Claudio Arrau

Claudio Arrau León was born on February 6, 1903, in Chillán. A child prodigy who gave his first recital in Santiago at age five, the Chilean National Congress granted him an unprecedented ten-year scholarship to study at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin under Martin Krause (one of Franz Liszt's last living pupils).

Arrau conquered the music capitals of the world, celebrated for his profound intellectual depth, rich aristocratic tone, and total lack of superficial virtuosity. He famously performed complete cycles of Beethoven's 32 sonatas, Brahms, Liszt, and Schumann across Europe, the Americas, and Japan. Returning to Chile in 1984 after years of self-imposed exile, his homecoming concerts drew hundreds of thousands. He is interred in Chillán.