Artur Pizarro

Born in Lisbon in 1968, Artur Pizarro first started playing piano at the age of three and showed such a natural talent that he was soon making his first public appearance at Lisbon Conservatory of Music, swiftly followed by appearances on Portuguese TV while still only four but then spent the next few years out of the public eye while he concentrated on his studies before making his comeback at the age of 13. Tutored from 1974 to 1990 by pianist Sequeira Costa, Pizarro even re-located to Kansas so he could continue his piano studies under his mentor. In 1987 he won first prize in the Vianna da Motta Competition, which triggered the launch of his international concert career, working with some of the world's greatest conductors, chamber orchestras, classical festivals and concertos. In 2005 he formed the Pizarro Trio with violinist Raphael Oleg and cellist Josephine Knight and also set up a piano duo with Vita Panomariovaite, who gained great acclaim for an album of Rimsky-Korsakov compositions. Recording extensively for Linn Records, he won great acclaim for his 'Beethoven Piano Sonatas' (2003), his collection of some of Chopin's best-loved works on 'Reminiscences' (2005) and 'Chopin Piano Sonatas' (2006). In the next couple of years he concentrated on the complete works of Ravel and Debussy and then, with the Petersen Quartet, recorded the acclaimed 'Piano Quintet of César Franck' (2008), a CD of the month in BBC Music Magazine.

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