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{{Short description|Italian pianist and conductor (1942–2024)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Maurizio Pollini
| image = File:Maurizio Pollini01.jpg
| caption = Pollini in 2009
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1942|1|5|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Milan]], [[Italy]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|3|23|1942|1|5|df=y}}
| death_place = Milan, Italy
| education = [[Milan Conservatory]]
| occupation = {{Ubl| [[Classical pianist]] | Conductor }}
| awards = {{Ubl| [[Ernst von Siemens Music Prize]] | [[Grammy Award]] | [[Gramophone Hall of Fame]] }}
| website =
}}

'''Maurizio Pollini''' (5 January 1942 – 23 March 2024) was an Italian pianist and conductor. He was known for performances of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]], [[Claude Debussy|Debussy]], and the [[Second Viennese School]], among others. He championed works by contemporary composers, including [[Pierre Boulez]], [[Karlheinz Stockhausen]], [[George Benjamin (composer)|George Benjamin]], [[Roberto Carnevale]], [[Gianluca Cascioli]] and [[Bruno Maderna]]. Several compositions were written for him, including Luigi Nono's ''[[... sofferte onde serene ...]]'', [[Giacomo Manzoni (composer)|Giacomo Manzoni]]'s ''Masse: omaggio a Edgard Varèse'', and [[Salvatore Sciarrino]]'s Fifth Sonata. As a conductor he was instrumental in the [[Rossini]] revival at the [[Rossini Opera Festival]] in Pesaro, conducting ''[[La donna del lago]]'' from a new [[Critical edition (opera)|critical edition]] in 1981. He also conducted from the keyboard.

Pollini was also a [[left-wing]] activist in the 1960s and 1970s, and he remained politically engaged in later life. He maintained some separation between these ideals and his music.

== Life and career ==

=== 1942–early 1960s: Upbringing, studies, and competitions ===
Pollini was born in [[Milan]] in 1942. His father [[Gino Pollini]] was an amateur violinist.<ref>The Times Register, 25 March 2024</ref> Gino was among the first architects of [[Gruppo 7]] to bring [[modern architecture]] to Italy in the 1930s. His mother Renata Melotti had trained as a pianist and singer.<ref>The Times Register, 25 March 2024</ref> She was a sister of the Italian sculptor [[Fausto Melotti]].<ref name="ABC Classic FM">{{cite web|last=Carrick|first=Phil|title=Maurizio Pollini at 70: International Superstar of the Piano|url=http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2012/12/29/3662057.htm|work=Music Makers|publisher=ABC Classic FM|access-date=29 January 2013|archive-date=27 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927011155/http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2012/12/29/3662057.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

<!--Pollini started learning the piano at age five, gave his first recital at age 11 and played Chopin's complete Études in concert in 1956. In his early years, he looked up to pianists [[Arthur Rubinstein]] and [[Walter Gieseking]], as well as to conductors [[Arturo Toscanini]] and [[Dimitri Mitropoulos]]. while probably true it needs a ref-->
Pollini studied piano with notable local teacher Carlo Lonati from age seven. Lonati allowed him to play what he loved, he remembered. When Lonati died, his student [[Carlo Vidusso]] became Pollini's next teacher.{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=158}} Pollini remained Vidusso's student from age 13 to 18.<ref>{{cite book|last=Huang|first=Hao|title=Music in the 20th century, Volume 2|year=1998|publisher=M E Sharpe Reference|location=Armonk NY|isbn=978-0-7656-8012-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/musicin20thcentu0000unse/page/472 472]|url=https://archive.org/details/musicin20thcentu0000unse/page/472}}</ref> Vidusso trained Pollini strictly at the [[Milan Conservatory]], preparing him to compete.{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=158}} Pollini also studied composition and conducting there.{{sfn|Allen|2024|loc=¶15}}

