Alfred Cortot Correspondence

The Alfred Cortot Correspondence Collection at IPAM contains about 130 photocopies of letters written by Cortot, in French. It also houses 21 original letters from Cortot to Arthur Hedley, renowned Chopin scholar, dating from 1938-1962. The original letters (also in French) have been summarized in English by Charles Timbrell, author of “French Pianism: A Historical Perspective” and professor emeritus at Howard University. The summary document can... be found within the collection, and has been further summarized within the finding aid document.

Alfred Cortot was a French pianist, educator, editor, and conductor, and is widely considered one of the most renowned musicians of the 20th century. Cortot had an incredibly large repertoire as a pianist, performing in thousands of concerts world-wide, but he is particularly remembered for his unique insights into music of the Romantic era—specifically that of Chopin, Schumann, Franck, Liszt, and Saint-Saëns. Cortot was known for his expressive, imaginative, and intelligent playing rather than for note-perfect performances. Cortot was the first artist to create an electrical recording of classical music, working with Victor in 1925. He was also the first to record the complete Chopin preludes, op. 28. Cortot was one of the most influential pedagogues of his time as well, with students such as Vlado Perlemuter, Clara Haskil, Gina Bachauer, Dinu Lipatti, Samson François, and Magda Tagliaferro. As an editor, Cortot created several highly influential editions of the music of Chopin, Debussy, and Schumann, as well as several others. For additional information, expand the menus below.