ERC076 Chopin - 24 Preludes Played by Samson François

Samson François, born on May 18, 1924, in Frankfurt, Germany where his father was posted at the French consulate was a prodigious talent. He began playing the piano at the age of two and studied early on with Italian composer Pietro Mascagni. His first public performance came at the age of six, playing a Mozart concerto under Mascagni’s direction. From 1932 to 1935, he studied at the Conservatoire in Nice, where he won first prize and caught the attention of the legendary pianist Alfred Cortot. Cortot encouraged him to continue his studies in Paris with Yvonne Lefébure. In 1938, François...