Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920-1995)
Vatican 1987
Saturday, 29 March 1987
Barbican Centre, London
​1987
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Thursday 19 March, 1987: Barbican Hall, London. Beethoven "Emperor" with LSO and Sir Colin Davis (also Sibelius 1); the concert was repeated n Sunday 22, but with Brahmn's second symphony. 'Wearing the expression of utmost pain like Saint Sebastian about to fired on. He seemed to uncoil in energy, and Beethoven's opening flourishes were launched at us with breathtaking speed and power. One might have expected a wilful view, but he took few liberties. With his crystalline articulation, detail was revealed in jewelled clarity, but rarely did he linger over it. He was daring in the extreme hush of his pianissimos in the slow movement. That was so in the dramatic contrast of the outer movements too. The lilt of the finale was the more infectious when Michelangeli's technical wizardry - original source of the legend - had him playing with such ease and power as well as such distinctive sound.'
Edward Greenfield, Daily Telegraph
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Nicholas Kenyon in The Observer (29.3.87) wrote: 'It was riveting: daringly plain, brutally uninflected playing which offered nothing by the way of warmth or suppleness to the score yet somehow captured its uncompromising nobility. [see side panel]
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Nicholas Williams in The Musical Times : 'Michelangeli is one of those rare artists whose very presence generates appreciation; yet the reaction to his performance of Beethoven's Emperor Concerto with Sir Colin Davis and the LSO demonstrated that un-critical applause is no measure of artistic ex-cellence (Barbican, 19 March). True, all the Michelangeli fingerprints were there: the effortless pianistic power, pellucid inner voicing in the second movement, and an immaculate grading of tone. Absent, however, was a sensitivity to the larger form. His capricious rubato and stubborn rallentandos continually distorted the music. The long first movement came close to floundering at the difficult approach to the recapitulation. Davis conducted with stoic determination, scarcely assisted by an oversized and under-balanced string section. Yet his Beethoven might have been a different composer from Michelangeli's - a conflict between fire and ice. Liberated from the task of accompanying, Davis swept aside artistic contradictions in Sibelius's First Symphony.'
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Saturday 21 March, Barbican Hall, London: solo recital
28 March, 1987: Barbican Hall, London, England. LISTEN HERE
Chopin: Piano Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.35
Debussy: Images (Book I)
Debussy: Images (Book II)
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
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This is the only recital of ABM which I attended. It started late. Originally planned for 7:30pm, at around 7:45pm a lady appeared with a microphone and the audience groaned, imagining that he had cancelled. But she was there simply to reminder us not to take photographs. And then at 7:50pm while we were all gazing to the left hand side entrance, the central doors of the stage opened and Michelangeli appeared, looking cadaverous and sepulchral, “like a well-tended grave”, as someone once said.
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Malcolm Hayes in the Telegraph 5 April called it a superlative recital, though he found 'the maestro's idiosyncratic way with Chopin's B flat minor sonata fairly hard to take'. As I re-listen now for the first time since 1987, I find the "Funeral March" hypnotically striking [4 August 2025].
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'His Scarbo by Ravel was the most supernatural in the history of piano playing. That one, live and unedited, in 1986 [does he mean 1987?], at London’s Barbican. People looked at each other, and the same question echoed in every glance:
– "Am I really hearing this? Or is it just a hallucination?"
​(Brazilian pianist Arnaldo Cohen, June 1996)
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«Queste sono macchine infernali»
Words and life in London of the most reclusive and secretive musician who will give his final concert on Saturday Michelangeli: "Piano is my enemy" He is staying in the English capital in a small apartment with special curtains. He is accompanied by his faithful secretary-assistant, a doctor, and his personal tuner. He has also brought his two grand instruments here, and he practices both for hours, dissatisfied. He says: "These are infernal machines."'I'm running away from Italy so as not to see the Milanese, and I find them all here (London).' He always studies, sleeps, doesn't eat. In London, he stays in a small apartment. Never in a hotel.
La Stampa, 24.3.87
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April 5, 1987: Frankfurt, West Germany (Audience Recording | AAC256)
· Chopin: Piano Sonata No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.35
· Debussy: Images (Book I)
· Debussy: Images (Book II)
· Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales
· Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit​​
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14 May, 1987, Museumsaal, Munich: The program included Chopin's Sonata in B flat minor, Images II by Debussy, also Les valses nobles et sentimentales and Ravel's Gaspard de
nuit.
