Maria Tipo facts for kids
Maria Tipo (born 23 December 1931 – died 10 February 2025) was a very talented Italian pianist. She was known for her amazing skill and powerful performances.
Contents
Early Life and Training
Maria Tipo was born in Naples, Italy. Her first piano teacher was her own mother, Ersilia Cavallo. Her mother had studied with a famous musician named Ferruccio Busoni. Maria later continued her studies with other great teachers, including Alfredo Casella and Guido Agosti.
A Rising Star
When Maria was only 17 years old, she won a big international piano competition in Geneva. This was a huge achievement! After that, she started playing concerts all over the world. She also made many recordings of her music.
In the late 1950s, Maria Tipo performed in North America. She played more than 300 concerts there! People were so impressed that they called her the "Neapolitan Horowitz". This nickname compared her to another very famous pianist, Vladimir Horowitz.
Her very first recording was an album of 12 sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. She recorded it super fast, in just 4 hours, back in 1955. The magazine Newsweek called it the most spectacular record of the year!
Famous Recordings and Style
Maria Tipo's recordings of Bach's Goldberg Variations and more sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti won a special award called the "Diapason d’Or". She also really loved and played the music of Muzio Clementi, both in concerts and on her albums.
Other pianists admired her greatly. For example, the famous pianist Martha Argerich once said Maria Tipo was "sensational."
A music critic named Piero Rattalino described her playing as a teenager. He said her "agility was incredible" and her "precision greater than the volcanic Martha Argerich". He felt she was like other great Italian musicians who were masters of their feelings and could really connect with the audience. He believed Maria Tipo always aimed for beauty in her music.
A Dedicated Teacher
Besides performing, Maria Tipo was also a dedicated teacher. She taught special master classes at the Gubbio Festival and the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. She also worked as a professor at music schools in Geneva, Bolzano, and Florence. Many of her students became successful pianists themselves, including Nelson Goerner, Andrea Lucchesini, and Pietro De Maria.
Maria Tipo passed away on 10 February 2025, at the age of 93.
See Also
In Spanish: Maria Tipo para niños
