Del.icio.usMaurizio Pollini
Maurizio Pollini is an Italian pianist. Born in Milan, and son of the Italian rationalist architect Gino Pollini, Maurizio studied under Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli among others. In 1960 he won the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the day, he is especially noted for his performances of Chopin and the modern composers such as Pierre Boulez. He displays an absolute technical sovereignty over the piano, but is criticized for his emotional conservatism. He has conducted both opera and orchestral music, sometimes leading the orchestra from the keyboard in concertos. With a sizable repertoire, he is currently one of Deutsche Grammophon's leading pianists and has completed the Well-tempered Clavier Book One by Bach and several cycles of the complete Beethoven Sonatas, among many other works.