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Wednesday, 27 May 1987, Konzerthaus, Vienna: Wiener Symphoniker/Georges Prêtre
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Konzert für Klavier und Orchester Nr. 25 C-Dur KV 503
Gustav, Mahler, Symphonie Nr. 1 D-Dur
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The concerto was repeated on Saturday, 30th but with Johannes Brahms, Symphonie Nr. 1 c-moll op. 68 after the interval. This would appear to be ABM's last appearance with this orchestra.
Sala Nervi, Vatican (1987)
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​Saturday, 13 June, 1987: Aula Nervi, Vatican City State
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.3 in C major, Op.2 No.3
Chopin: Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise Brillante, Op.22
Debussy: Images (Book I & II)
Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit
During this concert, ABM asked for the removal of all the plants placed around the stage, because a cricket ["un grillo"] had landed on one of them, and its chirping was disturbing him during the performance. (Alessandro Tamburini, L'Adige, 14.8.2020)
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Benedetti Michelangeli in Vaticano: il ritorno di un mostro sacro.
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Let's face it: not many halls would be less suited to a pianist like Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli than Pier Luigi Nervi's hall in the Vatican. The acoustics being what
they are, the noise that six or seven thousand people—no matter how disciplined—end up making tends dangerously to distract one from the listening experience. A pianist who is famous above all others, and especially for his timbre, measured in sublime sonorities, carefully calculated, elevated to an authentic interpretive key, in an ambience that tends to alter the colors of the sound and make them even a little "sautéed," as they say in jargon, will give something less. And perhaps he, too, sensed that something was wrong,
if the suspicion is correct (but in similar circumstances there is also the risk of some hearing distortion) that Benedetti Michelangeli's legendary infallibility this time
(precisely in the Beethoven threatened by the cricket)was in danger of cracking, even if only slightly. But—Grillo aside—even the opening Beethoven is unforgettable. Benedetti Michelangeliseems to discover in this early sonata a Beethoven thirsty for the piano: for the real piano, the modern, concert piano.
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While the scherzo and finale flow under the banner of the diamond virtuosity that is Benedetti Michelangeli's fingerprint, almost as if in a very light, Mendelssohnian dance.
The "Andante spianato e Grande polonaise," Benedetti Michelangeli's old warhorse , re-proposes the extraordinary cantabile of a stretched melody, with an exceptional subtlety of colour, which seamlessly transitions into the rhythmic vigor of the polonaise, approached with the elegance of a great aristocrat, rather than with the bellicose chivalric verve usually employed.
Il Piccolo di Trieste (15.6.1987)
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'In the second book of Images, I’m afraid I found his manner quite at odds with the music. The mechanism of Debussy’s bells may be investigated with fascinating precision, but half-heard through the leaves they are not, the "temple that was" seems caught in the glare of a spotlight rather than pallid moonbeams and the goldfish, if not quite leviathans, have swollen at least to dolphin-size. The outstanding moment of this recital is the Chopin. Michelangeli’s patrician coolness and fine sculpting of line are predictably just what the Andante spianato needs, but the Polonaise is also a splendid display, the pianist’s rigorous control a genuine alternative to Rubinstein’s joi de vivre.'
Christopher Howells (reviewing CD)
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On similar occasions, Michelangeli had not hesitated to cancel the concert in the past, but in this case, perhaps due to the sacredness of the place or the benefit purpose of the concert, he managed to patiently continue with the interpretation. After ten years, his playing remained dramatic and extremely rich in terms of the number of dynamics. In addition to Beethoven, he also played Chopin's Grande Polonaise brillante, which had already been performed many times, and in the second part, pieces from the French repertoire: Debussy and Ravel, in which he emphasized the "imagination and content of the works, by penetrating the compositional processes". [Corriere della Sera 15. 6. 1987] For this concert, he received the "Premio Abbiati" music critics' award, with which the Italian cultural world tried to invite the pianist to return to Italy.
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At the Vatican Concert, Ravel played Gaspard de la nuit, a piece that he presented all over the world in the 1960s. The pianist never recorded this piece, but a better recording is available from this concert, thanks to which it is possible to imagine the basic point of his interpretation of this piece. Very unusual is the version of Ondine, where Michelangelo clearly pronounces each note, even though they are written in ppp. He continues in the same style in Le Gibet, where from the very beginning to the very end he underlines the repeated octaves of two with emphasis, which, by their regularity and specific tone, forbid the musical movement to calm down and create an inner tension that increases without the need to increase the dynamics, until the very end of the section. Michelangeli is known for his exact adherence to musical notation even in the French repertoire,
but in this case the diminuendos and dynamics pp, ppp are not taken by the performer as an indication of the precise intensities of the sound, which remains very specific.