He made his debut in Milan at the age of 15, performing a selection of [[Études (Chopin)|Chopin's Etudes]].<ref>The Times Register, 25 March 2024</ref> In 1957 he took second prize, after [[Martha Argerich]], in the [[Geneva International Music Competition]] at the [[Conservatoire de Musique de Genève]].{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=56}} He won both the 1959 [[International Ettore Pozzoli Piano Competition]] in [[Seregno]]{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=79}} and the 1960 sixth [[VI International Chopin Piano Competition|International Chopin Piano Competition]] in [[Warsaw]] at the age of 18. He was the youngest of 89 entrants and the first non-Slav to win in the history of the competition.<ref>The Times Register, 25 March 2024</ref> He selected among the most formidable of the possible etudes the [[Étude Op. 10, No. 10 (Chopin)|Op. 10, No. 10]], [[Étude Op. 25, No. 11 (Chopin)|Op. 25, No. 11]], and [[Étude Op. 10, No. 1 (Chopin)|Op. 10, No. 1]], which {{ill|Piero Rattalino|it}} assessed as qualifying Pollini for "the madhouse or victory".{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=158–159}} [[Arthur Rubinstein]], leading the jury, declared "that boy can play the piano better than any of us".<ref name="AR">{{cite news|title=Maurizio Pollini: ice-man of the ivories|date=14 September 2010|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/7324088/Maurizio-Pollini-ice-man-of-the-ivories.html|access-date=18 September 2010|location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Ivan|last=Hewett|archive-date=27 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427153906/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/7324088/Maurizio-Pollini-ice-man-of-the-ivories.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Rubinstein referred here to Pollini's "technical powers".{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=159}}}}

After these successes, Pollini did not perform for one year. He limited his concertizing in the 1960s to study, broadening his musical experience and expanding his pianistic repertoire.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schonberg|first=Harold C.|title=The Great Pianists: From Mozart to the Present|year=1987|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York|isbn=978-0-671-63837-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/greatpianists000scho/page/488 488]|url=https://archive.org/details/greatpianists000scho|url-access=registration}}</ref> This led to erroneous rumors that he had become a recluse.<ref name="AR2">{{cite news|title=Maurizio Pollini: a life in music|agency=[[The Guardian]]|date=1 January 2011|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jan/01/maurizio-pollini-interview-nicholas-wroe|access-date=5 April 2012|location=London|work=The Guardian|first=Nicholas|last=Wroe|archive-date=24 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624093224/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jan/01/maurizio-pollini-interview-nicholas-wroe|url-status=live}}</ref> He taped performances of Chopin's Etudes and recorded Chopin's [[Piano Concerto No. 1 (Chopin)|First Concerto]] with the [[Philharmonia Orchestra]] under [[Paul Kletzki]] for [[EMI]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 41|year=1980|publisher=H. W. Wilson|location=New York|isbn=978-99973-77-03-6|pages=321}}</ref> He had a "crisis of confidence", as [[Peter Andry]] described it, when the Philharmonia offered him a concert series.<ref name="peter andry">{{cite book|last=Andry|first=Peter, Robin Stringer, and Tony Locantro|title=Inside the Recording Studio: Working with Callas, Rostropovich, Domingo, and the Classical Elite|year=2008|publisher=Scarecrow Press|location=Lanham MD|isbn=978-0-8108-6026-1|pages=44|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXOWNS3ipzkC}}</ref>

He studied with pianist [[Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli]] for six months in the early 1960s. Michelangeli's repertoire was select and polished by rigorous practice.{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=122–123, 159}}{{efn|Michelangeli was noted for his [[Debussy]], [[Ravel]], and Beethoven. His many students included [[Martha Argerich]] and [[Ivan Moravec]]. [[Harold C. Schonberg]] criticized him as "a modern pianist who tries to be Romantic."{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=122–123}}}} Pollini obtained "a precise technique and emotional restraint".<ref>{{cite book|last=Morin|first=Alexander J.|title=Classical Music: Third Ear: The Essential Listening Companion|year=2001|publisher=Backbeat Books|location=San Francisco|isbn=978-0-87930-638-0|pages=1134|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ayT5T59ckzIC}}</ref> Some expressed concern that Michelangeli's influence led to Pollini's style becoming "mannered and cold"<ref name="peter andry" /> or "drier, more cerebral".{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=159}} While known for exceptional technique, Pollini was criticized for emotional conservatism.<ref>Schonberg, Harold. The Great Pianists from Mozart to the Present (1987 edition)</ref><!-- His concern, he said, was to express the composer as accurately as possible, not to convey his own emotions.{{Citation needed|date=December 2018|very likely true, one should try to source this rather than to delete it}} can't find it, I tried, - it's also quite a common statement – this whole little paragraph doesn't even belong to recordings--> [[John Rockwell]] summarized Pollini's "hard‐edged and modern" style as one of "coolness, intensity and virtuosity", noting his tonal control and "sheer dexterity".<ref name="NYT1977" />

