John and Richard Contiguglia Collection
Collection
0528-IPAM
The John and Richard Contiguglia Collection features papers, scores, and recordings relating to the careers of duo-pianists and identical twins, John and Richard Contiguglia. The Contiguglias are renowned pianists and educators; they toured Europe and North America, following a successful debut at Wigmore Hall in 1962, and they have held teaching positions at Syracuse and the Horace Mann School in New York. For additional information, expand the menus below.
3.00 Linear Feet
English
John and Richard Contiguglia are identical twin concert pianists, born in the United States to Italian immigrant parents in 1937. The brothers were child prodigies, beginning piano lessons at the age of five and debuting publicly at six. The Contiguglias performed a recital of two-piano pieces by Percy Grainger at12-years old which garnered the notice of Grainger himself. The composer sent the twins much of his piano music, and they went on to become lifelong champions of Grainger’s work.
The Contiguglias were taught by Jean Wilder before attending Yale College and studying with Bruce Simonds. At Yale, they graduated summa cum laude with identical 4-year averages. The twins went on to earn MMus degrees from the Graduate School of Music at Yale, continuing their studies with Simonds. Following their graduation, the Contiguglias moved to London to study with Dame Myra Hess from 1961-1965. The twins made their debut at Wigmore Hall in 1962 before touring Europe and North America.
The Contiguglias are also esteemed educators, having taught at Syracuse University and the Horace Mann School in New York.
The John and Richard Contiguglia Collection is arranged into four series:
Series I- Performance Files
Series II- Audio-Visual Materials
Series III- Miscellaneous
Series IV- Scores
Please see the detailed finding aid under inventories/additional information for an item-level overview of the collection.
Part of the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library