Friedrich Gulda

The name of the Austrian pianist Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000) stands for one of the most outstanding and effective representatives of his profession in the second half of the 20th century, thanks to his clear, effortless piano playing and his charismatic and polarizing personality. Numerous tours established his international fame; recordings of individual cycles of works by Bach, Beethoven and Debussy still enjoy reference status today, but Gulda soon sought to escape the expectations of the public: In the 1970s, jazz, initially strictly separated from his "official" career, and later his turn to free music - accompanied by effectively launched provocations from the public and the press - helped him to escape from the routine of the classical music world, which was increasingly perceived as restrictive. The non-conformist now developed musical projects with like-minded people, launched festivals and increasingly performed his own compositions. In his late phase, Gulda devoted himself intensively to the piano music of his idol Mozart, before finally celebrating the dance into paradise with the Paradise Girls.The series "SOLO - Porträts und Profile" invites you to get to know the artists of "classical" music. For the first time on the German-language book market, the focus here is on international performers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Each book portrays a musical personality in an accessible and compact form: conductors, soloists and singers. Biographies and careers are presented as well as essential characteristics of individual music-making. A classification of the artistic profile rounds off the well-founded descriptions.The authors of the series are proven experts in their respective fields and come from research and practice.