Artur Pizarro

Artur Pizarro (born Lisbon, 1968) is an internationally-acclaimed Portuguese concert pianist.

In 1977, after Sequeira Costa accepted a position as Distinguished Professor of Piano at the University of Kansas, Artur followed him to Lawrence, Kansas, in the United States.

Designated with the prestigious title of Yamaha Artist, 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 his stepfather), Sequeira Costa, was a great Portuguese pianist who had studied with José Vianna Da Motta, another world famous Portuguese pianist who was one of the last pupils of Liszt.

He performs internationally in solo recitals, in duos, with chamber music groups, and as a soloist with the world's leading orchestras, including the Gulbenkian Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

He has an extensive discography and record deals with Linn Records, Naxos Records, Hyperion, and Collins Classics, among others.

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, also in Lisbon.

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.

Artur Pizarro performs internationally in solo recitals, in duos, with chamber music groups, and as a soloist with the world's leading orchestras.

He has worked with conductors Charles Dutoit, Sir Simon Rattle, Jean Fournier, Philippe Entremont, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ilan Volkov, Tugan Sokhiev, Yakov Kreizberg, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Libor Pešek, Vladimir Jurowski, and Sir Charles Mackerras.

Mr. Pizarro is also very active in chamber music performance and appears regularly at chamber music festivals throughout the world, such as the Spannungen chamber music festival in Heimbach.

He continued working with Sequeira Costa until 1990, except for a brief interruption during which Artur also worked with other teachers, including Aldo Ciccolini, Géry Moutier and Bruno Rigutto at the Conservatoire de Paris.

He attended the American School of Lisbon in his youth.

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 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 later in the same year.

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, London.

The complete cycle marked the 200th anniversary of Chopin's birth.

Artur Pizarro has an extensive discography available on Linn Records, as well as on Naxos, Hyperion, Collins Classics, and other labels.

Linn Records

Harmonia Mundi

Hyperion Records

Naxos

Brilliant Classics

KLARA

Collins Classics

Royal Philharmonic Records

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, St. John's Smith Square, or from the BBC Proms 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 and Debussy.

All six concerts occurred in London.