Maria Tipo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Tipo
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Tipo in 1987
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| Born | 23 December 1931 |
| Died | 10 February 2025 (aged 93) Florence, Italy
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Maria Tipo (born December 23, 1931 – died February 10, 2025) was a famous Italian pianist. She became known worldwide after winning the Geneva International Music Competition in 1949. She also placed third in the Queen Elisabeth Competition. Maria Tipo helped bring back the music of Muzio Clementi. She was also well-known for playing and recording music by composers like Scarlatti, Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin. She also taught piano at several music schools.
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Early Life and Career Beginnings
Maria Tipo was born in Naples, Italy, on December 23, 1931. Her father was a mathematician. Her mother, Ersilia Cavallo, was a pianist who had studied with a famous musician named Ferruccio Busoni. Maria learned to play the piano from her mother. She listened to her mother play instead of listening to recordings. Later, she studied with other great teachers, Alfredo Casella and Guido Agosti.
Winning Competitions
When Maria was just 17, she won the 1949 Geneva International Music Competition. In 1952, she earned third place in the Queen Elisabeth Competition. These wins helped her become famous around the world. She started playing many concerts and making recordings.
International Recognition
A famous pianist named Arthur Rubinstein was a judge at the Queen Elisabeth Competition. He said Maria was "the most exceptional talent of our era." His manager helped her plan a tour in the United States. She made her first big appearance in New York City in 1955. A music critic from The New York Times said she played with "confidence and competence." He also noted her "verve," which means energy and enthusiasm. He thought she was a pianist with amazing potential.
Maria Tipo played more than 300 concerts. People even called her the "Neapolitan Horowitz," comparing her to another legendary pianist. She often played chamber music, which is music for small groups, with the Amadeus Quartet and violinists Salvatore Accardo and Uto Ughi. She also performed as a solo artist with major orchestras. These included the Berlin Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Recordings and Musical Style
Maria Tipo made her first recording in 1955. It featured 12 sonatas by Scarlatti. She said she recorded them in just four hours! Newsweek magazine called it "the most spectacular record of the year." It became very popular with music fans and critics.
Maria played Scarlatti's sonatas in her own unique way. Another famous pianist, Horowitz, had also played them. When asked about the difference, Maria simply said, "He was Horowitz. I am from Naples."
In the early 1960s, she was the first person in Italy to suggest recording Bach's Goldberg Variations. She finally recorded this work in 1990. That recording, along with her Scarlatti Sonatas recording, won her a special award called the "Diapason d’Or." She also played and recorded music by Muzio Clementi, a composer who had been somewhat forgotten.
Her Powerful Playing
Maria Tipo played with great strength and skill. A music critic named Piero Rattalino remembered her playing as a teenager. He said her "agility was incredible" and her "precision greater than the volcanic Martha Argerich." He saw her as part of a tradition of Italian musicians who are masters of their emotions. He concluded that Maria Tipo always fought for her ideal, which was beauty in music.
Teaching and Later Life
Maria Tipo was also a very dedicated teacher. She was a professor at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève in the 1960s and 1970s. From 1980, she taught at the Florence Conservatory and the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. She held a special position for piano at Fiesole from 1987 to 2009.
Many of her students became successful pianists. They included Nelson Goerner and Giovanni Nesi. Many of her students won awards at international music competitions. Maria Tipo also served as a judge for international competitions herself.
Personal Life
In the 1960s, after touring the US, Maria Tipo married Alvaro Company, a guitarist and composer. They had a daughter named Alina Company. Maria found it challenging to balance being an artist, wife, mother, and teacher. Her marriage ended in divorce. Her second marriage also ended in divorce. Her daughter, Alina, became a violinist and also taught music.
Maria Tipo passed away in Florence, Italy, on February 10, 2025. She was 93 years old.
Awards and Honors
Maria Tipo received several important awards. She was honored as an Officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2021, she received the Premio Presidente della Repubblica for her amazing artistic achievements.
See also
In Spanish: Maria Tipo para niños
