Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995)

Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Paganini Farhan Malik talks us through the intricacies of this pyrotechnical masterpiece and seeks out the best versions on disc from 116 alternatives. Scroll down (using the link below) for a review of ABM No pianist of modern times has been more closely associated with the Paganini Variations than Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, with his five recorded versions spanning forty years... LINK

I need to investigate this comment which I found on YouTube. David Dubal, comparing ABM’s Bach-Busoni Chaconne (in which, he says, “Bach counts for little: it is Michelangeli paying homage to Busoni, his great compatriot”) to the Paganini Variations, draws the parallel that “Brahms becomes merely the medium through which the two Italians commune, Paganini conveying to Michelangeli his dark and rarefied secrets of technique. Such playing has an element of mystery. For Michelan

A mesmerising moment from Brahms, Ballade No. 4 Op. 10 in B major, Andante con moto: Lugano 1981. The pianist's hands - feather-like in delicacy - seem barely to press down the keys, while the vibrating inner melody is brought to the fore, Michelangeli all the while savouring the delicious, glinting clashes of harmony.

Una cosa che fece andare in visibilio il nostro gruppo fu quando Benedetti Michelangeli fece il pianista nella Fedora di Giordano al Teatro Grande: l'avevano tutto truccato, era bellissimo, ed era bravo, usciva in palcoscenico e suonava divinamente. A me sembrava il giovane Werther. 'One thing that made our group go wild was when Benedetti Michelangeli played the pianist in Giordano's Fedora at the Teatro Grande: they had him all made up, he was beautiful, and he was good

This information was generously sent to me by Ди́на, Dina/ Diana (Russian Federation), who transcribed the extracts in English. After a long break, Michelangeli's first appearance was in Warsaw as juror during the 5th Chopin Festival (22 February-21 March, 1955). He resigned in protest, as Vladimir Ashkenazy, who he believed should have won, finished second to Polish pianist Adam Harasiewicz (aged 23) by a small margin. The competition ran 21 February to 20 March 1955, and