=== Mid-1960s–1970s: Early career and musical and political collaboration ===

{{Quote box |width=35% |quoted=true |bgcolor=#FFFFF0 |salign=right |quote =There was ... tension in the air. ... remember the situation in Italy back then. People were ... talking about a possible [[Fascist]] coup. ... I ... tried to read a declaration ... when the United States bombed [[Operation Linebacker II|Hanoi]] and [[Haiphong incident|Hai Phong]]. Several Italian musicians had signed [it]: [[Claudio Abbado]], Luigi Nono, [[Giacomo Manzoni (composer)|Manzoni]] and the [[Quartetto Italiano]], ... [[Goffredo Petrassi]], and [[Luigi Dallapiccola]]. ... at the mere sound of the word '[[Vietnam]]', the [[List of classical music concerts with an unruly audience response|audience exploded in a kind of collective delirium]], which made it impossible to continue my recital. I made several attempts to read this short statement. This was interrupted by the arrival of the police. Eventually, the piano was closed and that was that.|source =Maurizio Pollini on his experiences during the [[Years of Lead (Italy)|Years of Lead]]<ref name="Bettina Ehrhardt">{{cite AV media | people=Ehrhardt, Bettina (Director) | date=2001 | title=A Trail on the Water | medium=Documentary | publisher=TDK | url=https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=DVWW-DOCNONO | access-date=2018-03-11 | archive-date=2018-03-11 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311201451/https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=DVWW-DOCNONO | url-status=live }}; {{harvnb|Berry|2024|loc=¶9–11}}</ref>}}

Beginning in the mid-1960s, Pollini gave recitals<ref>[[Jean-Pierre Thiollet]], ''88 notes pour piano solo'', "Solo nec plus ultra", Neva Editions, 2015, p.50. {{ISBN|978 2 3505 5192 0}}.</ref> and appeared with orchestras in Europe, the United States, and the Far East. His American debut was in 1968<ref name="Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia | date=2024 | title=Maurizio Pollini | encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] | url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Maurizio-Pollini | access-date=24 March 2024 }}</ref> at Carnegie Hall in New York.<ref>The Times Register, 25 March 2024</ref> He first toured Japan in 1974.<ref name="NHK">{{cite news | date=24 March 2024 | title=Piano great Maurizio Pollini dies at 82 | publisher=[[NHK]] | url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240324_07/ | access-date=24 March 2024 }}</ref> Once wary of becoming pigeonholed as a specialist, especially of Chopin,{{sfn|Siek|2017|loc=159}} he had "clearly avoided that tag" by the 1970s, Rockwell noted while surveying Pollini's discography in its then range from Mozart to Nono.<ref name="NYT1977">{{cite news|title=Pollini — The Prodigy Has Reached Maturity|date=13 March 1977|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/13/archives/pollini-the-prodigy-has-reached-maturity.html|access-date=25 March 2024|location=New York|work=[[The New York Times]]|first=John|last=Rockwell|archive-date=25 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325234355/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/03/13/archives/pollini-the-prodigy-has-reached-maturity.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{efn|Later Pollini added Bach to his repertoire.}}

