Strange to say, Scarpini may be still alive as these lines are written. Endowed with a powerful intellect and reclusive, Scarpini was a polyglot who performed works from Bach to the music of his century. He was taught by Casella and displayed a remarkable affinity for compositions of great complexity. A radio concert of Busoni's Concerto (with Rafael Kubelik and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra) is the finest account of the work ever heard. When Scarpini played the mammoth piece in New York, Edward Weiss commented that it resembled Busoni's own more than any other pianist ever did. Too little of his art was recorded, and with the few radio recitals preserved, one hears a great interpreter of Mozart, Busoni and Stravinsky
© Allan Evans, 1996