Chinese British pianist Fou Ts'ong has died of COVID in London (1934-2020). He first gained prominence at the 1955 Chopin competition in Poland. His parents committed suicide in the Cultural Revolution but Chinese state media leaves that part out. Listen: http://bit.ly/38Mnlyw 

Fou was at one point married to the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin's daughter, and ran in the same circle as Barenboim and Du Pré. When Martha Argerich won the 1965 Chopin competition, she credited Fou's recordings as her inspiration.

Fou has recorded with Sony and Decca. He opened the BBC Proms in 1967, playing the Grieg Piano Concerto in A minor (Op. 16) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

I mention Fou's parents committed suicide in the Cultural Revolution because the Chinese state loves celebrating ethnic Chinese who end up doing successful things, but propaganda always fails to point out a lot of them do so in spite of, not because of the Communist Party.

In fact, I'm looking right now at one Chinese state media article from today with an article about Fou. It even has the chutzpah to mention his father was a widely-respected translator — who the Chinese state destroyed and killed.

No surprises — so far, I'm not seeing Chinese state media obituaries of Fou Ts'ong mentioning the time he said "To hell with China!" and that it's a country run by "gangsters." http://bit.ly/3pvpzcn 

Anyway — lots of Fou Ts'ong is on your Apple Music (not sure about Spotify but assuming yes?!)! Check out his 1975 recording with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Daniel Barenboim as they play Mozart's Concerto for 3 Pianos, K.242 with the English Chamber Orchestra!