Carlo Curley

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Carlo Curley (b. 24 August 1952, North Carolina, U.S.) is a flamboyant and popular classical concert organist, sometimes dubbed the "Pavarotti of the organ". He is one of only a few concert organists worldwide who supports himself exclusively by giving recitals, without supplement by teaching or titular organ position. Curley is cosmopolitan, and calls three places his "home": England, Scandanavia and Raleigh, NC.

Curley was born into a musical family and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts. He studied organ with Virgil Fox, and Sir George Thalben-Ball. His basic approach to performing closely resembles that of Fox, with the aim to make classical organ music popular to a larger audience, often including pieces from other classical genres arranged by himself.

Curley is famously the first classical organist to give a solo organ recital at the White House, and he has also played for several European heads of state. He has toured extensively throughout the world, and has a large and loyal following.

He uses a substantial Allen touring organ where the venue lacks an instrument of sufficient scope to support his repertoire. Although unashamedly populist, he is acknowledged as a gifted classical organist with an engagingly good-humored interpretive style and a sparkling sense of registration in many pieces, including the use of his famous 'caged bird' placed on top of the organ console. His verve in performance is tremendous, though it is sometimes marred by his habit of playing some well-known works at excessive speed, in the manner of his mentor, Virgil Fox. He has successfully recorded much of the classical organ repertoire.

His autobiography In The Pipeline, ghosted by Jonathan Ambrosino was published by HarperCollins in 1998. The Carlo Curley Classic Collection, a three DVD set, has just been released in the US.

External links

• Carlo Curley's website

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Last updated on Thursday March 06, 2008 at 12:55:07 PST (GMT -0800)
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