The Croatian pianist Ivo Pogorelich is one of today’s elite pianists. His exceptional musical talent and original approach to interpretation predestined him to a brilliant international career, which was prefigured by the scandal at the prestigious Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 1980: under circumstances that still have not been explained, Pogorelich did not advance to the finals, causing some of the renowned artists on the jury including Martha Agerich and Paul Badura-Skoda to resign in protest. The very next year, Pogorelich signed an exclusive contract with the Deutsche Grammophon label and began appearing with the world’s top orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic. Although his large, stylistically diverse repertoire ranges from Bach to Prokofiev, he can be said to be most at home with the music of Frédéric Chopin. He now lives in Lugano, Switzerland. Besides his concert and recording activities, he also teaches and devotes himself to the popularising of music and to charitable activities. This year, he celebrates his 60^th birthday and the 40^th anniversary of his public musical career.