Carlo Curley - In His Own Words 

I worked with Carlo many years ago. He was playing the organ and I was conducting the massed choirs. We had 1 rehearsal to put the show together. All went fine until Carlo hit a wrong pedal note. I assumed it was just a slip, but when we repeated the passage the same note came again. I now had a problem. How do you tell the world's most famous organist that he keeps playing a wrong note? I walked over to the console and said very quietly ''Just a point of interpretation Carlo, but that's an A flat.'' Secrecy went out of the window as Carlo said, at the top of his voice, 'Oh my God, so it is. How stupid of me. I'm so sorry.' Well secrecy may have suffered, but friendship began at that moment.

Rest in Peace dear Carlo. You will never be forgotten.

Me too! Heard this story so many times but it never gets any less funny. Carlo's utterly shameless manner, where nothing is beyond bounds, is so refreshing in the often rather stuffy world of the organ. Carlo was a true one-off, a unique character. His loss will be felt most keenly.

Little did I know that my meeting with Carlo in 2011 at the Bridgewater Halls, Manchester , would be the last time I would hear his colourful impressive rendition of classic organ music. As a consequence, one of my most treasured possessions is a signed copy of his WONDERFUL "Genesis In Harmony", with that impressive flamboyant signature which tells us all of the great man's character, larger than life. He told me that if I aspired to perform on the organ.........WEAR THE CORRECT SHOES!! What a man, his legacy lives on, Thank You My Friend

I was very fortunate to hear Carlo on one of his rare visits to the UK, the concert was in Worthing Sussex. A truly great organist

Carlo at his very best telling stories. I will miss his humor as much as his playing. A true gentleman of great charm and humility. A huge loss to the world of music.

Such a humorous, erudite man! His South African recital in the Pietermaritzburg City Hall is still talked about. Why do we lose them so soon?

Quite the loss of Carlo Curley...wasn't it? I thank you Vic Ferrer, for doing something on Virgil Fox. We all just can't seem to get enough of him, he has been dead since 1980 and yet...this quest to tell his stories all over again...lives on! As was said, in concert, "Go Virgil!"

He was a guy very sadly missed. He would remember people’s names years later that he had only met fleetingly…oh and a magnificent player

Wonderful excerpt! Thanks for posting! A great loss, and we will never see his like again! (unfortunately!)

A remarkable man. Thanks for the upload.

not only a brilliant organist but also a very eloquent speaker. no pauses, no hesitation, as much in command of his words as he was of the keyboards.

That small town in North Carolina Carlo mentions is Monroe. I grew up with him. The Methodist Church has long been torn down and I also knew the Ormand family. Carlo played organ on occasions at my church, St. Paul's Episcopal. That's where I first discovered his remarkable talents.

So sad... and Thank you for upload this interview.

it' s wonderful to hear him as if he still was amongst us...this reminds me of our conversations in the "abbey of the mauve thought"...

Thanks for posting.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Curley in 1982. He was working for Allen Organ Company, and was in town to play the dedication recital on a new installation. He came to the Episcopal Cathedral, where I was a student of the organist. He was indeed larger than life. When he arrived, he was wearing a full length fur coat and matching fur lined boots...it was the dead of winter... He was determined to sell one of those Allen's to the Cathedral...

RIP Carlo

I'd certainly heard of Carlo Curley - and certainly heard and admired his music - but until I stumbled upon this, I never knew what an amusing guy he was, or even what he looked like. And now it's too bloody late. RIP, Carlo. Kick the shit out of the 32-footers upstairs!

Just found out this guy was dead. When I was young, I used to listen to a recording of him playing Bach on an organ in Japan. It was the best, although, at the time, I thought his name was Paulo Pauloni. I remember emailing him once maybe 10 years ago and asked him if he was Paulo Pauloni (I suspected because it seemed to be a myth and PP is close to CC). He emailed back with something like, "your suspicions are correct. They are indeed the same person!" RIP.

Most interesting!

"To make a short story longer..." HA!

Thanks you for posting this! Do you yet know when this documentary will be ready for viewing in full? Would love to see the rest of it!

recording from the cube on orgel dot com. Funny how the site hasn't changed in 9 years. Toccata and Fugue in D minor "by Paulo Pauloni "

Did he ever go back to that church where he broke out that window later after he was proficient at playing the Organ? I bet Virgil Fox got a laugh out of this story.

And they used Bon Ami!

So sad Another Organ Virtuoso Lost in this year