Casadesus, Robert Marcel

Casadesus, Robert Marcel 

Born Apr. 7, 1899, in Paris; died there Sept. 18, 1972. French pianist.

Casadesus studied with his father, Francis, and with L. Diemer. He began touring Western Europe and the USA in 1920 and toured the USSR in 1929. He became the director of the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau near Paris in 1947.

Casadesus was the major modern performer in the tradition of Romantic pianists. His enormous and varied repertoire ranged from such keyboard masters of the 17th and 18th centuries as J. P. Rameau and D. Scarlatti to such impressionists of the 19th and 20th as C. Debussy and M. de Falla. But his most important works were the concertos of Mozart and Beethoven, for which he wrote cadenzas, and Beethoven’s sonatas. He often performed duets with his wife, Gaby. Casadesus composed three symphonies, two piano concertos, and many other works for the piano.

REFERENCE

Kogan, G. “Rober Kazadezius.” In his book Voprosy pianizma. Mos-cow, 1968. Pages 392–94.