Carlo Curley Dies!

[Mike Bracchi]

Carlo Curley the flamboyant and popular classical concert organist died earlier this evening .... ... he will be sadly missed

Self-dubbed "the Pavarotti of the Organ" he was a true showman who seduced audiences with his virtuoso fireworks, entertaining patter and sheer enthusiasm.

Carlo proclaimed that his mission was ...."to establish the organ at the forefront of musical instruments, even if it takes the rest of my life"



'Rest In Peace' Carlo

[organbroadcaster]

Very sad to hear about the passing of Carlo. I only ever met him once in Manchester and (would you believe it) didn't have my tape recorder with me to do an interview. He did so much to promote the organ and make all its different to facets accessible to all ages. Another great ambassador sadly missed.

[Mike Bracchi]

Carlo Curley plays Johann Sebastian Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

[Mike Bracchi]

Organist Carlo Curley dies aged 59

Curley was a regular contributor to the BBC
International concert organist Carlo Curley, known as "the Pavarotti of the organ", has died aged 59.

A message on his website called his death "a huge loss for us all, and for the organ community".

Curley was well known for appearances on BBC TV and radio, including organ spectaculars from Cathedrals in Guildford, Gloucester and Norwich.

He was the first classical organist to give a solo recital at the White House, invited by US President Jimmy Carter.

In an interview with Radio 2 last year, he talked about his mission to popularise the classics and relived a concert in London's Alexandra Palace that saw him drive down the centre of the hall in a Cadillac.

Curley was born into a musical family in 1952 and attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, later studying with two of the world's greatest organists, America's legendary Virgil Fox and British player Sir George Thalben-Ball.

His charismatic personality and imagination meant he was one of the few organists to be known by name and reputation outside of the classical music world and played regularly across the globe on sell out tours, to a large and loyal following.

Curley's autobiography In The Pipeline was published by HarperCollins in 1998.

He also played before several members of European royalty, including the Princess Royal, the late Princess Grace of Monaco and the Danish Royal Family.

[Mike Bracchi]

Carlo Curley, saviour of Melbourne Town Hall organ, has died
By Melissa Lesnie on August 14 2012

The "Pavarotti of the organ" was the "catalyst" for the restoration of Melbourne's fine instrument.

Concert organist Carlo Curley has died in England at the age of 59. No cause of death has been made public.

Curley was born into a musical North Carolina family in 1952. The precocious organist accepted his first professional post at the age of 15, began touring the USA at 17 and the following year became Director of Music at Girard College, Philadelphia.

He studied under two of the greatest organists of the 20th century: Virgil Fox and, in London, Sir George Thalben-Ball. Early in his career, he was invited by the President to play at the White House, becoming the first classical organist to give a solo organ recital there. Recording primarily for Decca, he enjoyed an international reputation for his elegant performances, sense of humour and defiance of concert convention.

Curley was a frequent visitor to Australia, particularly in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he championed the restoration of the Melbourne Town Hall organ. June Nixon, organist at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne, recalls that Curley "did a concert on the organ at Hamer Hall, and had some very outspoken opinions about it.

"What he found at the Town Hall was an organ that was very much ripe for restoration and he said, ‘This would be brilliant if we could have it restored; it would be one of the finest organs.' He started off the interest in restoring the Town Hall organ, and did a lot of work initially. He was the catalyst for it. He returned to Melbourne after the restoration and was very happy with what had been done."

Nixon also praised Curley's "hugely generous" spirit: in 1990, when Melbourne's St Paul's Cathedral organ was refurbished, he took part in its opening concert and donated his fee towards the cost of the restoration.

Curley even appeared on the Australian variety television show Hey, Hey, It's Saturday!, donning a vampire cape in a performance of Bach's Toccata in D Minor. "He was an organist who was an entertainer," Nixon affirmed. "He was not a dry, academic organist at all. He did a lot of good for the organ world, brought a lot of audiences in. He was a very colourful character, larger than life."

Curley's approach to the organ and his public paved the way for younger generation of performers including Cameron Carpenter, who describes him as "one of the first true advocates, and actively artistic proponents, of the digital organ and its importance both on the world stage and to the artistic independence of organists.

"In not taking the bandwagon view of the pipe organ as ultimately superior, he was and remains many decades ahead of most of his colleagues, to say nothing of his playing," he told Limelight.