The Uruguayan master, acclaimed globally for his stupendous virtuosity, golden tone, and superb musicality
“Combines the shadings of the orchestra, adding to them even more ingredients than Segovia and Bream … a master of colors, a genuine innovator of interpretation” — Leo Brouwer
Friday, April 7, 2017, at 7:30 PM
Symphony Space
Leonard Nimoy Thalia
2537 Broadway at 95th Street
New York
Tickets: $30 / $25 for students, seniors, and NYCCGS members. Join now.
Buy tickets online or call 212-864-5400
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Box office fees may apply.
Program:
PAGANINI Grand Sonata in A Major
ALBÉNIZ Preludio, Zortzico, Capricho, Malagueña, Sevillanas
GINASTERA Sonata for Guitar
BOGDANOVIC Ricercare, Jazz Sonatina
PONCE Sonata III
Alvaro Pierri was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, the son of a family of musicians. He received his early musical education from his mother, Ada Estades, on the piano, and his aunt, Olga Pierri, on the guitar. Later he studied with Abel Carlevaro, the composer Guido Santorsola, and at the Uruguayan National Institute of Musicology.
From the age of 11, he was already winning prizes in international guitar competitions, including 1st Prize in the International Guitar Competition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1st Prize in the International Guitar Competition in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and the Gold Medal at the 18th International Competition by France Musique/Radio France in Paris.
His debut in the United States took place in New York and received outstanding reviews: “Mr. Pierri revealed an artistic maturity not commonly encountered” (The New York Times). In 1983 he made his debut in Germany with the string soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, and he subsequently appeared on numerous radio and television programmes produced by the German, Spanish, French, Canadian, and Japanese radios. As a musician popular with both the public and the critics, Pierri is a regular guest at the major concert houses of Europe, North and South America, and Asia. Contemporary composers such as Leo Brouwer, Guido Santorsola, Jacques Hétu, Astor Piazzolla, Abel Carlevaro, Carlo Domeniconi, and Terry Riley have written major works for Mr. Pierri.
His manifest love of chamber music has resulted in collaborations with major musical figures including Astor Piazzolla, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Ernö Sebestien, Regis Pasquier, Hatto Beyerle, Philippe Müller, Leo Brouwer, Alcides Lanza, Terry Riley, Tracy Silverman, Maureen Forrester, Eduardo Fernandez, the Cherubini Quartet, and the Turtle Island String Quartet, and he has also worked with conductors such as Pinchas Steinberg, Charles Dutoit, Wojciech Rajski, Mario Bernardi, and Yannick Nezet-Seguin.
Mr. Pierri’s CDs have been released by Metropole-Polydor (France), Blue Angel-2001 (Germany), Milan Records und Analekta (Canada) and HOMA (Japan). His discography includes solo recordings, chamber music, guitar concerts and electro-acoustic music. Several of his CDs have been nominated on different occasions for the coveted Canadian FELIX award for the best classical CD of the year, which he has won twice. Recently UNIVERSAL published a DVD of Alvaro Pierri with Astor Piazzolla and the WDR Symphony Orchestra and Pioneer Classics Japan brought out a DVD featuring Spanish and South American guitar music.
Mr. Pierri is also an internationally acclaimed teacher. Many of his students have won major international guitar competitions. He was a lecturer at the University of Santa Maria in Brazil and subsequently ran a guitar class at McGill University and the UQAM (Academy of Music) in Montreal. In 2002 he was appointed professor at the famous Academy of Music in Vienna (today University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna).
