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.