Especially in the 1960s and 1970s, Pollini was active as a [[left-wing]] musician. His collaborative work with [[Claudio Abbado]] and [[Luigi Nono]] was informed by their shared ideals.<ref>{{harvnb|Berry|2024|loc=¶9–11}}; {{harvnb|Griffiths|2010|loc=209}}</ref> He was also musically and politically associated with [[Giacomo Manzoni (composer)|Giacomo Manzoni]] and {{ill|Luigi Pestalozza|it}}.{{sfn|Sciannameo|2020|loc=97}} Pollini worked with Nono in such works as ''[[Como una ola de fuerza y luz]]'' (1972), which mourned the death of [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)#Notable members|Luciano Cruz]], a leader of the [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)|Revolutionary Left Movement]] in Chile.{{sfn|Nono|2018|loc=93}} He performed with Abbado at [[La Scala]] in Milan in concerts for students and workers, aiming to build a public among them in the spirit that art should be for everybody.<ref name="AR2" /> The two concertized for the [[Russell Tribunal]].{{sfn|Bonifazi|2016|loc=75}} At least one of Pollini's recitals was concluded upon audience unrest and police intervention when he attempted to make a statement about the [[Vietnam War]].

He was able to separate his politics from his musicianship, for example in his work with [[Karl Böhm]].<ref name="Brachmann">{{cite news |title=Maurizio Pollini: a life in music |newspaper=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|FAZ]] |date=23 January 2024 |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/zum-tod-des-pianisten-und-dirigenten-maurizio-pollini-19607850.html |access-date=25 March 2024 |first=Jan |last=Brachmann |language=de}}</ref>

[[File:Maurizio Pollini 75.jpg|thumb|left|Pollini in 1975]]
Nono wrote ''[[... sofferte onde serene ...]]'' for Pollini in 1974–1976. It was a meditative [[Solo (music)|soloistic]] piece on recent losses among their family and friends. Pollini's 1977 live performance was amplified against a [[magnetic tape]] recording of himself. Nono thereby explored pianistic [[Envelope (music)|envelope]] ("Sometimes I cut off the attack, so that the sound manifests as a resonance without time") and the sounds of [[Venice]] (where "one constantly hears the sound of bells").{{sfn|Griffiths|2010|loc=316–317}} Nono cited an attraction to Pollini's technique in particular. He sought to amplify and project details of Pollini's sound ("certain nuances of his touch"). They worked together for three days in the [[recording studio]] at [[Studio di fonologia musicale di Radio Milano|Radio Milano]] with [[audio engineer]] Marino Zuccheri.{{sfn|Nono|2018|loc=99–100}} The work remained in Pollini's [[repertoire]]; he later played it in London at the [[Southbank Centre]]'s "Fragments of Venice" festival (2007) and in Salzburg (2019).{{sfn|Berry|2024|loc=¶4}}

Pollini took up Boulez's "weighty" [[Piano sonatas (Boulez)#Second Piano Sonata|Second Sonata]] in the 1970s.{{sfn|Griffiths|2010|loc=12}} In 1977, he played Bartok's [[Piano Concerto No. 2 (Bartók)|Second Concerto]] under Boulez with the [[New York Philharmonic]]. [[Harold C. Schonberg]] wrote that he "had not heard a stronger account".{{sfn|Canarina|2010|loc=107}}

=== 1980s–2024: Later career and conducting ===
Pollini also conducted when he played piano concertos such as Mozart's.<ref name="Brachmann" /> He played a "defining role" in the [[Rossini Opera Festival]] at [[Teatro Rossini (Pesaro)|Pesaro]], conducting ''[[La donna del lago]]'' from a new [[critical edition]] in 1981. The occasion was a "landmark" in the post-war Rossini revival. He was praised for his interpretive insights into Rossini's [[orchestration]], [[motivic]] [[development (music)|development]], and [[harmony]]. But he was criticized for his inflexible literalism and quick [[tempo|tempi]], which drove {{ill|Martine Dupuy|fr}} to tears. Scholars cited historical evidence and showed him autograph manuscripts to persuade him to allow more [[ornamentation (music)|ornamentation]] and [[rubato]], {{lang|it|[[bel canto]]}} hallmarks, particularly in the elaborate [[fioritura]] of [[cadence|cadential]] passages. He relented only in the final [[rondò]], "Tanti affetti in tal momento", for which Rossini prepared three [[ossia]] for particular singers. Pollini insisted that the singers adhere to these sources.{{sfn|Gossett|2006|loc=27, 313–315, 571}}

