Maria Curcio facts for kids

Maria Curcio (born in 1918 or 1919, passed away in 2009) was an Italian classical pianist. She became a very famous and respected teacher. Many top pianists studied with her, including Barry Douglas, Martha Argerich, Radu Lupu, and Mitsuko Uchida. She was the last student of the legendary pianist Artur Schnabel, and she shared his special way of teaching with her own students.

Her Life Story

Maria Curcio was born in Naples, Italy. Her mother was also a pianist. Maria started playing the piano when she was just three years old. At age seven, she was asked to play for Benito Mussolini, but she refused.

She was taught at home so she could spend more time practicing. However, she didn't have a happy childhood because she had to perform a lot and didn't have much time to play or make friends. A famous composer, Ottorino Respighi, even invited her to play at his house.

Maria was accepted into the Naples music school at age nine and graduated by age 14. Her mother arranged for her to study with famous teachers like Alfredo Casella and Nadia Boulanger. She also began studying with Artur Schnabel when she was 15. Schnabel usually didn't teach young students, but his son convinced him to listen to her play. After hearing her, Schnabel called her "one of the greatest talents I have ever met."

Maria made her first performance in London in 1939. But when World War II started, she was in Amsterdam. She performed often there. However, when Germany took over the Netherlands in 1940, Jewish people were not allowed to perform in public. Maria refused to play in public to show her disagreement, because her future husband, Peter Diamand, was Jewish.

Peter Diamand was held in a camp for a while before he escaped. Then, Maria and Peter had to hide from the Nazis, often in small, hidden places. They didn't have much food. Maria became very sick from not eating enough and got a lung illness called tuberculosis. She couldn't even walk properly, let alone play the piano.

Her performing career was effectively over. She married Peter Diamand in 1948. Maria needed many years of special exercises to get her strength back in her legs, arms, and fingers. A famous conductor, Wilhelm Furtwängler, wanted to record music with her, but she was still not strong enough when he passed away in 1954.

However, she did eventually return to playing. She performed with other famous musicians like Benjamin Britten and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Her last public performance was in 1963. After that, she focused on teaching and giving special teaching sessions called master classes. She also helped singers learn their parts when Josef Krips was conducting the Netherlands Opera.

Her husband, Peter Diamand, became the director of the Edinburgh Festival in the UK, so they moved there. Maria was a judge at important piano competitions, like the Leeds International Pianoforte Competition in 1966. She was also a special professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She often played piano music with two people on one piano with Benjamin Britten.

Maria Curcio spent her last few years in Porto, Portugal. She passed away in March 2009, at the age of 90.

Two films were made about Maria Curcio by BBC Scotland in the 1980s: Music in Camera: Maria Curcio - Fulfilling a Legacy and Maria Curcio - Piano Teacher. Her student Douglas Ashley made a documentary about her life called Music Beyond Sound in 1993. He also wrote a book with the same title.

Her Students

Maria Curcio taught students from many different countries. Some of her famous students included:

See also

In Spanish: Maria Curcio para niños