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Steven De Groote
Stevendegroote.jpg
Background information
Born 12 January 1953
Johannesburg, South Africa
Died 22 May 1989(1989-05-22) (aged 36)
Johannesburg, South Africa
Genres Classical
Occupation(s) Pianist, pedagogue
Instruments Piano

Steven De Groote (born January 12, 1953 – died May 22, 1989) was a talented classical pianist from South Africa. He came from a family of musicians, with almost everyone for three generations being a professional musician. His grandmother won a special prize in Belgium, and his father was a conductor for the Cape Town University Symphony. When Steven was young, he toured South Africa with his father (on violin) and brother (on cello), playing music together.

Learning and Early Success

Steven De Groote studied music with Lamar Crowson in Cape Town. He also learned from Eduardo del Pueyo at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. He finished his studies there in 1971, earning the top prize in piano.

In 1972, Steven went to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. There, he continued to study piano with famous teachers like Rudolf Serkin, Mieczysław Horszowski, and Seymour Lipkin. He graduated from Curtis in 1975.

Steven started winning big competitions in 1976. He earned honors in the Leventritt Competition in New York City. In May 1977, he won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. Later that year, in September, he won the Grand Prize at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. This was a huge achievement! He also won two other special prizes at the Van Cliburn Competition: one for playing a new piece of music best, and another for his chamber music performance. He is the only winner in the history of the competition to win all three prizes.

Amazing Music Career

After winning the Van Cliburn Competition, Steven De Groote's career took off. He performed all over the world. His first big concert in New York was on November 8, 1977, at the 92nd Street Y. He also played his first concert at Carnegie Hall on December 12, 1977, as part of his Van Cliburn prize.

Steven played with many famous orchestras in the United States, like the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with major orchestras in Canada and Europe. These included the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. In Britain, he played with almost all the big orchestras there.

In 1981, Steven made his debut at The Proms, a famous music festival. He played Gershwin's Concerto in F with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This performance was shown live on TV by the BBC.

He toured the U.S. in 1983-1984 with the Warsaw Philharmonic. In 1987, he toured England with the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg. Steven worked with many respected conductors, including Lorin Maazel and Eugene Ormandy.

In 1988, Steven returned to his home country, South Africa. He toured with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra as they celebrated their 75th anniversary. He performed in several cities, including Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Taipei. During this tour, he played famous piano concertos by Rachmaninov, Beethoven, and Brahms. Recordings of these live concerts are available.

Steven was also great at playing chamber music, which is music for a small group of instruments. He often played with well-known groups like the Guarneri Quartet and the Chilingirian Quartet. His brother Philip was the cellist in the Chilingirian Quartet.

Teaching Music

In 1981, Steven De Groote started teaching at Arizona State University. He balanced his time between performing concerts and teaching students. In 1987, he took over from Lili Kraus as a special artist-in-residence at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. That same year, the Texas Senate honored him for his "outstanding contribution to music." They expressed their "highest regard and admiration for him."

Later Life

Steven De Groote enjoyed flying airplanes as a hobby. In 1985, he was in a serious plane crash while trying to land near Phoenix. He was badly hurt, with his lung and a major blood vessel punctured. After a lot of surgery and recovery, Steven got better. It was amazing that he was able to fly and play the piano again. His recovery was even featured on a TV show called CBS News Sunday Morning.

In 1989, he went back to South Africa to visit his family and for a concert tour. While there, he became very ill and was hospitalized with tuberculosis and pneumonia. Steven De Groote passed away in Johannesburg on May 22, 1989, due to his organs failing.

Recordings

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