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The King of Pianos

The King of Pianos

By Emanuel Daffy

Colorful Liberace is believed to be the most renowned and notorious piano player of all times. He rose from a very modest background to amass riches and came to be known as the king of pianos. He exhibited remarkable elegance, enthusiasm and style throughout his life.

Liberace was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. His father, Salvatore Liberace was an Italian who played the French horn in the Milwaukee Philharmonic and his mother Frances Liberace was a Polish who played the piano. Two of his siblings also showed musical prowess. Thus, the whole family was quite musically talented. As a child, Walter Valentino Liberace used to watch and listen to his parents playing their instruments of choice, but he fell in love with pianos. All this was long before he played his famous mirrored or jewel encrusted pianos.

It all started with the visit of a family friend who offered Walter a scholarship to the College of Music in Wisconsin. Liberace happily accepted the scholarship and went on to study at the college as well as privately with Florence Kelly, a protége of the famous Moritz Rosenthal. Liberace completed his classical training and made his solo debut at the Chicago Symphony when he was just 14.

Subsequently, Liberace began playing pianos at some of the famous clubs in the country, including the Persian Room at the prestigious Plaza Hotel in New York City. He used his last name only at this point of time and carried his gold candelabra that became his trademark. After just seven years from the time he played in the Persian Room, Liberace returned a star and brought with him one of his infamous pianos.

In the 1950s Liberace began making movies in Hollywood, and soon he was sought out for a television series. He won two Emmy awards for it and the show was a hit. It was broadcast all over the world on both television and radio transmissions. In the midst of all his television commitment, Liberace continued touring and playing sold out performances in Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden.

He performed to full houses in Australia and Europe, touring all over the world in the 1960s and 1970s. He also started work on his autobiography and his now famous cookbook "Liberace Cooks". He always worked for charitable causes and set up the Liberace Foundation to provide scholarships for talented individuals in Performing and Creative Arts. He got Contemporary Keyboard Magazine's "Pop Keyboard Artist of the Year" award for three consecutive years and also set up his own Las Vegas museum.

In the 1980s, Liberace continued to enthrall audiences all over the world. He played the nominated songs flawlessly at the 1982 Academy Awards. He also traveled tirelessly, bringing fans at venues like Radio City Music Hall.

Shortly before his 68th birthday, the King of Pianos passed away peacefully in his Palm Springs home. No one has filled his shoes or sat at his rhinestone encrusted pianos yet and, who knows if anyone ever will.