Claudio Arrau, a virtuouso pianist whose worldwide concert career spanned eight decades, has died of complications from intestinal surgery at age 88.
Considered one the century's best classical pianists, Arrau was hon-ored Monday with an official day of mourning in his native Chile.William Melton, Arrau's con-cert manager, said he died Sunday following emergency surgery in this town 60 miles south of Vienna.
"His death marks the end of an era," said British pianist John Lill. "He was the most profound and colossal combination of spiritual, musical and pianistic powers, and yet was astonishingly humble as an individual."
Arrau had been in Europe preparing for his first concerts since halting performances following the 1989 death of his German-born wife, Ruth Schneider. But the appearance was canceled because of illness.