Found this at www.canoe.ca/JamMusic:

   VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Friedrich Gulda, an eccentric man widely
   considered one of Austria's foremost classical and jazz pianists,
   died Thursday of an apparent heart attack at age 69, the Austria
   Press Agency reported.

   Gulda was praised by music critics for his interpretation of the
   piano music of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.  Bu in the 1950s, Gulda
   increasingly devoted his attention to jazz and became one of Europe's
   most eminent crossover musicians.

   To the public at large, however, Gulda was better known for eccentric
   behavior in which he mocked what he considered the pretensions and
   stuffiness of Austria's staid artistic establishment.

   Fond of wearing an embroidered cap and rejecting staid concert hall
   attire, Gulda often shocked people with the harsh language he used
   to criticize the artistic establishment.

   On March 28, Austrian media received a death notice that Gulda himself
   had circulated to see the reaction.  A few days later, he celebrated
   a "resurrection party" together with a go-go group known as the
   Paradise Girls.

   The Austria Press Agency said Gulda died at his home in the village
   of Weissenbach in the Salzkammergut area of western Austria.

   Last year, Gulda "forbade" obituaries after his death, saying he
   wanted to make sure that the "filth thrown" at him by journalists
   during his lifetime would not be repeated after he was gone.

   Gulda was born in Vienna and began performing in public at age 14.
   At age 20 he played New York's Carnegie Hall.  After moving into
   jazz, Gulda played at the Newport Jazz Festival.

   He had planned to celebrate his 70th birthday with a concert May 15
   in Vienna.

   He is survived by two sons. Funeral plans were pending.

Milan Gowin
http://www.ualberta.ca/~mgowin