FRIEDRICH GULDA
Genres: Third Stream, Post Bop, Progressive Big Band, Bop, Jazz Related Improv, Composition, Soul Jazz, Big Band, Hard Bop, Fusion • Austria

Born: May 16, 1930 - Vienna, Austria Died: January 27, 2000 - Steinbach am Attersee, Austria The Austrian pianist, Friedrich Gulda, was the son of a teacher. He began learning to play the piano from Felix Pazofsky at the age of 7; in 1942, he entered the Vienna Music Academy, where he studied piano and musical theory under Bruno Seidlhofer and Joseph Marx. After winning first prize at the International Competition in Geneva four years later, in 1946, he began going on concert tours throughout the world. Together with Jörg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda, Gulda formed what became known as the "Viennese troika". Although most famous for his L.v. Beethoven interpretations, Friedrich Gulda also performed the music of J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, Schubert, Frédéric Chopin, Debussy and Ravel. From the 1950's on he cultivated an interest in jazz, writing several songs and instrumental pieces himself and combining jazz and classical music in his read more...