Artur Pizarro The Portuguese pianist Artur Pizarro, the winner of the Leeds triennial piano competition in 1990, has enjoyed a distinguished reputation and international career ever since, but has still found time to visit Husum on several occasions. His first contribution is a Nocturne by the French composer Louis Vierne. Vierne was born blind with congenital cataracts: his sight was partially restored by an operation when he was six, but he was still functionally blind for the rest of his life. In spite of that, he was a prolific composer and had a distinguished career as an organist. It was César Franck who advised him to study the organ, and after two years of lessons with Louis Lebel, beginning in 1886, he was attending Franck’s organ class at the Paris Conservatoire and studying harmony with him. After Franck died in 1890 he was succeeded by Charles-Marie Widor: Vierne became Widor’s assistant at the Conservatoire the following year, and his deputy at St. Sulpice from 1892. He won a first prize in 1894 at the end of his four years in the organ class.
