Alfred Cortot

Alfred Cortot (1877-1962), leading French pianist of his time. Born in Nyon, Switzerland, he was educated in France and studied music at the Paris Conservatoire, where he later taught piano. In 1905 he formed a famous trio with the French violinist Jacques Thibaud and the Spanish cellist Pablo Casals. In 1919 he helped found the École Normale de Musique. In addition, he published works on piano technique, music theory, and interpretation and edited many piano works of Frédéric Chopin. A proponent of the operas of Richard Wagner, Cortot was assistant conductor at the Bayreuth festival in 1898-1901 and in 1902 conducted the Paris premiere of Götterdämmerung.