I have been waiting to answer this one for a while, and what better opportunity than
now, as last month was Claudio Arrau’s 120th birthday. Happy birthday Maestro Arrau!
Yes indeed! My ten years of intense study with Claudio Arrau’s assistant German Diez
focused on how to correctly read and interpret a score. As Arrau said himself; “When
one asks a performer ‘why did you play that piece or passage that way? the only
acceptable response should always be ‘because the composer indicated it as such’. If
one takes issue with a certain performance when played with total fidelity to the
composers instructions, their problems are not with the performance or the
performer, but with the piece itself”
The following are twenty-five known, and little known facts about Claudio Arrau, one
of the greatest pianists of the past century, born 120 years ago:
1) He was born into a completely non-musical family.
2) Upon recognizing his talent, the Chilean government fully sponsored his musical
education, sending him to Germany to study with the last surviving Liszt pupil
Martin Krause.
3) Krause remained his only teacher, passing away when Arrau was fifteen. Arrau
never sought instruction again exclaiming “once one is taught how to correctly read
and interpret a score, the only ‘teacher’ is the composer”
4) His musical lineage is traced to Beethoven, as his ‘teaching tree’ indicates
Krause studied with Liszt, who studied with Czerny, who studied with
Beethoven.
5) At the age of twelve was playing the complete Well Tempered Clavier, in every
key. (No. 1 Prelude and Fugue in all twelve keys, No. 2 Prelude and Fugue in all
twelve keys etc..)
6) His habit of practicing a piece in multiple keys got the best of him and could
have ended his career before it got started with a catastrophic incident- his United
Sates/New York debut at Town Hall whereupon halfway though his performance of the
Bach English Suite No.1, realized he was playing it in the wrong key. For the rest
of his life he insisted the most challenging concert he ever played was that night;
finishing the piece being aware he was transposing it (It was written in A Major, he
was playing it in A-flat)
7) He is recognized in the Guinness Book of Records and Ripley’s Believe It or Not
Museum for mastering the largest musical output, his record of 76 consecutive
recitals performed without repeating a work will probably remain unmatched.
8) His recording the entire keyboard output of Bach on the London label is widely
considered the most ambitious recording project in music history.
9) Though he played Bach frequently, he stopped midway through his life believing
Bach could not be played judiciously on the modern Steinway. In frustration he
claimed one should only play Bach on a period instrument or not at all. He changed
his mind toward the end of his life and resumed playing Bach on the piano with even
more attention to historical detail.
10) He detested Rachmaninoff (whose music he called “the greatest cocktail music
ever written”) Prokofiev (whom he called “musical teen angst" - the sooner one gets
over it the better) and Scriabin (whose pieces he called “musical masturbation” and
added that great music should be able to stand on its own and should never be
compelled to be aided or enhanced by psychological or sensual drugs)
11) Unknown to many, he did in fact play and perform Rachmaninoff 2nd Piano
Concerto, as it was scheduled for him by MGM, his direct employer, for the
soundtrack to the 1954 film “Rhapsody”. He claimed the only rewarding attribute of
the assignment was meeting Elizabeth Taylor.
12) Contrary to popular belief he did in fact play and perform Prokofiev 3rd Piano
Concerto, in a too bewildering for words account; after a concert with the Mexico
City Orchestra, having drinks with conductor Carlos Chavez, he chided Arrau asking
why he refused to play Prokofiev. Chaves’ tongue and cheek jested that the music was
too hard for him and bet a wager he couldn’t learn Prokofiev 3rd in time for the
next season. Arrau then learned the entire Concerto in three weeks (really two, it
took an extra week for him to memorize it) and performed it with the Mexico City
Orchestra a month later. It is unknown if the performance was recorded.
13) Averaging 120 concerts a year and obtaining dual citizenship he made his home on
the north shore of Queens New York within closest proximity to an airport. At his
busiest, he slept in his tuxedo on a plane exiting one stage in one city and making
an entrance on another stage in another city the next afternoon.
14) On his endurance and fortitude he has said “the life of the concert artist is no
different than that of a actor or athlete; no matter what personal troubles or
trials occur in your life, the stage must either be your escape, or you must find a
way to shelf your personal matters. Anything less than a 100% effort is a disservice
to your audience. Even at 99%, it is more forthright to have a eager gifted
colleague substitute for your performance, as quality to the audience is deserved
and to the composer is owed. One must be able to do this, night in and night
out”
15) He lived in a very large house on the water, with his wife, children, secretary,
and in typical European tradition, two students he sponsored, one being my teacher,
German Diez, who lived at the Arrau residence for ten years, and the other Alberto
Guerrero, Glenn Goulds teacher.
16) Though many may claim to have been a student of Arrau, only four artists Arrau
considered his pupils as they have had more than regular exclusive instruction as
demanded by Arrau himself. “Associates” Rafael De Silva and Philip Lorenz, who were
to help Arrau with his edition and “Academic Assistants” Diez and Guerrero, who
because of Arraus performance schedule could never accept a position at a school,
saw that his tradition be continued. Guerrero of course, oversaw the piano program
at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto and Diez was nominated to chair the piano
department at Indiana University, but opted instead to remain teaching In New York
City. Arrau did however have a ‘open door policy’ if his schedule permitted for only
dedicated artists.
17) On one such occasion; Vladimir Horowitz played his program through for Arrau in
rehearsal for his 1965 Carnegie Hall Recital. Upon Horowitz confiding to Arrau “You
and Rachmaninoff are the only two people whos opinion I hold in highest esteem”
asked what he thought. In typical honest fashion Arrau replied “I think you are a
great Scriabin player who has fast octaves”
18) Only Arrau and Alicia de Larrocha were personally invited as guests to Horowitz
1965 Recital, where they both sat together backstage alongside Horowitz wife and
manager and collectively pushed him on stage when he froze with stage fright.
19) His hobby was collecting facsimiles of original manuscripts.
20) His pre-recital green room routine was to stare deeply for a half an hour at the
facsimile autograph, taking a mental photograph of the writing, in preparation to
‘report’ to the audience the composers direct message. He would then warm up on the
worst piano in-house, preferably a old upright, so upon playing the first note on
stage on the best Steinway available, it would seem “refreshing”
21) Despite his ‘bread and butter’ being the high classical style, he was more then
astutely attentive to modern music of his time and did more than dabble with Boulez,
Stockhausen, Ligeti, Cage, Nancarrow, Messiaen, Berio etc. Almost uncharacteristic,
he was more than open minded about contemporary trends claiming “akin to a tree
falling in a forrest not making a sound if no one hears it, it is impossible to
ascertain if art has value if it is not given a chance”. He did however consider the
minimalist music of the 1960s a “gimmick”
22) He took a rather controversial stance in the field when he defended Liberace and
the likes, claiming “If what he is doing, exposing classical music to the masses,
how is this a bad thing?”
23) There is no other classical performing artist who from start to finish of their
professional career, had continuous positive reviews from the press. Revered by
critics, mentioned at worst were his slow tempos due to overanalytical fussiness
yielding interpretations that did not ‘wow’ an audience with flashy finger work but
rather cerebral detail.
24) There are statues, monuments and busts of Arrau in Germany and Chile. There is a
official Chilean post stamp, the main street in downtown Santiago is named in honor
of him and there is continued debate if he should be on Chilean currency.
25) Of his three children and numerous grandchildren, none expressed an interest in
music, nor were they ever encouraged.
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Arrau and associates in New York c.1950s.
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