A Giant is Gone

The great operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti has passed away at the age of 71. He was, perhaps, the most widely celebrated classical music icon of his time.

Read the NY Times notice here.

Anthony Tommasini takes an honest and critical look back at Pavarotti's wide-ranging career.

Most classical music bloggers will certainly link to many of Pavarotti's juicy operatic scenes from the 1970s through the 1990s as a memorial tribute. Since this is (sometimes) a piano blog, I'll offer a different but appropriate selection: Luciano sings a lovely Italian song in a smaller space with just piano accompaniment (Leone Maggiera, pianist). He's seen here in the more intimate art song format, allowing the focus to be on his exquisite artistic and interpretive abilities unobstructed by concert hall super-stardom.

It is difficult to be unmoved by Pavarotti's presence in this performance of Tosti's Non T’amo Piú. RIP, LP...