For the parts with stronger dynamics in Scarbo Michelangeli uses a hard, almost "flashy" sound, which with rapid impulses highlights the rhythmic side of the piece. Everything changes in the middle part, where the rhythmic melody alternates with virtuoso arpeggios, which are marked by Ravel pp: Michelangeli chooses stronger dynamics for them, but pp creates the speed and lightness of the stroke.
Katia Vendrame (Brno 2022)
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'The Sovereign Military Order of St John received a slighting snub in 1995 when the legendary pianist, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli returned an honorary knighthood it had conferred on him after a unique concert in 1987. An article in Il Sole 24 Ore written by Armando Torno dated 15 January 1995 reveals some details of this incident.
In 1986, Michelangeli was contacted by Giorgio Montini, the then director of the Sovereign Military Order of St John (SMOM) in Italy, who asked him to perform in a concert at the prestigious Sala Nervi in the Vatican. The concert was being organised to raise funds for a new specialised ward at the St John the Baptist Hospital administered by the Order of St John. Michelangeli had not played in Italy since 1980 when he had given a charity concert in Brescia. Prior to that, he had performed in a memorial concert dedicated to Pope Paul VI in 1977.
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Michelangeli accepted to play without payment and the concert took place on 30 [13?] May 1987 in a packed Sala Nervi. The concert was sold out within hours of it being advertised, with ticket prices ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 Italian Lire.
After endless applause a few minutes of silence followed and Duke Arturo Catalano Gonzaga announced that the sum collected, which was supposedly 640 million Italian Lire, quite a sum for one concert. However, the project never got off the ground and after repeated enquiries, Michelangeli was told that work on the new ward would start soon. After being fobbed off with several lame excuses, the pianist referred the matter to the legal authorities.
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Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli returned the honorary knighthood presented to him by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta on 15 January 1995. He felt that he could no longer accept such a decoration after the many questions raised about the concert funds. To date, nothing has been heard about the new wing at the Order’s hospital.
(Malta Independent, 13 March 2005)​​​
26 June 26, 1987 in Paris - Salle Pleyel: Mozart Concerto No.25 in C major K503
Peter Maag conducting Orchestre de Paris Ensemble
In 1987, the revival of Michelangeli's concerts became a series of eight broadcasts,
corresponding to the number of Turin concerts broadcast in 1963, with a comparatively greater prominence for the performer, starting with the title, Great Interpreters: Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli. This also suggests that the cycle is a fragment of a larger series,
not limited to the great pianist himself. The recordings are arranged chronologically,
by composer, and presented by Roman Vlad at a very convenient time: each concert
is broadcast on Raitre late Saturday evening, with an immediate repeat on Sunday
morning, over the eight consecutive weekends from December 12/13, 1987, to January 30/31,
1988: Galuppi and Scarlatti (I), Beethoven (II), Chopin (III, IV, V, VI), Debussy (VII, VIII). The
first two concerts air at 11:00 PM; the subsequent ones start between
11:30 PM and 11:45 PM; the last two after midnight. The broadcast was directed by
Gianni Casalino.
(Alessandro Cecchi, Università di Pisa)
1988
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​January 13 & 15, 1988: Bregenz, Austria
· Bach/Busoni: Chaconne from Violin Partita No.2 in D minor, BWV 1004
· Beethoven: Piano Sonata No.32 in C minor, Op.111
· Scarlatti: Three Sonatas
o K.11 in C minor
o K.322 in A major
o K.27 in B minor
· Brahms: Variations on a theme by Paganini, Op.35 [edited by Michelangeli]
· Chopin: Waltz in A minor, Op.34 No.2
· Chopin: Scherzo No.1 in B minor, Op.20
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Lidia Kozubek, a Polish pianist who had studied with ABM, wrote that in January 1988 'a new element was added to Michelangeli's concert activity in the shape of performances with an orchestra, which he himself conducted from the piano.' Mozart K.503 and K.466 with the Prague Chamber Orchestra in Bregenz on the Bodensee. She states that there was perfect harmony between orchestra and soloist, almost like a piano quartet or quintet. Reports and reviews emphasised the absolute understanding between the performers, as well as the discreet, yet fully expressive leading of the orchestra by the soloist. The latter was achieved through faint inclinations of the head, signs made with the left hand, and what was described as almost "conspiratorial glances". [For reviews see: 'Tecne Italiana Musica', Reggio Emilia, III 1988, I 1989, II 1989.]
