Child Prodigy ArrauHouse

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'ArrauHouse' - A Chronology

Child Prodigy Period - to 1912

Castellano

1903	Chile	Claudio (Chinito) ARRAU León, born on 07* February in Chillán (Ñuble, Chile), the third child of Dr Don Carlos ARRAU Ojeda (1856-1904), an oculist, philanthropist and guitar player, and Doña Lucrecia LEÓN Bravo-de-Villalba (1859-1959), a piano teacher. Brother Carlos (1893) and sister Lucrecia (Quecha, 1897) were already members of the household. *[From birth registration No. 254, entered in Chillán on 03 March 1903 and kept by the Chillán Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages, Claudio was born at midnight between the 6th and the 7th of February. His date of birth is usually shown as 6 February]
1904	Chile	Father dies in a horse riding accident in March, aged 48. His funeral was reported as having attracted unprecedented large numbers of mourners from the entire community of Chillán.
1905	Chile	Baptised at the El Sagrario Parish Church of Chillán on 14 January (Register 80, page 40).
1906	Chile	Chillán's devastating earthquake - Claudio's life is saved by nanny.
1906-1908	Chile	Early piano lessons received from mother.
1908	Chile	Charity function - Claudio's very first piano recital at the still under construction Municipal Theatre of Chillán on 19 or 21 September at 9:30 pm (sic), as a 5-year-old child prodigy playing: > Beethoven's Variations, > a Mozart Sonata, > Schumann's Kinderszenen, and > L. Streabbog's Louis XIII Air Op.115 The child used pedal extensions specially made for him. [El Comercio newspaper of Chillán, 22 September]
1909	Chile	Mother decided to move to Santiago and made various contacts. She enlisted the help of admiring critic and writer Antonio ORREGO Barros, so that the child gives piano playing demonstrations before numerous Members of Parliament in Santiago.
1909	Chile	After listening to the child playing at his presidential residence, the then President of Chile, Mr Pedro MONTT, expressed his admiration for Claudio Arrau on a written dedication, dated 30 September 1909, accompanying a book on famous musicians given as a present.
1909	Chile	Claudio's second charity piano recital in Chillán at the O'Higgins Theatre in October, as a 6-year-old child prodigy playing: > Haydn's Gipsy Rondo, > Beethoven's Bagatelle in A minor Für Elise, > Schüller's Friedrich Seitz concert (with Heriberto Urrutia on the violin), and > Grieg's Le matin suite (with mother at the piano). [El Comercio and La Discusión newspapers of Chillán, 28 October 1909]
1909	Chile	First piano recital in Santiago, at the age of 6, including works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin, received with amazement.
1909	Chile	Premonitory assessment of Claudio's first Santiago recital by critic and writer Antonio ORREGO Barros, in an article entitled "The Chilean Mozart", published by the Selecta magazine of Santiago in November 1909 (Year 1, No.8, pages 275 & 276).
1909-1910	Chile	Undertakes private tutoring under distinguished Italian Music Teacher Bindo PAOLI from the Santiago Conservatory, after demonstrating his skills in a transposition examination taken before Teachers Paoli and Guardia in November 1909. Paoli tutored Claudio on Mozart's sonatas and Bach's préludes.
1910	Chile	Piano recital at the La Moneda Presidential Palace in Santiago on 04 June, at the age of 7, before an audience including President Pedro MONTT and a number of ministers, diplomats, and artists.
1910-1911	Chile	Public piano recitals in Santiago, until his departure in 1911.
1910	Chile	Receives a Scholarship from the Chilean Parliament to pursue studies in Berlin, at the time held as the artistic capital of the world.
1911	Chile	From the port of Valparaíso, departs for Germany on board the El Titania, accompanied by his mother, siblings, and aunt Celina.
1911	Argentina	First piano recital in Buenos Aires, at the age of 8, before an astonished audience, on his way to Germany.
1911	Germany	Piano demonstrations in Berlin at the age of 8.
1911	Germany	At the age of 8, whilst a child prodigy, Claudio perforates four Römhildt Virtuola piano rolls. The rolls contain the following pieces: Ignaz Moscheles - Gesellschaftskonzert, 1. Satz, Allegro maestoso [Roll 5167] Moritz Moszkowski - Tarantelle, from Op.77 [Roll 5168] Josef Haydn - Allegro in F major [Roll 5169], and J.S. Bach - Klein Präludium No. 3 in C minor [Roll 5170] Original copies of these rolls are preserved at the Pianola Museum of Amsterdam.
1911-1912	Germany	A short-term pupil of Waldemar LÜTSCHG and, subsequently, of Paul SCHRAMM in Berlin. (Waldemar Lütschg used to perforate Virtuola rolls).
1912	Germany	The four Römhildt Virtuola piano rolls perforated the previous year are manufactured in July-August.

End of 'Child Prodigy Period' section

Child prodigy period to 1912 Development period 1912 to 1941 Middle period 1941 to 1962
Maturity period 1962 to 1991 Posthumous period from 1991

Last updated on 29th September 2007