He tempered this approach somewhat in a 1983 reprise featuring [[Katia Ricciarelli]] (Elena), [[Lucia Valentini Terrani]] (Malcolm), and [[Samuel Ramey]] (Duglas) with the [[Chamber Orchestra of Europe]], which [[Sony]] recorded.{{sfn|Gossett|2006|loc=27, 313–315, 571}}{{efn|The recording is Sony S2K 39311.{{sfn|Gossett|2006|loc=571}}{{sfn|Fontana|2023<!--|loc=Vinili-->}}}} For this production, his friend [[Gae Aulenti]] [[Theatre director|stage directed]] and [[Scenic design|designed the sets]].<!--{{sfn|Aulenti and Elkann|2016}}-->{{sfn|Fontana|2023}}

Among those celebrating [[Webern]]'s 1983 birth centenary in New York and at the [[Venice Festival of Contemporary Music]], Pollini played the [[Variations for piano (Webern)|Piano Variations]].<ref>{{harvnb|Fontana|2023|loc={{lang|it|"Non è triste Venezia"}}}}; {{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/30/arts/critic-s-notebook-re-evaluations-of-webern-s-music.html |title=Critic's Notebook; Re-evaluations of Webern's music |newspaper=The New York Times |date=30 Jun 1983 |last1=Page |first1=Tim}}</ref> Celebrating [[J. S. Bach]]'s 1985 tricentenary, he performed ''[[The Well-Tempered Clavier]]'', Book I. He later recorded it in 2009.<ref name="Pennock">{{cite web |last=Pennock |first=Rob |url=https://www.classicalsource.com/cd/maurizio-pollini-the-well-tempered-clavier-book-i/ |title=Maurizio Pollini – The Well-Tempered Clavier (Book I) |access-date=25 March 2024 |website=classicalsource.com |date=May 2010 }}</ref>

In 1987, he received the [[Vienna Philharmonic]]'s Honorary Ring while playing Beethoven's piano concertos with them in New York conducted by Abbado.<ref name="DG Beethoven">{{cite web|url=https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/de/kuenstler-innen/mauriziopollini/pressestimmen/der-junge-ludwig-69665 |title=Der junge Ludwig |publisher=[[Deutsche Grammophon]] |access-date=25 March 2024 |language=de |date=2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=Rockwell | first=John | title=Concert: Abbado Leads Vienna Philharmonic | newspaper=The New York Times | date=8 March 1987 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/08/arts/concert-abbado-leads-vienna-philharmonic.html | access-date=25 March 2024}}</ref> In 1993–1994, he played his first complete [[Piano sonatas (Beethoven)|Beethoven sonata]] cycle in Berlin and [[Munich]]. He continued this in New York City, at La Scala, in London, Paris and Vienna.<ref name="DG Beethoven" />

[[File:BoulezPollini2009.jpg|thumb|Pollini with [[Pierre Boulez]] in [[Paris]] (2009)]]

He juxtaposed old and new music at the 1995 [[Salzburg Festival]] in the "Progetto Pollini" concert series, at [[Carnegie Hall]] (2000–2001) in "Perspectives: Maurizio Pollini", and at London's [[Royal Festival Hall]] (2010–2011) in the "Project Pollini", a five-concert series ranging from Bach to Boulez and Stockhausen (with Schoenberg's [[Sechs kleine Klavierstücke|Op. 19]] as an encore).{{sfn|Berry|2024|loc=¶8}} Throughout his career, Pollini championed less popular, often more recent works.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jan/01/maurizio-pollini-interview-nicholas-wroe | title=Maurizio Pollini: A life in music | newspaper=The Guardian | date=January 2011 | last1=Wroe | first1=Nicholas | access-date=12 December 2016 | archive-date=24 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624093224/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jan/01/maurizio-pollini-interview-nicholas-wroe | url-status=live }}</ref> He financed these projects with the prize money of the [[Ernst von Siemens Music Prize]].<ref name="Brachmann" /> On [[Mozart]]'s 250th birth centenary at the 2006 Salzburg Festival, he changed the second half of the program to Webern's Piano Variations and Boulez's Second Sonata. Some among the audience left at intermission, after the Webern, or during the Boulez.{{sfn|Berry|2024|loc=¶3}}

