It’s the birthday of Mario Braggiotti, the late pianist, composer and host of WQXR’s To France—With Music. The New York Public Radio Archive is celebrating the occasion with a recently acquired broadcast recording of Mr. Braggiotti on WQXR’s The Listening Room. In this appearance, we experience Braggiotti as a beguiling pianist-raconteur, taking WQXR listeners on a musical trip through his fascinating life in 1920s Paris and beyond. The complete September 5th, 1990 interview and performance is available in the media player at the top of this page.
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Mario Braggiotti was born in Florence on November 29, 1905 to an Italian father and an American mother, both of whom were trained singers of opera and lieder. The Braggiotti family moved to Boston in 1919, but by 1922 the 17 year-old Mario was back in Europe studying music in France, both at the Paris Conservatory and at the Fontainebleau School with Nadia Boulanger and Isidor Philipp. It was while at the Paris Conservatory that he met fellow student Jacques Fray, with whom he formed the piano-duo Fray and Braggiotti. The duo's popularity grew quickly as they performed in the cafes and salons of Paris, and soon they found themselves touring Europe and embarking on a celebrated international career.
In 1928, Braggiotti befriended the composer George Gershwin, who was in France at the time developing ideas for his iconic work for orchestra An American in Paris. Gershwin was taken with Fray and Braggiotti’s musical abilities and quickly cast them in the London production of his show Funny Face, starring Adele and Fred Astaire.
In 1929, after their run in London, Fray and Braggiotti arrived in the United States. The following decade was filled with performances in some of the country’s premier venues —including a 1931 sold-out show at Carnegie Hall as part of an evening of French music with Maurice Chevalier. The duo also made about 1,500 radio appearances, including regular spots on the popular CBS program The Kraft Music Hall.
When the United States entered into World War II in 1941, the Fray and Braggiotti duo disbanded, ending their 19-year collaboration. Mario Braggiotti enlisted in the United States Army and was assigned to the Office of War Information, working there as a radio broadcaster in Europe.
When the war ended, Braggiotti returned to the United States and resumed his musical career, but now as a soloist and as the star of his own one-man show. He also continued his work as a composer; adding to the two hundred-plus transcriptions for piano duo that he developed with Jacques Fray, he composed new scores for ballet, musical theater, solo piano, and commercials.
In 1963, WQXR invited Mr. Braggiotti to take over as host of its program To France—With Music. The show’s previous host for thirteen years was Braggioti’s former duo partner, Jacques Fray, who had died unexpectedly at the age of 59 in January of that year. Mario Braggiotti accepted, and his first broadcast as a WQXR host was on February 5th, 1963. He filled his twice-weekly programs with recordings of the music of France and tales of his experiences there with his fascinating circle of friends —among them Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Manuel de Falla, and Vincent d'Indy.
Braggiotti spent the last chapter of his life performing, composing and spending time at his homes in Tuscany and West Palm Beach, Florida. Mario Braggiotti died on May 18, 1996 at the age of 90.