Carlo Zecchi

Italian pianist, music teacher and conductor. Born July 8, 1903 in Rome, Italy Died August 31, 1984 in Salzburg, Austria Carlo Zecchi made his Italian debut in 1920, first performed abroad in 1922, and made his first tour of the USA in 1931. In 1939, a car accident obliged him to abandon work as a soloist, although he continued playing the most demanding chamber music and conducting. He played as only as the duo partner of the cellist Enrico Mainardi. He toured America with the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 1957, and was permanent conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra from 1964 to 1976. In his last years, two fingers on his left hand were paralysed, yet he performed Schubert's Trout Quintet. He also taught, mostly at the S. Cecilia Academy in Rome and the Salzburg Mozarteum.