Solomon

Solomon Cutner (1902-1988) was a British pianist known professionally simply as Solomon. He was a child prodigy whose talent was recognized at the age of seven when, having had no formal tuition, he performed his own arrangement of the 1812 Overture on the family piano. He gave his first concerts in 1912 at the age of ten.

After establishing a reputation, he toured abroad a good deal, particularly before, during and shortly after World War II, when he gave numerous much-cherished recitals in the United States and Australia. He premiered the Piano Concerto in B-flat by Arthur Bliss at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Renowned especially for his Beethoven, which had an almost legendary status, he was in the midst of recording the complete cycle of the sonatas for EMI Records when he suffered a devastating stroke in 1956, which paralyzed his right arm. He never recorded or performed in public again, but lived on for another 32 years.

His recordings of Mozart, Schumann and Brahms are also highly regarded; his Debussy, Bach and Schubert recordings are likewise esteemed.