Artur Pizarro
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Artur Pizarro (born Lisbon, 1968) is an internationally-acclaimed Portuguese concert
pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
.Kennedy, Michael and Joyce Bourne. "Pizarro, Artur" ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''. Oxford University Press: 1996. Designated with the prestigious title of
Yamaha Artist A Yamaha Artist is a designation bestowed by Yamaha, by invitation, to musical artists, considered to be critically acclaimed in their instruments or genres. Acceptance as a Yamaha Artist is tantamount to a reciprocal endorsement by Yamaha. Like ot ...
, Pizarro won first prize in the 1987 Vianna da Motta International Music Competition and first prize in the 1990 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition. His piano technic/knowledge is linked directly to Liszt himself (3 generations apart): his teacher (for 17 years – and also stepfather) was a great portuguese pianist –
Sequeira Costa José Carlos de Sequeira Costa (18 July 1929 in Luanda, Angola – 21 February 2019 in Olathe, Kansas) was a Portuguese pianist who is especially renowned for his interpretations of the Romantic repertoire. As a child, Sequeira Costa showed e ...
-, whom had studied with José Vianna Da Motta, another world famous portuguese pianist; and this was one of the last pupils of Liszt. He performs internationally in
solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...
s, in duos, with chamber music groups, and as a soloist with the world's leading
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
s, including the
Gulbenkian Orchestra The Gulbenkian Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra Gulbenkian) is a Portuguese symphony orchestra based in Lisbon. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Grande Auditório'' (Grand Auditorium) of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The orchestra, which was f ...
and the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and S ...
. He has an extensive
discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...
and record deals with
Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
, Naxos Records, Hyperion, and Collins Classics, among others.


Early career


Studies

Artur Pizarro began his piano studies in Lisbon with Campos Coelho, professor of piano at the Lisbon Conservatory of Music, at age three. At age five, he began studying with pianist
Sequeira Costa José Carlos de Sequeira Costa (18 July 1929 in Luanda, Angola – 21 February 2019 in Olathe, Kansas) was a Portuguese pianist who is especially renowned for his interpretations of the Romantic repertoire. As a child, Sequeira Costa showed e ...
, also in Lisbon. In 1977, after Sequeira Costa accepted a position as Distinguished Professor of Piano at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...
, Artur followed him to Lawrence, Kansas, in the United States. He continued working with Sequeira Costa until 1990, except for a brief interruption during which Artur also worked with other teachers, including
Aldo Ciccolini Aldo Ciccolini (; 15 August 1925 – 1 February 2015) was an Italian pianist who became a naturalized French citizen in 1971. Biography Aldo Ciccolini was born in Naples. His father, who bore the title of Marquis of Macerata, worked as a typogr ...
,
Géry Moutier Géry Moutier (born 1957) is a French classical pianist, music educator, and director. Life Born in Normandy in 1957, Moutier explored the piano at the age of four, with a mother who loved literature and a father - a graduate of the Van Der Kel ...
and Bruno Rigutto at the
Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
. He attended the American School of Lisbon in his youth.


Early performances

Artur Pizarro gave his first public performance at the age of three, at the Lisbon Conservatory of Music. He made his television début on
Portuguese television Television in Portugal was introduced in 1956 (test broadcasts) by Radiotelevisão Portuguesa (now named Rádio e Televisão de Portugal), which held the nationwide television monopoly until late 1992. Regular broadcasting was introduced on March ...
at the age of four. He refrained from public performance for the next nine years, while he concentrated on his music studies. The young Pizarro began performing publicly again at the age of 13 with a recital début at the São Luíz Theatre in Lisbon and made his concerto debut with the
Gulbenkian Orchestra The Gulbenkian Orchestra ( pt, Orquestra Gulbenkian) is a Portuguese symphony orchestra based in Lisbon. The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the ''Grande Auditório'' (Grand Auditorium) of the Gulbenkian Foundation. The orchestra, which was f ...
later in the same year.


Music competition

Artur Pizarro won first prize in the 1987 Vianna da Motta Competition, first prize in the 1988 Greater Palm Beach Symphony Competition, and first prize in the 1990 Leeds International Pianoforte Competition.