Pollini continued politically identifying with the left, although he later questioned some Italian leftists' tactics. In 2010, he spoke out against [[Silvio Berlusconi]],<ref name="theguardian.com"/> concertizing in opposition to [[Policies of Silvio_Berlusconi#Attempt to reform the Italian constitution|constitutional reforms]]. He offered low-cost, student tickets to his concerts.<ref name="Brachmann">{{cite news |title=Maurizio Pollini: a life in music |newspaper=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung|FAZ]] |date=23 January 2024 |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/buehne-und-konzert/zum-tod-des-pianisten-und-dirigenten-maurizio-pollini-19607850.html |access-date=25 March 2024 |first=Jan |last=Brachmann |language=de}}</ref>

In March 2012, Pollini canceled his US appearances, citing his health.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cso.org/TicketsAndEvents/EventDetails.aspx?eid=4079|title=Chicago Symphony Orchestra Tickets & Events|access-date=5 April 2012|archive-date=10 July 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710044445/http://cso.org/TicketsAndEvents/EventDetails.aspx?eid=4079|url-status=dead}}</ref> He toured [[Central Europe]] in 2014, performing at the [[Salzburg Festival]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/de/artist/pollini/biography|title=Pollini, Maurizio|publisher=Deutsche Grammophon|access-date=9 August 2014|archive-date=21 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821191454/https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/de/artist/pollini/biography|url-status=dead}}</ref> and debuting at the [[Rheingau Musik Festival]] with Chopin's '' [[Preludes (Chopin)|Preludes]]'' and Debussy's ''[[Préludes (Debussy)|Preludes]]'', Book I, in the [[Kurhaus Wiesbaden]].<ref name="Blum">{{cite news
| last = Blum
| first = Wolfgang
| date = 8 August 2014
| language = de
| title = Spannender Abend mit Chopin-Virtuose
| url = http://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/freizeit/ausgehtipps/spannender-abend-mit-chopin-virtuose_14409698.htm
| newspaper = Allgemeine Zeitung
| access-date = 9 August 2014
| archive-date = 12 August 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140812082309/http://www.allgemeine-zeitung.de/freizeit/ausgehtipps/spannender-abend-mit-chopin-virtuose_14409698.htm
| url-status = live
}}</ref> In 2022, his 80th birthday recital received a four-star award in The Times.<ref>The Times Register, 25 March 2024</ref>

