American virtuoso pianist Nicholas Angelich dies at 51

American pianist Nicholas Angelich, who excelled in both romantic and contemporary repertoire, died Monday at the age of 51, his agent announced, prompting a shower of tributes in the world of classical music. “American by birth, but living in Paris, Nicholas suffered from a respiratory illness,” the artistic agency Jacques Thelen said in a press release, stressing that Nicholas Angelich had not performed on stage since June 2021.

This announcement sparked a series of tributes. “Like your sound, you were bright and tender at the same time. I will never again play a note of Brahms without being near you”, reacted on Twitter the French violinist Renaud Capuçon, saluting the memory of an “outstanding pianist” and a “sensitive, faithful, generous friend”.

Angelich was a great interpreter of the piano works of Beethoven, Brahms and Liszt, but also of 20th-century composers, including Messiaen, Stockhausen, Boulez and Bruno Mantovani. He had performed with many prestigious international orchestras, under the direction of great conductors such as Charles Dutoit , Sir Colin Davis, Kurt Masur or Myung-Whun Chung.

What an unimaginably sad day in the music world. #HarrisonBirtwistle #RaduLupu #NicholasAngelich

— Esa-Pekka Salonen (@esapekkasalonen) April 18, 2022

Infinite sadness to say goodbye to Nicholas Angelich yesterday... 51 years old
A friend and accomplice for so many years,
A poet, so gentle and sensitive,
Nicholas leaves us one day after Radu Lupu, 2 piano giants this Easter weekend#NicholasAngelich pic.twitter.com/5m4ekh7vG1

— Gautier CAPUÇON (@GautierCapucon) April 19, 2022

On disc, he had notably recorded the complete “Years of pilgrimage” by Liszt. His last release dates from September 2018, a recording of Beethoven’s 4 & 5 concertos with the Insula Orchestra and conductor Laurence Equilbey. At the Victories of Classical Music, Nicholas Angelich received the Victory for instrumental soloist of the year in 2013 and 2019.

Born in the United States in 1970, he gave his first concert at the age of 7 and entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris at the age of 13.

(AFP)

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