As a child, nicknamed "Tunti," he would return from attending an opera, sit at the piano, and recreate by ear the arias he had just heard performed.

Mario arranged all the music for the fledgling duo to perform, and they began playing at the Left Bank club "Boeuf sur le Toit".

In 1928 Gershwin helped launch their careers by hiring them to play in his London production of Funny Face with Fred and Adele Astaire.

The team toured extensively throughout the US in those years, appearing at the Hollywood Bowl and at the White House, among other notable venues.

In F Scott Fitzgerald's novel Tender is the Night, begun in 1925 and published in 1934, the character of Tommy Bardan is partly based on Braggiotti.

He wrote and performed his "Variations on the Theme 'Yankee Doodle'" in the styles of various classical composers, which were published by Schirmer in 1949.

Continuing to include both classical and popular music on his programs, he intermingled the piano pieces with humorous anecdotes.

In the 1950s Braggiotti wrote his Gettysburg Cantata, based on Lincoln's speech and scored for baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra.

In 1963 Braggiotti took over the radio program To France with Music (previously Listening with Jacques Fray) on New York's WQXR after the death of Mr.

With his wife, Braggiotti composed and arranged more music for duo-pianos, and the team performed his works internationally.

[9] His wit, talent, and charm made him popular, and he kept up his friendships in all parts of the world with his voluminous letter-writing.