==Private life==
In 1968 Pollini married Maria Elisabetta Marzotto, known as Marilisa, a pianist from a Milanese family.<ref>The Times Register, 25 March 2024</ref> Maurizio Pollini died on 23 March 2024, aged 82.{{sfn|Allen|2024}}<ref>[https://www.giornaledellamusica.it/news/addio-maurizio-pollini Addio a Maurizio Pollini] {{in lang|it}}</ref> His son {{ill|Daniele Pollini|it}} is a pianist and a conductor.<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Michener|first1=Charles|title=The Panoramic Pianist|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/04/03/the-panoramic-pianist|access-date=19 April 2017|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=3 April 2000|page=86|archive-date=19 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819162200/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/04/03/the-panoramic-pianist|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Recordings ==
Pollini's first recordings for [[Deutsche Grammophon]] (DG) in 1971 included Stravinsky's ''[[Trois mouvements de Petrouchka]]'' and Prokofiev's [[Piano Sonata No. 7 (Prokofiev)|Seventh Sonata]]. They are considered landmarks of twentieth-century piano discography. He recorded Chopin's [[Études (Chopin)|Etudes]], Opp. 10 and 25 in 1972<ref name="Brachmann" /> and [[Schoenberg]]'s solo piano {{lang|fr|œuvre}} in 1974 for the same label.<ref name="Dictionary for the Modern Pianist">{{cite book |last1=Siek |first1=Stephen |title=A Dictionary for the Modern Pianist |date=10 November 2016 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-8880-7 |page=189 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lXQ1DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA159 |access-date=18 August 2019 |ref=Dictionary for the Modern Pianist}}</ref> In 2014, he recorded the entire [[Piano sonatas (Beethoven)|Beethoven piano sonatas]] cycle.<ref name="DG Beethoven 2014">{{cite web|url=https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/beethoven-complete-piano-sonatas-pollini-2690 |title=Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas / Pollini |publisher=[[Deutsche Grammophon]] |access-date=25 March 2024 |language=de |date=2014 }}</ref> DG celebrated Pollini's 60th birthday (2002) with a 13-CD commemorative edition<ref name="Clements">{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/feb/22/shopping.artsfeatures3 | title=The Player | newspaper=[[The Guardian]] | date=22 February 2002 | last=Clements | first=Andrew | access-date=25 March 2024 }}</ref> and his 75th (2017) with a complete 58-CD edition.<ref name="DG Complete Recordings">{{cite web|url=https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/catalogue/products/pollini-complete-recordings-452 |title=Pollini Complete Recordings |publisher=[[Deutsche Grammophon]] |access-date=25 March 2024 |language=de |date=2016 }}</ref>

