Steven De Groote (12 January 1953 – 22 May 1989) was a South African classical pianist. Steven De Groote was born in Johannesburg, South Africa into a Belgian family in which, for three generations, almost every member had been a professional musician. His grandmother was a recipient of the Prix de Rome in Belgium, and his father the conductor of the Cape Town University Symphony. As a youngster, De Groote toured South Africa performing trios with his father on violin and brother on cello.

Training and early competitions

He trained with Lamar Crowson in Cape Town, and with Eduardo del Pueyo at th
Royal Conservatory of Music
in Brussels, graduating in 1971 with first prize in piano. In 1972, De Groote entered the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

in Philadelphia where he studied with Rudolf Serkin, Mieczysław Horszowski, and

Seymour Lipkin Seymour Lipkin ( May 14, 1927 – November 16, 2015) was an American concert pianist, conductor, and educator. Early life and piano career Lipkin was born in Detroit. At age 11, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Dav ...

. He graduated in 1975. In 1976, De Groote took honours in the

Leventritt Competition The Leventritt Competition was a highly prestigious international competition for classical pianists and violinists. It was founded in 1939 by the Edgar M. Leventritt Foundation Inc. of Cold Spring, New York, in memory of jurist Edgar M. Leventrit ...

in New York City. In May 1977, he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. In September of that year, he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Van Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth, Texas.Gershunoff, Maxim, and Leon Van Dyke. ''It's Not All Song and Dance: A Life Behind the Scenes in the Performing Arts.'' Pompton Plains, N.J.: Limelight Editions, 2005. Pg 139. () In that same competition, he also took prizes for Best Performance of a Commissioned Work and Best Performance of Chamber Music, the only winner in the history of the competition to take all prizes.

Professional career

He gave his New York debut recital on November 8, 1977 at the

92nd Street Y 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a cultural and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, at the corner of East 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Founded in 1874 as the Young Men's Hebrew Association, the ...

. His Van Cliburn Prize

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

debut recital was held on December 12, 1977. After winning the Van Cliburn, De Groote's international career took him all over the world. In the United States, he performed with orchestras such as the

National Symphony Orchestra The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...

in Washington DC, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the

Dallas Symphony Orchestra The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

, the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

, the

Minnesota Orchestra The Minnesota Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Founded originally as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra in 1903, the Minnesota Orchestra plays most of its concerts at Minneapolis's Orchestra Hall. History Em ...

and the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

; in Canada, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra; in Europe, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (RPhO; nl, Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest) is a Dutch symphony orchestra based in Rotterdam. Its primary venue is the concert hall De Doelen. The RPhO is considered one of the Netherlands' two principal orc ...

, the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra (Baden-Baden), the

Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn The Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (German: ''Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn'', WKO) is a renowned German Chamber Orchestra, located in Heilbronn, Baden Württemberg, Germany. The orchestra was founded in 1960 by Jörg ...

and in Britain, with nearly all the major British orchestras. His debut, in 1981, at The Proms, playing Gershwin's Concerto in F with Andrew Litton conducting the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, was televised live by the BBC. In 1983-1984, he toured the US as soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic conducted by Kazimierz Kord, and, in 1987, England with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg conducted by Hans Graf. He worked with such distinguished conductors as Gerd Albrecht, Serge Baudo, Edo de Waart,

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit (born 7 October 1936) is a Swiss conductor. He is currently the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia and co-director of thMISA Festival in Shanghai In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of th ...

Jörg Faerber Jörg Faerber (18 June 1929 – 13 September 2022) was a German conductor. He founded the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn (WKO) in 1960 and was its artistic and managing director for over 40 years. He was known internationally, touring ...

, Michael Gielen, Günther Herbig, Eugen Jochum, Bernard Klee, Kiril Kondrashin, Andrew Litton,

Lorin Maazel Lorin Varencove Maazel (, March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. He began conducting at the age of eight and by 1953 had decided to pursue a career in music. He had established a reputation in th ...

, Karl Münchinger, Eugene Ormandy, Klaus Tennstedt, Antoni Wit, and David Zinman. In 1988 Steven returned to his native South Africa to tour with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra on their international tour to the Republic of China on Taiwan. This tour was in recognition of the orchestra's 75 anniversary season and was conducted by David de Villiers. Steven performed in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung with the orchestra. During this tour he performed Rachmaninov 2nd Piano Concerto, Beethoven Concerto No. 4 and Brahms Concerto No. 2. Recordings of these live concerts are available on the Fidelio label. An accomplished chamber musician, he regularly partnered leading chamber ensembles such as the Guarneri Quartet and the

Chilingirian Quartet The Chilingirian Quartet is a British string quartet. It gave its first public concert in Cambridge in 1972. By the time the quartet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, there had been various changes in the line-up. However, it has continued t ...

