Zecchi Carlo, *8 July 1903 Rome, †31 August 1984 Salzburg, Italian pianist, conductor and teacher. He learned to play the piano with his mother, then with F. Bajardi. He studied composition at the conservatory in Rome with L. Refice, G. Setaccioli and A. Bustini. In 1920-22, he performed in Italy, and from 1923 he continued his studies with A. Schnabel and F. Busoni in Berlin. In the late 1920s, he gave concerts in the Soviet Union, and in 1931 in the United States. After 1939, he gave up his solo career. He performed in a duet with the cellist E. Mainardi and focused on conducting, which he studied at H. Münch and A. Guarnieri. He made his debut at the conducting desk in 1942 in Basel. In 1962–76, he was the permanent conductor of the Wiener Kammerorchester; he also performed, among others, with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. In 1955, he was a juror of the 5th International F. Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. He taught at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena, where his students included, among others, C. Abbado, Z. Mehta and D. Barenboim; he also conducted courses in Salzburg (from 1948) and Japan (1983). Zecchi was a valued performer of works by F. Liszt, R. Schumann, D. Scarlatti and F. Chopin; his compositional achievements include choral, chamber and piano works. Since 1986, the international piano competition named after Zecchi has been held in Rome.
Literature: D. Lombardi Carlo Zecchi. La linea della musica, Florence 2005.