== Awards and recognition ==
In 1996, Pollini received the [[Ernst von Siemens Music Prize]]. In 2001, his recording of Beethoven's ''[[Diabelli Variations]]'' won the [[Diapason d'Or]]. In 2007, Pollini received the [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)|Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra)]] for his [[Deutsche Grammophon]] recording of Chopin's [[Nocturnes (Chopin)|Nocturnes]].<ref name="Britannica" /> He was awarded the [[Praemium Imperiale]] in 2010,<ref name="Britannica" /><ref name="NHK" /><ref name="PI">{{cite news|title=Actress Loren among Japan art prize winners|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]|date=14 September 2010|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jYtokv3mES2DA_84SZZPFQaJuRKg|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124163026/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jYtokv3mES2DA_84SZZPFQaJuRKg|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 January 2013|access-date=14 September 2010}}</ref> and entered the [[Gramophone (magazine)|Gramophone]] Hall of Fame in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Maurizio Pollini (pianist)|url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/HallofFame/ArtistPage/Pollini|publisher=Gramophone|access-date=12 April 2012|archive-date=3 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203143436/http://www.gramophone.co.uk/HallofFame/ArtistPage/Pollini|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Cited sources ==
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Allen|2024}}|reference=Allen, David. 2024. [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/23/arts/music/maurizio-pollini-dead.html "Maurizio Pollini, Celebrated Pianist Who Defined Modernism, Dies at 82"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'' (accessed 26 March 2024). {{subscription required}}}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Aulenti and Elkmann|2016}}|reference=[[Gae Aulenti|Aulenti, Gae]] and [[Alain Elkann]]. 1996. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20231203230306/https://www.alainelkanninterviews.com/gae-aulenti/ Gae Aulenti]". Self-published on author's web page (accessed 23 March 2024).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Berry|2024}}|reference=Berry, Mark. 2024. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20240324183902/https://boulezian.blogspot.com/2024/03/rip-maurizio-pollini-1942-2024.html R.I.P. Maurizio Pollini (1942–2024)]". Self-published on author's web page (accessed 24 March 2024).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Bonifazi|2016}}|reference=Bonifazi, Chiara. 2016. [https://web.archive.org/web/20240328154623/http://www.fondazionebasso.it/2015/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/bimbi_fra.pdf ''Linda Bimbi: Une vie, beaucoup d'histoires''], intro. [[Luciana Castellina]], trans. Brune Seban. Rome: {{ill|Fondazione Basso|it}}. From ''Linda Bimbi: una vita, tante storie'', 2015, [[Turin]]: {{ill|Gruppo Abele|it}}, {{ISBN|978-88-6579-101-1}} (pbk).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Canarina|2010}}|reference=Canarina, John. 2010. ''The New York Philharmonic: From [[Leonard Bernstein|Bernstein]] to [[Lorin Maazel|Maazel]]''. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard. {{ISBN|978-1-57467-188-9}} (hbk).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Fontana|2023}}|reference={{ill|Carlo Fontana (theatre director)|lt=Fontana, Carlo|it|Carlo Fontana (direttore teatrale)|display=1}}. 2023. ''Sarà l'avventura: Una vita per il teatro''. Milan: il Saggiatore. {{ISBN|979-1-259-81174-5}} (ebk).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Gossett|2006}}|reference=[[Philip Gossett|Gossett, Philip]]. 2006. ''Divas and Scholars: Performing Italian Opera''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|978-0-226-30482-3}} (cloth).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Griffiths|2010}}|reference=[[Paul Griffiths (writer)|Griffiths, Paul]]. 2010. ''Modern Music and After'', 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-974050-5}} (pbk). Rev. ed. of ''Modern Music: The Avant Garde Since 1945'' (1981).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Nono|2018}}|reference=[[Luigi Nono|Nono, Luigi]]. 2018. ''Nostalgia for the Future: Luigi Nono's Selected Writings and Interviews'', eds. Angela Ida De Benedictis and Veniero Rizzardi, trans. John O'Donnell. Vol. 21, California Studies in 20th-Century Music Series, gen. ed. [[Richard Taruskin]]. Oakland: University of California Press. {{ISBN|978-0-520-29119-5}} (cloth). {{ISBN|978-0-520-29120-1}} (pbk).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Sciannameo|2020}}|reference=Sciannameo, Franco. 2020. ''Reflections on the Music of Ennio Morricone: Fame and Legacy''. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. {{ISBN|978-1-4985-6900-2}} (cloth). {{ISBN|978-1-4985-6901-9}} (ebk).}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Siek|2017}}|reference=Siek, Stephen. 2017. ''A Dictionary for the Modern Pianist''. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. {{ISBN|978-1-4985-6900-2}} (cloth). {{ISBN|978-0-8108-8880-7}} (ebk). {{ISBN|978-0-8108-8879-1}} (hbk).}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite news | last =Botsford| first =K| title =The Pollini Sound| work =The New York Times| date =1 March 1987| url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEEDB1030F932A35750C0A961948260| access-date =29 September 2007}}
* {{cite news | last =Norris| first =G| title =A maestro with a mission – to escape the 19th century
| series =Arts| work =The Telegraph| date =9 March 2006| url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/03/09/bmpollini09.xml&sSheet=/arts/2006/03/09/ixartleft.html| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20071229102139/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/03/09/bmpollini09.xml&sSheet=/arts/2006/03/09/ixartleft.html| url-status =dead| archive-date =29 December 2007| access-date =29 September 2007| location=London}}
* {{cite news | last =Morrison | first =R| title =The model of a modern major maestro| work =Music| publisher =The Times| date =27 September 2007| url =http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2544755.ece| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081013025804/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2544755.ece| url-status =dead| archive-date =13 October 2008| access-date =29 September 2007| location=London}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* {{discogs artist|Maurizio Pollini}}
* {{imdb name|2508308}}
* [http://www.bruceduffie.com/Pollini2.html Maurizio Pollini interview], (23 October 1997)

{{Winners of the Chopin Competition}}
{{Ernst von Siemens Music Prize}}
{{Gramophone Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollini, Maurizio}}
[[Category:1942 births]]
[[Category:2024 deaths]]
[[Category:Italian male classical pianists]]
[[Category:Italian male conductors (music)]]
[[Category:International Chopin Piano Competition winners]]
[[Category:Deutsche Grammophon artists]]
[[Category:Ernst von Siemens Music Prize winners]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Praemium Imperiale]]
[[Category:Milan Conservatory alumni]]
[[Category:International Ettore Pozzoli Piano Competition prize-winners]]
[[Category:Musicians from Milan]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian conductors (music)]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian male musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Italian conductors (music)]]
[[Category:21st-century Italian male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Italian classical pianists]]