Gaby Casadesus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section needs to be wikified to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please help improve this article with relevant internal links. (January 2008)

Gaby Casadesus (August 9, 1901 - November 12, 1999) was a French classical pianist and teacher born in Marseilles, France. She was married to the famous French pianist Robert Casadesus, and their son Jean Casadesus was also a notable pianist.

Born Gaby l'Hôte, she studied at the Paris Conservatoire with Louis Diémer and Marguerite Long and was awarded the first prize in piano at the age of 16. She later won the Prix Pagès, which was the most prestigious award in France at the time for which women were eligible.

In 1921 she married the pianist Robert Casadesus, with whom she founded the Robert and Gaby Casadesus duo. The duo made many recordings of the four-hand piano repertoire.

However, Gaby was also a significant soloist. She knew Ravel, Fauré, Florent Schmitt and Moritz Moszkowski, and her interpretations were indebted to their guidance. Her repertoire also included Mendelssohn, whose music she effectively championed, and the keyboard composers of the Baroque era.

As a teacher, Gaby Casadesus taught in the US, at the Salzburg Mozarteum, at the Académie Maurice Ravel in Saint-Jean de Luz and at the American Conservatoire at Fontainebleau.

Together with Grant Johannesen and Odette Valabrègue Wurtzburger, Gaby Casadesus co-founded the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition, which is based in Cleveland, Ohio.