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Pietro Scarpini plays Prokofieff Piano Sonata 2 (02)

719 views · Published 13 August 2010 · 2:38 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: gullivior · 2010 · Music

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The case of Pietro Scarpini (1911-1997) is unique, as he was a peerless and profound musician who developed a rareified and vast repertoire. Scarpini was the leading pianist in Italy after World War II, yet has not received proper recognition due to his disdain for recording and for having avoided the public sphere which artists are compelled to engage in, as Scarpini chose to live for his art and deliberately avoided outside intrusions on his life in order to maintain and cultivate his musicianship. Paradoxically, while he did little to preserve his art through commercial recordings, Scarpini methodically kept tapes made of recitals and broadcasts and added to it by recording at home.

Scarpini was a leading figure in Italy, Germany, England, and for a brief period, in the United States, known for performing works such as Bach's Art of the Fugue, Goldberg Variations, Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, Scriabin's late works, and gained prominence for championing the works of Busoni and Schonberg's Pierrot Lunaire. As a concerto performer, Scarpini had worked with an array of conductors including Furtwängler, Van Kempen, Böhm, Monteux, Horenstein, Mitropoulos, Rodzinski and Szell and played chamber music with the Vegh Quartet, Paul Hindemith, and Marya Freund among others.

Scarpini's one solo recording, made for the Durium firm around 1950, was characteristic of his musical focus: sonatas and shorter works by Bartok and Stravinsky. One regrets the absence of the Goldberg and Diabelli sets, as Scarpini often performed them before the 1960s: perhaps they will be discovered some day.
(from Arbiter Liner Notes)

Note: poor sound quality - radio recording

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