Maria Curcio Was One of the Best Piano Teachers Ever. Here’s Why
by Emily E. Hogstad Maria Curcio could easily have been one of the most famous pianists of the twentieth century. So why do only a handful of classical music lovers know her name today? What kept her from the solo career she seems to have been born for? Today, we’re looking at the remarkable story of Maria Curcio: her astonishing precocity, the story of how she escaped the Nazis, and how she came back from wartime health issues to become one of the most influential piano teachers of all time. Maria Curcio’s Childhood Maria Curcio Maria Curcio was born in August 1918 near Naples, Italy. Her father was a wealthy Italian businessman, and her mother was a Jewish Brazilian pianist who studied under a pupil of composer/pianist Ferruccio Busoni. Maria began taking piano lessons from her mother when she was three years old. She started giving public performances that same year, expressing delight at the toys that the appreciative audience hande...