Described as ‘miraculously gifted’ by Alfred Cortot, Dino Ciani was a contemporary of Maurizio Pollini. Born in Croatia in 1941, he died aged just 32 in a car crash in Rome in 1974, robbing the world of one of the great pianists of the late 20th century. He had a remarkable rise to fame, and was offered a Deutsche Grammophon contract. His repertoire centred on Beethoven, Bartók , Brahms, Debussy, Chopin, Liszt, Mozart, Schumann, Schubert and Weber. He also explored lesser-known areas of the repertoire, making pioneering recordings of Hummel and Kozeluch. As a pianist he divided opinions, but with supporters such as Cortot, and the support of conductors of the calibre of Abbado, Muti, Barbirolli, Guilini and Gui, his reputation is assured.

Like many artists who die young, he became a cult figure for some. He can now be judged for what he was – in the words of Cortot ‘one of the most remarkable examples of the rarest talents one could hope to find’.

‘Ciani commands a very fine technique and impressive musicality. …there are many virtues, such as Ciani's beautiful handling of the Intermezzo of this work, or of the latter part of the second Trio of No.8. Note also how well he manages No.4 where so many pianists would lose control, or the whole of No.5 which with its piano and orchestra overtones, is in several respects the most demanding of the set.’ - Gramophone (Schumann Novelletten), 1969

‘Dino Ciani, although not a Frenchman, was a pupil of Cortot and the first thing to be said about his Debussy is that it is absolutely idiomatic. I admire him particularly because his view is sane and steady and because it has been formed from a conscientious interpretation of every detail of Debussy's text.’ - Gramophone (Debussy Preludes), 1973