The King of Pianos

Liberace, the king of pianos, was the most famous, and infamous, piano player that world has seen so far. This flamboyant King of Pianos actually came from a humble background, which is so unlike his usual air of grace, elegance and sophistication. He came upon a tremendous wealth and fortune because of his talent and passion.

Long before he ever played any of his famous mirrored or jewel encrusted pianos, Liberace was born to an Italian father and a Polish mother in West Allis, Wisconsin. The family was quite musically talented, with his father, Salvatore Liberace playing the French horn in the Milwaukee Philharmonic, his mother, Frances Liberace playing the piano, and two of three siblings also showing musical prowess. As a child, Walter Valentino Liberace, would often watch and listen to his parents playing their instruments of choice, but falling in love with pianos.

He was offered a scholarship to the College of Music in Wisconsin by a family friend who visited their home and was impressed by his sheer talent. Liberlace grabbed the offer and studied at the college. He also received private tutions from Florence Bettray Kelly, who was known as the protege of celebrated Moritz Rosenthal. He finished his classical training at an early age of fourteen years and went on to give his solo debut performance at the Chicago Symphony.

Subsequently, Liberace began playing pianos at some of the famous clubs in the country, including the Persian Room at the prestigious Plaza Hotel in New York City. He used his last name only at this point of time and carried his gold candelabra that became his trademark. After just seven years from the time he played in the Persian Room, Liberace returned a star and brought with him one of his infamous pianos.

Liberace became a part of Hollywood in the 1950s and started being a part of movie production. He was later offered a part in a television series and won two Emmy awards for his efforts. It proved to be a big hit all over the world both on television and radio. His television engagements however did not prevent him from performing and he gave house full performances in Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden.

The 1960s and 1970s saw Liberace dragging pianos all over the world, as he played capacity crowds in Europe and Australia. Also during this time, he began penning his autobiography and his famous cookbook, “Liberace Cooks.” Always philanthropic, Liberace created the Liberace Foundation that supports the Performing and Creative Arts through scholarship programs. The ever-busy piano player took home three consecutive Contemporary Keyboard Magazine “Pop Keyboard Artist of the Year” awards in addition to starting his own Las Vegas museum.

In the 1980s, Liberace continued to play pianos before the world, including at the 1982 Academy Awards where the flamboyant pianist performed the nominated songs flawlessly. He also traveled tirelessly, continuing to bring in the fans at venues like Radio City Music Hall.

He left this world on his heavenly abode just before his 68th birthday. No one has since played his rhinestone encrusted pianos. The world awaits some one as talented as liberace, doubting whether there would be any one at all.

Article Source: http://articlem.com

Emanuel Daffy is the owner and operator of F pianos, the #1 source on the internet for information about pianos, For more articles on pianos visit: www.azpianos.com/articles
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