Biography
Cor de Groot was born in Amsterdam in 1914 and died on May 26, 1993.
Education
He studied piano, initially with Egbert Veen and later at the Amsterdam Music Lyceum with Ulfert Schults. He also studied conducting and composition with Sem Dresden. Cor de Groot began composing as early as the age of eight.
Activities
After graduating cum laude at the age of eighteen, he immediately began a career as a concert pianist, performing both in the Netherlands and abroad. A great many gramophone recordings were made of his performances. He regularly performed with all the major Dutch orchestras, and after the war he undertook extensive concert tours throughout Europe and the United States.
In 1960, due to a condition affecting his right arm, he was forced to give up his concert career. For some time thereafter, he continued performing using only his left hand and created left-hand arrangements of many well-known compositions. Several Dutch composers wrote works specifically for him for the left hand alone.
In 1960, he was appointed Chief Music Director at the Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation. He continued to perform frequently on the radio, both as a soloist in recitals and with orchestras, and was a passionate advocate of rarely performed Dutch music.
