Casadesus, Robert (Marcel) (1899–1972)

French pianist and composer. As a boy he showed precocious ability and studied at the Paris Conservatory, where he won prizes in 1913, 1919, and 1921. He began his career as a concert pianist in 1922, and on the outbreak of World War II went to the USA, where he taught and lectured at Princeton University. From 1935 he was a professor at the US Conservatory at Fontainebleau, and became its director in 1945. He composed much for the piano, and was also a noted exponent of French piano music. He was often heard in Mozart's concertos. His uncles Henri (1879–1947) and Marius (1892–1981) issued faked ‘classical’ compositions, notably the Adelaide concerto, still sometimes accepted as Mozart's.