Clifford Curzon
Sir Clifford Michael Curzon CBE (né Siegenberg; 18 May 19071 September 1982) was an English classical pianist. Curzon studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and subsequently with Artur Schnabel in Berlin and Wanda Landowska and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. In his early career he was known for his performances of Romantic and virtuoso music, and for championing modern works.
Also recorded as Sir Clifford Michael Curzon
Clifford Curzon

Bascon · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Clifford Curzon
- Birth Name
- Clifford Michael Siegenberg
- Born
- 18 May 1907
- Birthplace
- Islington, London, England
- Died
- 1 September 1982
- Place of death
- London, England
- Education
- Royal Academy of Music
- Occupation
- Composer, pianist
- Spouse
- Lucille Wallace (m. 1931-1977; her death)
- Nationality
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- Fields
- classical music
- Teachers
- Nadia Boulanger · Artur Schnabel · Tobias Matthay
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Sir Clifford Michael Curzon CBE (né Siegenberg; 18 May 19071 September 1982) was an English classical pianist. Curzon studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and subsequently with Artur Schnabel in Berlin and Wanda Landowska and Nadia Boulanger in Paris. In his early career he was known for his performances of Romantic and virtuoso music, and for championing modern works.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Clifford Curzon. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q961193 · wikipedia · Clifford Curzon
In this article
Biography
Biography
Later he concentrated on composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms. He played regularly in continental Europe and North America, making tours in the 1930s and for most of his post-war career. Although signed to a recording company, Decca, for most of his career, Curzon was not at ease in the studio, and vetoed the release of many of his recordings, some of which were published after his death.
Clifford Curzon studied at Royal Academy of Music. Training under Nadia Boulanger, Artur Schnabel and Tobias Matthay is recorded. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are classical music. Distinctions recorded are Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal and Knight Bachelor.

Beethoven Piano concerto No. 4 Clifford Curzon, Hans Knappertsbusch, Vienna philharmonic orchestra (1954)
https: classicus.jp/
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Clifford Curzon • Honorific Suffix — CBE • Birth Name — Clifford Michael Siegenberg • Born — 18 May 1907 • Birthplace — Islington, London, England • Died — 1 September 1982 • Place of death — London, England • Education — Royal Academy of Music • Occupation — Composer, pianist • Spouse — Lucille Wallace (m. 1931-1977; her death)
Early years
Early years
Curzon was born in Islington, London, the younger son and second of three children of Michael Siegenberg, a Jewish antiques dealer, and his wife Constance Mary, née Young. The family name was changed to Curzon in August 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. The household was musical: Mary Curzon was a talented amateur singer, Michael's sister was a professional singer, and his uncle, the composer Albert Ketèlbey, was a frequent visitor, whose performances of his music on the family piano were the young Curzon's earliest abiding musical memories. The boy's first musical studies were as a violinist, but he soon concentrated on the piano. In 1919 Curzon entered the Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, and two years later he was admitted to the senior school of the academy at the unusually early age of 14. He studied with Charles Reddie, whose own teacher, Bernhard Stavenhagen, had been a pupil of Franz Liszt. Curzon won many prizes, including the RAM's MacFarren Gold Medal, and then continued his studies with Katharine Goodson, who had been a pupil of Theodor Leschetizky. Sir Henry Wood conducted the academy's student orchestra, and in 1924 he gave Curzon his first Promenade Concert engagement, as one of the co-soloists in Bach's Triple Keyboard Concerto in D minor, along with two other students. Around the time Curzon was graduating, his father became seriously ill, affecting the family business; money became short, and in 1926 Curzon, though not drawn to teaching, accepted a salaried post as a sub-professor at the RAM. One of his pupils was Constance Warren, two years his senior. He continued to pursue a career as a soloist. A family friend introduced him to Sir Thomas Beecham, who was sufficiently impressed by Curzon's playing to engage him as soloist in Mozart's Coronation Concerto at the Queen's Hall. In 1928 Curzon temporarily left the RAM. A legacy from the mother of a colleague enabled him to move to Berlin for two years, to study with Schnabel. He then studied with Landowska and Boulanger in Paris. Curzon believed his style owed much to Schnabel and Landowska. He said they disliked each other and were diametrically opposite in their musical aesthetics, but that he learned about phrasing from Schnabel and about precision of technique from Landowska.
