Aldo Ciccolini

Pianist Aldo Ciccolini enjoyed a long and varied career, but to many music lovers his name was most readily associated with the music of Erik Satie. Ciccolini was raised in Naples, where he studied at the Conservatory under pianist Paolo Denza, himself a onetime student of Ferruccio Busoni; Ciccolini made his debut there in 1942. In 1949 Ciccolini traveled to Paris to complete in a Long-Thibault contest -- after he won first prize, Ciccolini decided to stay in Paris and continue his studies with Marguerite Long. Ciccolini made his New York debut in 1950. It was probably throug...