22 Facts About Clifford Curzon

Sir Clifford Michael Curzon CBE was an English classical pianist.

Clifford Curzon played regularly in continental Europe and North America, making tours in the 1930s and for most of his post-war career.

Clifford Curzon was born in Islington, London, the younger son and second of three children of Michael Siegenberg, a Jewish antiques dealer, and his wife Constance Mary, nee Young.

The household was musical: Mary Clifford Curzon was a talented amateur singer, Michael's sister was a professional singer, and his uncle, the composer Albert Ketelbey was a frequent visitor, and his performances of his music on the family piano were the young Clifford Curzon's earliest abiding musical memories.

In 1919 Clifford Curzon entered the Royal Academy of Music in London, and two years later was admitted to the senior school of the academy at the unusually early age of fourteen.

Clifford Curzon studied with Charles Reddie, whose own teacher, Bernhard Stavenhagen, had been a pupil of Franz Liszt.

Clifford Curzon won many prizes, including the RAM's MacFarren Gold Medal, and then continued his studies with Katharine Goodson, who had been a pupil of Theodor Leschetizky.

At around the time Clifford Curzon was graduating, his father became seriously ill, affecting the family business; money became short, and in 1926 Clifford Curzon, though not drawn to teaching, accepted a salaried post as a sub-professor at the RAM.

Clifford Curzon continued to pursue a career as a soloist.

Clifford Curzon then studied with Wanda Landowska and Nadia Boulanger in Paris.

Clifford Curzon believed that his own pianistic style owed much to the examples of Schnabel and Landowska; although, he said, they disliked each other and were diametrically opposite in their musical aesthetics, he learned about phrasing from Schnabel and about precision of technique from Landowska.

Clifford Curzon built a successful career as a soloist, enabling him to resign from the RAM in 1932.

Clifford Curzon was known for his espousal of new music, giving premieres and early performances of works by Germaine Tailleferre, John Ireland, Alan Rawsthorne and Lennox Berkeley among others.

Clifford Curzon was a highly self-critical performer, and although he signed for the Decca recording company in 1937 and remained with them throughout his career, he was rarely at ease in the studios, and frequently refused to allow the release of recordings in which he felt dissatisfied with his performance.

Together with Joseph Szigeti, William Primrose and Pierre Fournier Clifford Curzon formed the Edinburgh Festival Piano Quartet in 1952.

Clifford Curzon became celebrated for his performances of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms.

Clifford Curzon achieved them with Britten often, and with Daniel Barenboim and Sir Colin Davis.

Clifford Curzon suffered throughout his career from stage fright and, unlike most star pianists, he played not from memory at concerts but with the score on his music stand.

Clifford Curzon is buried next to his wife in the churchyard of St Patrick's, Patterdale, near their holiday home in the Lake District.

In 1958 Clifford Curzon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in 1977 he was knighted.

Clifford Curzon was elected a Fellow of the RAM in 1939, and in 1980 he received the Royal Philharmonic Society's gold medal.

Clifford Curzon was an honorary fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford and was awarded honorary doctorates by the universities of Leeds and Sussex.