Soloist
Soloist
Curzon built a successful career as a soloist, enabling him to resign from the RAM in 1932. In addition to frequent concerts in Britain, he toured Europe in 1936 and 1938 under the auspices of the British Council, and made his US debut in 1939, returning regularly for many years after World War II. In his early years as a star soloist Curzon played a more Romantic and virtuosic repertoire than that associated with him in his later career. Established pianists of the time generally ignored concertante works by such composers as Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Vincent d'Indy and Frederick Delius, with whom Curzon made a mark. He was also known for his espousal of new music, giving premieres and early performances of works by Germaine Tailleferre, John Ireland, Alan Rawsthorne and Lennox Berkeley. During the war, shortage of time prevented him from undertaking the British premiere of Aram Khachaturian's Piano Concerto, but his friendship with Benjamin Britten led to many joint concerts by the two musicians. Curzon was a highly self-critical performer, and though he signed with Decca in 1937 and remained with them throughout his career, he was rarely at ease in the studios, and frequently refused to allow the release of recordings in which he felt dissatisfied with his performance. After the war Curzon began to limit his appearances in the concert hall and recording studios, devoting himself to extensive periods of private study. Throughout his career he maintained a rigorous regime of practice, playing for several hours every day. Together with Joseph Szigeti, William Primrose and Pierre Fournier, Curzon formed the Edinburgh Festival Piano Quartet in 1952. In The Manchester Guardian, Neville Cardus wrote, "They do not quite make an easeful ensemble. The ear is constantly attracted by individual touches of fine musical art, but we receive a sense that each master is playing with his eye on the other, so as not to overstep the bounds of modesty." As a soloist Curzon made American tours between 1948 and 1970, played at European music festivals and toured the continent with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Malcolm Sargent in 1954. From the post-war years onwards, Curzon increasingly concentrated on less virtuoso repertoire. He became celebrated for his performances of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms. Max Loppert, his biographer in Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, wrote that in the works of these Austro-German classical masters "he was unequalled for sensitivity and directness of manner, beauty of tone and an inner stillness. In such works as Mozart's Concerto in Bflat K595, his unique combination of nervous energy and Olympian calm earned him a reputation as a supreme Mozartian." Another biographer of Curzon, William Mann, wrote: The virtues which he applied to Mozart's piano concertos—he regarded them as the most perfect music ever composed—included line-drawing that colours itself and a control of structure through harmony and feeling for ensemble, which was overwhelming when the conductor was sympathetic. He achieved them with Britten often, and also with Daniel Barenboim and Sir Colin Davis Curzon suffered throughout his career from stage fright and, unlike most star pianists, played not from memory at concerts but with the score. In private life, Mann records, Curzon was "an ideal host, a lively raconteur, a keen connoisseur of painting and literature, and appreciative of other countries and their cultures, food, drink and language."
Personal life
Personal life
While still in Paris, Curzon married the American harpsichordist Lucille Wallace. They had no offspring, but adopted the soprano Maria Cebotari's two sons after she and her husband died young.
Death
Death
Curzon died in September 1982, aged 75. He is buried next to his wife in the churchyard of St Patrick's, Patterdale, near their holiday home in the Lake District. On his gravestone are inscribed the opening words of Franz von Schober's poem "An die Musik": "Du holde Kunst" (O fairest art), familiar from Schubert's setting.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1907
Clifford Curzon born at London.
1982
Clifford Curzon died at London.
Honours
In 1958 Curzon was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), and in 1977 he was knighted. He was elected a Fellow of the RAM in 1939, and in 1980 he received the Royal Philharmonic Society's gold medal. He was an honorary fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford (1981) and was awarded honorary doctorates by the University of Leeds (1970) and the University of Sussex (1973).
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Formation and teaching. Curzon studied at Royal Academy of Music. He trained under Nadia Boulanger, Artur Schnabel and Tobias Matthay. Curzon received Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal and Knight Bachelor. Recorded as having received Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal and Knight Bachelor.
Recognition and collections
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,307 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Cliff RichardPerson
- Cliff SmallsPerson
- Cliff WilliamsPerson
- Clifford BrownPerson
- Clifford GreyPerson
- Clifford HayesPerson
- Clifford JarvisPerson
- Clifford JordanPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Clifford Curzon?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.