Horacio Gutiérrez facts for kids

Horacio Gutiérrez, born in 1948, is a famous Cuban-American classical pianist. He is especially known for playing music from the Romantic Repertoire, which is a style of music from the 1800s that often expresses strong feelings.

Early Life and Learning Music

Horacio Gutiérrez's family left Cuba in 1962 when he was young. They moved to the United States.

He studied piano in Los Angeles with Sergei Tarnowsky. Later, he went to the Juilliard School in New York City, a very famous music school. There, he learned from Adele Marcus. He also worked a lot with American pianist William Masselos.

A Career in Music

Horacio Gutiérrez has been performing music for over 40 years. He first appeared on American television in 1966. This was on a show called Young People's Concerts with the famous conductor Leonard Bernstein. He played a piece called "The Great Gate of Kiev" by Modest Mussorgsky.

In 1970, he played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra for the first time. He performed Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto. A music critic from the Los Angeles Times called his performance "spectacular," meaning amazing.

Mr. Gutiérrez also shared his knowledge by teaching. He was a professor of music at the University of Houston from 1996 to 2003. Today, he teaches at the Manhattan School of Music.

He is most famous for playing Romantic music. However, he also plays music from the Classical style, by composers like Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Johannes Brahms.

Horacio Gutiérrez also supports new music by American composers. He has played pieces by William Schuman, André Previn, and George Perle. One of his recordings, "George Perle: A Retrospective," was named one of the best recordings of 2006 by The New Yorker magazine.

Music Recordings

Horacio Gutiérrez has made many recordings for different music companies. These include EMI, Telarc, and Chandos Records.

Some of his recordings are:

• Prokofiev's Concertos No. 2 and 3 with Neeme Järvi and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. This recording was highly praised when it came out in 1990.
• Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 and No. 2 with André Previn and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
• Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini with David Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony.
• Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1 with Andre Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Television Appearances

Horacio Gutiérrez has appeared on television several times:

• BBC "Previn Music Nights" with the London Symphony Orchestra, in 1975.
• PBS Series: "Previn and the Pittsburgh," in 1976 and 1982.
• PBS Series: Live from Lincoln Center, "Mostly Mozart Festival," in 1985.
• PBS Series: Live from Lincoln Center, "Chamber Music Society with Irene Worth and Horacio Gutierrez," in 1986.
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson three times, in 1985 and 1986.

Awards and Recognition

In 1970, when he was 21, Horacio Gutiérrez won the silver medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. This is a very important music competition. After this, he started performing in major concert halls around the world.

He received the Avery Fisher Prize in 1982. This award recognizes great musical achievements.

He also won an Emmy Award for one of his performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Personal Life

Horacio Gutiérrez lives and works in the United States. He met his wife, Patricia Asher, who is also a pianist, while they were both studying at the Juilliard School.

See also

In Spanish: Horacio Gutiérrez para niños