The Talent That Was Liberace

By far the most famous, and infamous, piano player that ever lived was the flamboyant Liberace. This King of Pianos came from a humble background to be behind a tremendous wealth and fortune. From this youth to his old age, Liberace kept an air of grace, exuberance, and sophistication about him wherever he went.

Liberace's father was an Italian and his mother Polish. Much before he became famous for playing his mirrored or jewel encrusted pianos,Liberace was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. The family had background in music, his father Salvatore Liberace played the French horn in the Milwaukee Philharmonic. His mother, Frances Liberace played the piano. His two other siblings also had musical talent. Walter Valentino Liberace grew up watching and listening to his parents playing their musical instruments but ultimately he showed his liking for piano.

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.

Making the night club routes, 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. At this point, he began using his last name only and appeared with the gold candelabra that would later become his trademark. A mere seven years after he played in the Persian Room, Liberace returned a star and brought along one of his infamous pianos with him.

In the 1950s Liberace began making movies in Hollywood, and soon he was sought out for a television series. He won two Emmy awards for it and the show was a hit. It was broadcast all over the world on both television and radio transmissions. In the midst of all his television commitment, Liberace continued touring and playing sold out 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.

Shortly before his 68th birthday, the King of Pianos passed away in the comfort of his Palm Springs home. No one has yet to fill his shoes or sit at his rhinestone encrusted pianos since his passing and the world wonders will there ever be another Liberace?

Article Source: http://www.articlemonk.com

Emanuel Daffy is the owner and operator of F pianos, the web's premier resource for information about pianos. For more articles on pianos visit: www.azpianos.com/articles
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