Maurizio Pollini, the celebrated Italian pianist whose talent earned him a Grammy and frequent performances at Milan’s illustrious La Scala opera house, has passed away at the age of 82.
Pollini’s death was announced by La Scala on Saturday, March 23. While the cause of death was not disclosed, it is known that Pollini had to cancel a performance at the Salzburg Festival in 2022 due to heart issues.
Over a career spanning six decades, Pollini ventured beyond the classical canon, delving into early 20th-century works by composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Webern, as well as engaging with postwar modernists like Karlheinz Stockhausen, Pierre Boulez, and Luigi Nono.
La Scala hailed him as “one of the great musicians of our time,” acknowledging his significant influence on the theater’s artistic life for more than half a century. Pollini was renowned for his intellectual depth, unparalleled technique, and compelling interpretative skills, which invited audiences to engage deeply with the music.
Born into a family of artists in Milan on January 5, 1942, Pollini was immersed in an environment where art was a way of life. His father, Gino Pollini, was a noted violinist and rationalist architect, while his mother, Renata Melotti, and uncle, Fausto Melotti, were also musically and artistically gifted.
Pollini’s prodigious talent was evident early on, giving concerts before he was ten and winning the International Chopin Piano Competition at 18, the youngest foreign pianist among 89 contestants. The jury president, Arthur Rubinstein, famously remarked that Pollini “already plays better than any of us.”
Despite his early success, Pollini chose to pause his career to deepen his understanding of the repertoire, focusing on the works of Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. In the late 1960s, he performed in factories and for students and workers at La Scala, under the baton of his friend Claudio Abbado, and collaborated with other renowned conductors like Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, and Riccardo Chailly.
Pollini embarked on his first American tour in 1968 and, from the 1970s to the 1990s, recorded extensively with Deutsche Grammophon, earning acclaim for his interpretations of Beethoven, Schumann, and Schubert. His recordings garnered several awards, including a Grammy in 2007 for his performance of Chopin: Nocturnes.
He leaves behind his wife, Marilisa, and his son, Daniele, who is also a celebrated pianist and conductor, continuing the family’s rich musical legacy.