I was one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. I was born in Chillán, Chile on 6th February 1903. My father, Carlos Arrau, was an eye doctor, and he passed away when I was very young. My mother, Lucrecia León, first introduced me to music, as she played and taught piano.
When I was 3 years old, I learnt to read music, which was before I knew my alphabet! I gave my first concert in Santiago at the age of 5, where I played Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and Mozart. When I was 7, I was sent on a Chilean government grant to study in Berlin, Germany. I was taught by Waldemar Lütschg, and two years later I was taught by Martin Krause, who had studied with Franz Liszt.
At the age of 11, I could play Liszt's Transcendental Etudes and Brahms's Paganini Variations. In 1923, I came to the United States, where I sometimes played over 100 concerts per year! I didn't return to Chile until 1984.
In 1937, I married Ruth Schneider, who was a mezzo-soprano. I had three children: Carmen, Mario and Christopher. I passed away in Mürzzuschlag, Austria on 9th June 1991.
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