. She often played four-hand piano music with Britten.Michael Church
She and her husband divorced in 1971 after he had a relationship with

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

. She spent her last few years in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, where she died in March 2009, aged 90.

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

made two films about Maria Curcio in the 1980s: ''Music in Camera: Maria Curcio - Fulfilling a Legacy'' and ''Maria Curcio - Piano Teacher''. A documentary of her life, ''Music Beyond Sound'', was made by her student Douglas Ashley in 1993. He also wrote a book of the same name.

Students

Maria Curcio's students came from many countries, and included: *

Pierre-Laurent Aimard Pierre-Laurent Aimard (born 9 September 1957) is a French pianist. Biography Aimard was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio. In 1973, he was awarded the chamber music priz ...

The Guardian, 14 April 2009
/ref> *

* Douglas Ashley * Thomas Bartlett * Peter Bithell *

Michel Block Michel Block (January 12, 1937 – March 4, 2003) was a Belgian-French pianist. Biography Born of French parents in Antwerp, Belgium, he moved with his parents to Mexico as child, where his grandfather had settled in 1870. Block studied piano i ...

Douglas Ashley, Classical Pianist
/ref> * Evelyne Brancart * Pietro Maranca * Angela Brownridge * Myung-whun Chung * Rae de Lisle *

* Barry Douglas *

* Hilary Coates *

José Feghali José Feghali (March 28, 1961 – December 9, 2014,) was a Brazilian pianist, who, until his death, was an Artist-in-Residence at Texas Christian University's school of music in piano. He was the gold medalist winner of the Van Cliburn Internation ...

Claude Frank Claude Frank (born Claus Johannes Frank; December 24, 1925 – December 27, 2014) was a German-born American pianist. Biography Of Jewish ancestry, Frank was born in Nuremberg, Germany. His father emigrated to Brussels after the advent of the ...

Peter Frankl Peter Frankl (born 2 October 1935) is a Hungary, Hungarian-born United Kingdom, British pianist. He mainly performs music from the Classical period (music), Classical period (particularly Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart), the Romantic music, Rom ...

* Alan Gampel *

Frank Glazer Frank Glazer (February 19, 1915 – January 13, 2015) was an American pianist, composer, and teacher of music. Career details Glazer was born in Chester, Wisconsin on February 19, 1915, the sixth child of Benjamin and Clara Glazer, Jewish emig ...

Anthony Goldstone Anthony Goldstone (25 July 1944 – 2 January 2017) was an English pianist, known for his eclectic repertoire. He also played a prominent part in promoting works for piano duo with his wife Caroline Clemmow. Early life Goldstone was born on 2 ...

* Suzanne Goyette *

Albert Guinovart Albert Guinovart (; born 1962 in Barcelona) is a Spanish composer. Guinovart studied at the Municipal Conservatory of Barcelona (''Conservatori Municipal de Música de Barcelona''). Since 2002 he teaches composition at ESMUC (''Escola Superior de ...

* Sam Haywood *

Jean-François Heisser Jean-François Heisser (born 7 December 1950) is a French classical pianist. Biography Born in Saint-Étienne, Heisser studied piano first with Paul Simonnar in Saint-Étienne, then at the Conservatoire de Paris with Vlado Perlemuter. His vast r ...

Ian Hobson Ian Hobson is an English pianist, conductor and teacher, and is a professor at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and at Florida State University. His pianistic repertoire spans the baroque to the contemporary, but he specialises in th ...

Niel Immelman Niel Immelman (born 13 August 1944) is a South African classical pianist resident in the UK. He grew up in Jacobsdal and later in Bloemfontein. Immelman first received piano lessons from his mother Nettie Immelman. He subsequently studied at t ...

Terence Judd Terence Judd (3 October 1957between 16 and 23 December 1979) was an English pianist. Career Terence Judd was born in 1957 to English- American parents, Anthony and Gloria Judd. In 1967, aged 10, he won the National Junior Pianoforte Competition, ...

* Angela Kim * Vedat Kosal * Dalia Lazar (her last student) * Eric Le Sage *

* Tessa Nicholson * Rafael Orozco * Alfredo Perl * Lenia Erodiadou * Massimiliano Mainolfi *

Matti Raekallio Matti Juhani Raekallio (born 14 October 1954 in Helsinki) is a Finnish pianist. He has performed in Europe, the U.S. and Asia, having debuted at the Carnegie Recital Hall in 1980. A professor at the Swedish Royal College of Music (1994–1995), H ...

Yevgeny Sudbin Yevgeny Olegovich Sudbin (russian: Евгений Олегович Судьбин; born 19 April 1980) is a Russian-born British concert pianist. He studied at the musical school of the Leningrad Conservatory. After his family emigrated to Berlin ...

Sergio Tiempo Sergio Daniel Tiempo (born February 24, 1972) is a Venezuelan-Argentine classical pianist. Biography Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Sergio Tiempo, began playing the piano at an early age. His first teacher was his mother, Lyl Tiempo, who began teach ...

Hugh Tinney Hugh Tinney (born 1958) is an Irish pianist. Biography Tinney was a pupil at Gonzaga College, Dublin through the 1970s, and studied physics at Trinity College Dublin. In 1983 he won the first prize of the International Ettore Pozzoli Piano Com ...

Inon Barnatan Inon Barnatan (born 1979 in Tel Aviv, Israel) is an American/Israeli classical pianist. Biography Inon Barnatan lives in New York City. Music career He studied with Victor Derevianko, Maria Curcio and Christopher Elton at The Royal Academy of ...

. * Douglas WeeksThe Petrie School of Music at Converse College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curcio, Maria 1910s births 2009 deaths Italian classical pianists Italian women pianists Italian music educators Academics of the Royal Academy of Music Piano pedagogues Pupils of Artur Schnabel Musicians from Naples 20th-century classical pianists 20th-century Italian musicians Women music educators Women classical pianists 20th-century Italian women 20th-century women pianists