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In August 1988, he recorded Debussy's Second Book of Préludes for Deutsche Grammophon, ten years after the first Book. The recording took place in the Rudolf Oetker Halle (Kleiner Saal), Bielefeld, West Germany.
"Fallow periods were a feature of his career. In 1988, when the Second Book of the Debussy Preludes came out, it was his first studio recording for eight years... What would the composer himself have made of him, I wonder? Of Debussy playing his own music Alfredo Casella said “he made the impression of playing directly on the strings of the instrument with no intermediate mechanism – the effect was a miracle of poetry”. This is not Michelangeli’s way. He can certainly be poetic and produce miracles but his manner is not ingratiating. Generalized ‘atmosphere’ doesn’t interest him. His superfine control is put at the service of line and movement, above all, and the projection of perspectives. It is as if he were intent on defining the space the pieces occupy. He gives you a sense not just of foreground and background but of many planes in between. Try “Feux d’artifice”, the last of the Second Book of Preludes for instances of what I mean: the murmuring ostinato at the beginning (leger, egal et lointain) is ‘positioned’ with absolute precision, and as you’re drawn into the picture it’s as if you can see exactly where everything is coming from. This is perhaps most vivid at the very end, where Debussy wonderfully conveys the effect of activity petering out and a snatch of the Marseillaise floats in de tres loin to signal the ‘fin de spectacle’. A pianist does indeed need spectacular manipulative abilities to realize these last nine bars: how pleasing when a great player reminds you that they are humanly possible!" Stephen Plaistow
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'ABM repeatedly fell victim to trivial things, which... could swell in unpredictable ways, through the fatal connection with his grand objectives, until they became insurmountable monsters. A barely visible inflammation in his eye, which the day before had not prevented him from recording in such a short, breathtaking time the Second Book of Debussy's Préludes, became a reason to cancel a television production that had been organized for a five-figure sum.
'There could be no aesthetic reason for his about-face: with a few tiny cosmetic corrections, the pimple would certainly have been brought under control. But not at all! The artist had exhausted himself in the fertile "intoxication of interpretative creation," he was exhausted by the concentrated work that had produced a complete recording in just a few hours. Now his reserves of strength and artistic responsibility were exhausted. The irritated eyelid, like a lifeline, had relieved him of a great burden.
'Another day, an innocent jar of honey became the vehicle for his dispute with the others. We were gathered around a lavishly laid table for breakfast at the Steinway house—ABM, his manager Marie-Jose Gros-Dubois, Ulrich Adam, the Director of the Artists and Concerts Department, and myself. As usual, ABM honoured the pleasures offered only
with moderation. Suddenly, completely unpredictably for those present, he took the small jar of honey brought from the hotel and hurled it onto the long conference table. That honey smelled terrible was his only comment.' [Cord Garben]
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ABM was once seen and heard addressing a piano, saying, “You’ll never be a piano” (non sarai mai un pianoforte, tu). Another time, while recording Debussy’s Préludes , he stopped everything and began insulting the piano: “You old shack! You whore!” («Vecchia baracca! Puttana! »)
[Bruno Giurato]
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Illness
During a 1988 concert at the Grande Theatre of Bordeaux (17 October) Michelangeli had a major heart attack, suffered on stage in the middle of Debussy’s Ondine (not Bruyéres, as Alain Lombard incorrectly reported in the July 1995 issue of Le Monde de la Musique). His moment of crisis occurred in bar 24 (retenue). Rather than stopping cold, he remained in musical character, lingering on the lone sonority of the dominant. Though in unimaginable pain, he allowed the chord to vibrate and fade out, as if it were bad luck to release it.
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Calmly and with unbeleagured diffidence, he whispered an audible "Veneti!", and was ushered out to hospital. He had suffered an aortic aneurysm, and underwent a delicate surgical operation. Less than one year later, in the month of June, he went back to perform in Hamburg and Bremen. ​​
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In 1985 he had suffered a hemiparesis following cardiovascular problems; he was absent from concert halls for almost one year and planned to return in the spring of 1986 in Paris and Zurich, where however he was forced to interrupt the concert after the interval.
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1989
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June 9, 1989: Die Glocke, Bremen, West Germany (Edited Live Recording | Stereo)
– Deutsche Grammophon –
· Mozart: Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K.466
· Mozart: Piano Concerto No.25 in C major, K.503
– Cord Garden / NDR Sinfonieorchester
– Deutsche Grammophon 469 820-2. Cadenzas: L. van Beethoven (K.466) & C. Togni (K.503).​