Current career


Performance

Artur Pizarro performs internationally in
solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Comics * ''Solo'' (DC Comics), a DC comics series * Solo, a 1996 mini-series from Dark Horse Comics Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''S ...
recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety ...
s, in duos, with chamber music groups, and as a soloist with the world's leading
orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...
s. He has worked with conductors Charles Dutoit,
Sir Simon Rattle Sir Simon Denis Rattle (born 19 January 1955) is a British-German conductor. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal ...
, Jean Fournier,
Philippe Entremont Philippe Entremont (born 7 June 1934) is a French classical pianist and conductor. His recordings as a pianist include concertos by Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saëns and others. Early life Philippe Entremont was born in ...
,
Yan Pascal Tortelier Yan Pascal Tortelier (born 19 April 1947) is a French conductor and violinist. Biography Born in Paris, Tortelier is the son of the cellist Paul Tortelier, and the brother of Maria de la Pau. Tortelier began piano and violin studies at age 4. ...
,
Sir Andrew Davis Sir Andrew Frank Davis (born 2 February 1944) is an English conductor. He is conductor laureate of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Early life and education Born in Ashridge ...
,
Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...
,
Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; kbd, Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor of Circassian ( Kabardian) origin. Early life ...
,
Vladimir Fedoseyev Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev ( rus, Владимир Иванович Федосе́ев, p=, links=no; born 5 August 1932, in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian conductor, accordionist, teacher. People's Artist of the USSR (1980). ...
,
Ilan Volkov Ilan Volkov ( he, אילן וולקוב; born September 8, 1976, Tel Aviv) is an Israeli orchestral conductor. Biography Volkov's father, Alexander Volkov, was a concert pianist. He studied with the conductor Mendi Rodan at the Rubin Academy in ...
,
Tugan Sokhiev Tugan Taymurazovich Sokhiev ( os, Сохиты Таймуразы фырт Тугъан, Soxity Tajmurazy fyrt Tuhan; russian: Туга́н Таймура́зович Сохиев; born 21 October 1977, Vladikavkaz, Ossetia) is an Ossetian conducti ...
,
Yakov Kreizberg Yakov Kreizberg (russian: Яков Крейцберг; born Yakov Mayevich Bychkov, 24 October 1959 – 15 March 2011) was a Russian-born American conductor. Early years In the Soviet Union Yakov Bychkov was born in Leningrad into a family ...
,
Yannick Nézet-Séguin Yannick Nézet-Séguin, CC (; born Yannick Séguin;David Patrick Stearns, "Nezet-Seguin signs Philadelphia Orchestra contract". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', 19 June 2010. 6 March 1975) is a Canadian ( Québécois) conductor and pianist. He ...
, Libor Pešek,
Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (; born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conductor. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life Born in Moscow, Jurowski began h ...
, and
Sir Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...
. Mr. Pizarro is also very active in chamber music performance and appears regularly at chamber music festivals throughout the world, such as the
Spannungen Spannungen ("Tensions" or "Voltages") is an annual summer festival for chamber music in Heimbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, founded by pianist Lars Vogt in 1998. It is subtitled Musik im Kraftwerk Heimbach (Music in the Heimbach power p ...
chamber music festival in Heimbach. In 2005 he formed the Pizarro Trio with violinist Raphaël Oleg and cellist Josephine Knight. He performed as a piano duo with Vita Panomariovaite. He currently performs as a piano duo with Rinaldo Zhok. Throughout 2010, Artur Pizarro performed a cycle of the complete solo piano works of Chopin over nine recitals at
St. John's, Smith Square St John's Smith Square is a redundant church in the centre of Smith Square, Westminster, London. Sold to a charitable trust as a ruin following firebombing in the Second World War, it was restored as a concert hall. This Grade I listed churc ...
, London. The complete cycle marked the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth.http://uk.yamaha.com/en/news_events/artists/2009/artur_pizarro/


Discography

Artur Pizarro has an extensive
discography Discography is the study and cataloging of published sound recordings, often by specified artists or within identified music genres. The exact information included varies depending on the type and scope of the discography, but a discography entry ...
available on
Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
, as well as on
Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...
, Hyperion, Collins Classics, and other
labels A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...
. Linn Records * CKD 355 Albéniz Iberia and Granados Goyescas (Released July 2010) * CKD 336 Beethoven Piano Concertos 3, 4 & 5 * CKD 315 The Complete Works of Ravel Vol. 2 * CKD 293 (with Vita Panomariovaite) Rimsky-Korsakov – Piano Duos * CKD 290 The Complete Works of Ravel Vol. 1 * CKD 250 Chopin Piano Sonatas * CKD 248 Reminiscences – Frédéric Chopin * CKD 244 Beethoven Piano Sonatas * CKD 225 Beethoven: Last Three Piano Sonatas Harmonia Mundi * HMI 987022 Capricho Pintoresco (with Joan Enric Lluna) Miguel Yuste – Capricho Pintoresco, Turina – Sonata no.2 Op.82, Miguel Yuste – Vibraciones del alma, Eduard Toldrà – 3 Sonets, Granados /Guinovart – Fantasia sobre Goyescas, Robert Casadesus – Sonata Op.23 bis Hyperion Records * CDA 67014 Darius Milhaud ( with Stephen Coombs) Scaramouche, Kentuckiana, Le Bal Martiniquais, Les Songes, Carnaval à la Nouvelle-Orléans, La Libertadora, Le Boeuf sur le Toit * CDA67163 José Vianna da Motta Piano Concerto in A major, Ballada, Fantasia Dramatica ( with Martyn Brabbins and Orquestra Gulbenkian) Naxos * 8.557272 Artur Pizarro Rodrigo Piano Music Naxos Brilliant Classics * 92790 Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies (complete) KLARA * Klara KTC 4013 Arthur de Greef Concerto Nr 2 for Piano & Orchestra Flemish Radio Orchestra Cond. Yannick Nezet-Seguin. Collins Classics * 13572 Liszt Sonata in b minor, 3 Petrarch Sonnets, Two Legends * 13942 Scriabin Complete Mazurkas * 14182 Kabalevsky The Piano Sonatas, 4 Preludes Op.5, Recitative and Rondo Op.84 * 14342 Rodrigo Piano Works – Cinco Piezas del Siglo XVI, Tres Evocaciones, Cuatro Piezas para piano, Deux Berceuses, Cuatro Estampas Andaluzas, A l'ombre de Torre Bermeja * 14582 Vorisek Piano Works Vol. 1 – Fantasie Op.12, Sonata Op.20, Variations Op.19, Impromptus Op.7 * 14662 Musiques d'Espagne ( with Sequeira Costa) Granados – El Pelele, Infante – Trois Danses Andalouses, Musiques d'Espagne, Cassado – Requiebros, Albeniz – Navarra, Falla – Two Dances from " La Vida Breve", Pantomime, Ritual Fire Dance * 14772 Vorisek Piano Works Vol.2 – 12 Rhapsodies Op.1, Le Desir Op.3, Le Plaisir Op.4 14962 Scriabin – Shostakovich 24 Preludes Op.11, 24 Preludes Op.34 * 14982 Bach transcribed by Liszt Fantasie and Fugue BWV542, 6 Organ Preludes and Fugues BWV 543, 544, 545, 546, 547, 548 * 15052 Rachmaninov – Scriabin Concerto no.3 in d minor Op.30, Concerto in f sharp minor Op.20 (with the NDR Hannover Radio Philharmonie and Martyn Brabbins) * 15152 Mompou Cançons i danses (Songs and Dances), Impressiones Intimas Royal Philharmonic Records * CDRPO 7024 (with Sequeira Costa) Rachmaninov Suite no.1 "Fantasie-Tableaux" Op.5