(in which his brother Philip was the cellist).

Teaching

In 1981, he joined the faculty of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

and divided his time between performing and teaching. In 1987, he succeeded Lili Kraus as artist-in-residence at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. In April that year, he was honored by the Texas Senate for his 'outstanding contribution to music', in a resolution expressing the Senate's 'highest regard and admiration for him'.

Piloting and end of life

De Groote was an amateur pilot. In 1985 he survived a severe crash while attempting to land near Phoenix. His lung and aorta were punctured. After extensive surgery and rehabilitation, De Groote recuperated and resumed flying and piano playing. His miraculous recovery was covered on

CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published ...

by Charles Kuralt. In 1989 he returned to South Africa to visit family and for a concert tour. There, he was hospitalized with tuberculosis and pneumonia. He died in Johannesburg on 22 May 1989 from multiple organ failure.

Recordings

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

: ''String Quartet No. 6; Piano Quintet''. Chilingirian Quartet, Steven De Groote (pno). Chandos CHAN 8660 * Erich Wolfgang Korngold: ''Orchestral Works'', Vol. 2: ''Much Ado About Nothing, Incidental Music and Suite'', ''Sursum Corda'', and ''Concerto for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra''. Steven De Groote (pno), Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, Werner Andreas Albert (cond). CPO * Walter Piston: ''Sonatina''; Gunther Schuller: ''Recitative and Rondo''; Aaron Copland: ''Nocturne''.

Robert Davidovici Robert Davidovici, born 1946, is a Romanian-American violinist. He took First Prize honors in the Naumburg Competition in 1972. In 1983, Davidovici tied for first place to co-win the Carnegie Hall International American Music Competition. The p ...

(vln), Steven De Groote (pno). New World Records NW 80334 * Sergei Prokofiev: ''Piano Sonata No. 8; Romeo & Juliet - Suite for Piano''. Steven De Groote (pno). Apex 0927 48306 2 *

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

Piano Concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

in F minor, Op. 114. Steven De Groote (pno), SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, Michael Gielen (cond). Intercord Gielen-Edition (INT 860.90) *''In Memory of Steven De Groote (1953–1989)'': Sergei Prokofiev: ''Piano Sonata No. 8; Romeo & Juliet - Suite for Piano''; Ludwig van Beethoven: ''Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2 No. 2; Sonata No. 21 in C major, Op. 52 'Waldstein'.'' Steven De Groote (pno). Finlandia 1576-57703-2 *''Van Cliburn International Competition Retrospective Series'', Vol. 1: ''Steven De Groote - In Memoriam'' (works by

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, Sergei Prokofiev, and Franz Schubert). Steven De Groote (pno). VAI Audio 1145 *''The Fifth Cliburn Competition 1977''. Steven De Groote (pno) (

Samuel Barber Samuel Osmond Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, conductor, baritone, and music educator, and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century. The music critic Donal Henahan said, "Proba ...

, and

), Alexander Toradze (pno) (

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

), and

Jeffrey Swann Jeffrey Swann (born November 24, 1951) is an American classical pianist. Swann was born in Arizona but moved to Dallas, Texas, as a young child. He began piano studies at the age of four. While attending St. Mark's School of Texas, he studied for ...

(pno) (

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

). VAI Audio 1146 *''Goldfingers: Music For 4 Pianos, Eight Hands'' ( Aaron Copland,

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

, Witold Lutosławski,

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

, Moritz Moszkowski, Franz Schubert,

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

, and others). Steven De Groote,

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 ...

Vladimir Viardo Vladimir Viardo (born 1949 in Krasnaya Polyana, Soviet Union), is a Russian pianist. Career The first steps in music were taken with his mother, the classical singer, voice teacher and pianist Nathalia Viardo. Viardo studied with Irina Naumova ...

, and Ralph Votapek (pnos). VAI Audio 1227

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Groote, Steven 1953 births 1989 deaths AIDS-related deaths in South Africa South African classical pianists Arizona State University faculty 20th-century classical pianists Prize-winners of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition