Horacio Gutiérrez (born 1948) is a

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( es, cubanoestadounidenses or ''cubanoamericanos'') are Americans who trace their cultural heritage to Cuba regardless of phenotype or ethnic origin. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Cuban descent or ...

classical pianist known for his performances of works in the Romantic Repertoire.

Early life and education

When Fidel Castro gained control of Cuba in 1959, the family decided to leave the country together rather than send Gutiérrez abroad alone at a young age.Muller, Alberto, "Horacio Gutiérrez: El Mejor Pianista del Mundo", ''Diario de Las Americas'', Oct. 20. 2007 He moved with his family to the United States in 1962, studying in Los Angeles with

Sergei Tarnowsky Sergei Vladimirovich Tarnowsky (also spelled Sergei Tarnovsky; russian: Серге́й Владимирович Тарновский; 3 November 188322 March 1976) was a Russian pianist and teacher. Biography Tarnowsky was born in Kharkiv. Visiti ...

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of al ...

's first teacher in Kiev, and later at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

under

Adele Marcus Adele Marcus (February 22, 1906 May 3, 1995) was an American pianist and instructor whose career was based at the Juilliard School in New York City. Life and career Marcus was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the youngest of 13 children of a rabb ...

,a pupil of Russian pianist

Josef Lhévinne Josef Lhévinne (13 December 18742 December 1944) was a Russian pianist and piano teacher. Lhévinne wrote a short book in 1924 that is considered a classic: ''Basic Principles in Pianoforte Playing''. Asked how to say his name, he told ''The ...

. He later worked extensively with American pianist

William Masselos William Masselos (August 11, 1920October 23, 1992) was an American classical pianist. Biography William Masselos was born in Niagara Falls, New York to a Dutch mother and a Greek father. He made his New York debut at The Town Hall (New York City), ...

, a pupil of Carl Friedberg, who himself had studied with

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

and Johannes Brahms. In 1970, he was a student at the Juilliard School of Music in New York.

Career

Gutiérrez's performance career spans over four decades. He was first seen on American television in 1966, on one of the ''

Young People's Concerts The Young People's Concerts with the New York Philharmonic are the longest-running series of family concerts of classical music in the world. Genesis They began in 1924 under the direction of "Uncle" Ernest Schelling. Earlier Family Matinees had ...

'' with Leonard Bernstein, playing "The Great Gate of Kiev" from ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'', french: Tableaux d'une exposition, link=no is a suite of ten piano pieces, plus a recurring, varied Promenade theme, composed by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky in 1874. The piece is Mussorgsky's most famous pia ...

'', by

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky ( rus, link=no, Модест Петрович Мусоргский, Modest Petrovich Musorgsky , mɐˈdɛst pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ ˈmusərkskʲɪj, Ru-Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky version.ogg; – ) was a Russian compo ...

. On August 23, 1970, Gutiérrez made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the fou ...

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

's 3rd Piano Concerto.

Martin Bernheimer Martin Bernheimer (28 September 1936 – 29 September 2019) was a German-born American music critic. Described as "a widely respected and influential critic, who is particularly knowledgeable about opera and the voice", Bernheimer was the chief ...

, music critic with the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

, described his first appearance with the orchestra as "spectacular". He was M.D. Anderson Distinguished Professor of Music at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

from 1996 to 2003. He is currently teaching at Manhattan School of Music. Gutiérrez is best known for his interpretation of the Romantic repertoire. He has been commented for performances of the Classical style in music of composers such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. Gutiérrez is a strong champion of contemporary American composers. He has performed works by

William Schuman William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator. Life Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...

, André Previn, and

George Perle George Perle (6 May 1915 – 23 January 2009) was an American composer and music theorist. As a composer, his music was largely atonal, using methods similar to the twelve-tone technique of the Second Viennese School. This serialist style, and ...

. His recording "George Perle: A Retrospective" was named one of the ten best recordings of 2006 by ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''. Perle dedicated Nine Bagatelles to Gutiérrez.

Recordings

He has recorded for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

Telarc Telarc International Corporation is an American audiophile independent record label founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner (recording engineer), Jack Renner and Robert Woods (producer), Robert Woods. ...

, and Chandos Records. Gutiérrez's recordings include: *Prokofiev's Concertos No. 2 and 3 with

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...

and the

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklĳk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the " ...

. The recording has been acclaimed since its initial release in 1990. Reissued as part of Prokofiev The Piano Concertos in 2009, it was ''Gramophone'''s Editor's Choice in September (2009). Bryce Morrison wrote in Gramophone Magazine, ''"...Gutiérrez unleashes some of the most thrilling virtuosity on record, storming the Second Concerto's first movement development/cadenza in a manner that will make lesser pianists tremble."'' *Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with André Previn and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra *Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 with André Previn and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra *Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony.

Television

* BBC "Previn Music Nights" with the London Symphony, (1975) * PBS Series: "Previn and the Pittsburgh," (1976) * PBS Series: "Previn and the Pittsburgh," (1982)Pittsburgh Symphony Radio Interview * PBS Series: Live from Lincoln Center, "''Mostly Mozart Festival''," (1985) * PBS Series: Live from Lincoln Center, "''Chamber Music Society with

Irene Worth Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002) was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee". Worth made her Br ...

and Horacio Gutierrez,''" (1986) *

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...

, (1985), (1986) (Three appearances)

Awards

He won the silver medal and was the top American prize-winner at 21 years of age in the 1970

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, Soviet Union. and was soon presented in major world-wide concert venues by

Sol Hurok Sol Hurok (Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario. Early life Hurok was born in Pogar, Chernigo ...

's management. In 1982, he was awarded the

Avery Fisher Prize The Avery Fisher Prize is an award given to American musicians for outstanding achievement in classical music. Founded by philanthropist Avery Fisher in 1974, it is regarded as one of the most significant awards for American instrumentalists. ...

in recognition of his musical achievements. He won an Emmy Award for his fourth appearance with the

Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (CMS) is an American organization dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in New York City. It is the largest organization of its kind in the country for chamber music. CMS's home is ...

Reception

After his debut recital in London, Joan Chissell, music critic with ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' (London) wrote, ''His virtuosity is of the kind of which legends are made''.

Personal life

He currently lives and works in the United States. He met his wife, pianist Patricia Asher, while she was studying with William Masselos and Adele Marcus at the

. Gutiérrez suffers from bursitis and a chronic back injury.

References

External links

Bio Artists
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutierrez, Horacio Living people 1948 births Manhattan School of Music faculty University of Houston faculty Piano pedagogues American classical pianists American male classical pianists Cuban classical pianists Emmy Award winners Prize-winners of the International Tchaikovsky Competition Child classical musicians Cuban emigrants to the United States 20th-century American pianists