Media appearances

As a prominent classical musician performing frequently in the United Kingdom, Artur Pizarro can be heard regularly on BBC Radio 3 both in live performances (such as from
Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadi ...
, St. John's Smith Square, or from the
BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
series from the Royal Albert Hall) as well as in numerous interviews and commentary. BBC Radio 3 broadcast Artur Pizarro's live performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas. This was a series of broadcasts from St. John's Smith Square, London. The cycle earned Artur a Royal Philharmonic Society nomination for "Best Series." BBC Radio 3 broadcast Artur Pizarro's live performances of the complete solo works of
Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...
and
Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...
. All six concerts occurred in London.


Critical acclaim

* Regarding Pizarro's 2009 recording of the Beethoven Piano Concertos 3, 4, & 5 on
Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
with the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and S ...
and
Sir Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...
( Classic FM's CD of the Week, April 16, 2009): "This must be one of the very best…"(Musical Pointers) * Regarding Pizarro's 2007 recording of Ravel's complete piano music on
Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
: "This is a very grown-up disc on all counts. I would definitely recommend it and look forward to hearing the second volume."(BBC Music Online) * Regarding Pizarro's 2006 recording of Chopin Piano Sonatas on
Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
: "The majestic Third Sonata can hardly be bettered and with the fine natural recorded sound we could very well have the Chopin release of the year." (Marius Dawn, Pianist Magazine, March 2007) * Regarding Pizarro's 2005 recording of Chopin pieces, Reminisces on
Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
: "Even alongside legendary recordings by such pianists as Rubinstein, this collection features some of the finest Chopin playing on record." (The Herald) * Regarding Pizarro's 2003 recording of
Beethoven Piano Sonatas Ludwig van Beethoven wrote 32 mature piano sonatas between 1795 and 1822. (He also wrote 3 juvenile sonatas at the age of 13 and one unfinished sonata, WoO. 51.) Although originally not intended to be a meaningful whole, as a set they comprise one ...
on
Linn Records Linn Records is a Glasgow-based record label which specialises in classical music, jazz and Scottish music. It is part of Linn Products. History While Linn engineers were testing their flagship product, the Sondek LP12 turntable, they became fr ...
: "Let no one say there is no room for another set of established masterpieces when the pianist is possessed with this sort of recreative energy and exuberance." (Bryce Morrison, Gramophone, August 1, 2004) "In every way, a disc to be sought out." (The Herald) * "There was nothing to prove – he had done it all; the audience just wanted to hear more and made it a point to shout for it as well."(Johann D'Souza, Inkpot.com,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
) * "Artur Pizarro is a poet among pianists. His playing can sing. He can trace the finest of melodic lines with a purity that will catch your breath. He can colour a harmony with the subtlest of shades. He has sensitivity and power in rare balance. … Enough said?" (Michael Tumelty, The Herald) * "Pizarro is an aristocrat, producing flowing lines in a style almost unfamiliar these days. He must be one of the best pianists of the younger generation (and arguably, of any other generation)." (Michael Tumelty, The Herald)


References


External links

*
Artur Pizarro on Linn Records

Artur Pizarro on BBC Radio 3

Artur Pizarro performs Ravel and Debussy on BBC Radio 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizarro, Artur Portuguese classical pianists Male classical pianists 1968 births Living people Portuguese expatriates in the United Kingdom 21st-century classical pianists