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Claudio ArrauChilean pianist
Date of Birth: 06.02.1903
Country:  Austria |
Content:
Biography of Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau was a Chilean pianist, best known for his series of interpretations of a wide range of classical works from the Baroque period to the compositions of 20th-century composers. He gained particular popularity for his variations on the themes of Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, and Debussy. Arrau is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his time.
Early Life and Family
Claudio Arrau was born in Chillán, Chile, into a family of renowned and respected ancestry. His father, Carlos Arrau, was an ophthalmologist, and his mother, Lucrecia León Bravo de Villalba, was a piano teacher. Arrau's family lineage can be traced back to Spanish engineer Lorenzo de Arrau, who arrived in America by the order of King Carlos III. Through his great-grandmother, María del Carmen Daroch del Solar, Arrau is also descended from the Scottish noble family Campbells of Glenorchy.
Arrau's father passed away when he was just two years old. Despite his young age, Claudio displayed exceptional musical talent from an early age, performing his first concert at the age of five. By the age of six, Arrau was already playing for several congressmen and the country's president, Pedro Montt, who was so impressed by the young boy's music that he immediately began planning his future.
Education and Career
At the age of eight, Claudio was awarded a ten-year scholarship by the Chilean government, which allowed him to study in Germany. His mother and sister accompanied him on this journey. Arrau was accepted into the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, where he became a student of Martin Krause, one of Franz Liszt's pupils. By the age of eleven, Claudio had mastered the Transcendental Etudes, widely considered to be some of the most challenging piano etudes in the world. He also effortlessly performed Brahms' Paganini Variations.
Tragically, Arrau's mentor, Martin Krause, passed away when Claudio was only fifteen years old, causing significant grief and loss in his life. In 1937, Claudio married German mezzo-soprano Ruth Schneider, and they had three children together: Carmen, Mario, and Christopher. The family left Germany in 1941 and settled in the United States, with New York becoming their new home. In 1979, Claudio obtained dual citizenship.
Personal Life and Beliefs
Claudio Arrau was raised in the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. He experienced a peak of religious fervor during his teenage years, largely influenced by a Catholic priest he knew. However, the concept of transubstantiation eventually estranged him from the church, as he found it reminiscent of cannibalism. Arrau subsequently became an agnostic.
Arrau was an incredibly talented and soulful interpreter of other composers' works. During his travels around the world, he read extensively, compensating for his lack of formal education. In addition to his native Spanish, Claudio was fluent in English, Italian, German, and French.
Musically, Arrau approached his craft with unwavering dedication. As he grew older, he leaned towards a more relaxed tempo in his performances, but in his youth, he was regarded as one of the world's finest virtuosos. He passed away while working on a recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's complete keyboard compositions. His remains were laid to rest in his hometown of Chillán, Chile.
