Horacio Lavandera

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Horacio Lavandera


Img_capt =
Img_size = 150
Landscape =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born = December 1984
Died =
Origin = Buenos Aires, Argentina
Voice_type =
Genre =
Occupation = Pianist
Years_active = 1997–present
Label =
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.horaciolavandera.com www.horaciolavandera.com]

Horacio Lavandera is an argentine pianist, born in Buenos Aires in December, 1984, who is currently residing in Madrid, Spain. As the youngest competitor, he won the "International Piano Competition Umberto Micheli" at the age of sixteen, held at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatoire and in Teatro della Scala in Milan (Italy), playing a diverse repertoire, including pieces from baroque to contemporary music. He was also awarded a Special Prize of the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala. Many important musicians of the current musical scene were on the Jury, including Luciano Berio, Maurizio Pollini, Luis de Pablo, Michel Beroff, Charles Rosen and Alexis Weissenberg. The Honorary Committee included Maestro Abbado, Boulez, Metha, Muti and Barenboim. From this moment on, he has been invited to perform as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, as well as to offer recitals in America, Europe and Asia.

In August 2004, he was awarded by the German contemporary composer Karlheinz Stockhausen for his interpretation of his works during his Courses in Kürten (Germany). He has been selected as an active student in Mtro. Maurizio Pollini’s Master Classes inside the Festival of Lucerne 2004 (Switzerland). He has also been given the prize “El Primer Palau 2004” (The First Palau) by Orfeó Català Foundation – Palau de la Música Catalana and Mitsubishi Electric.At early ages he had already captured public attention by winning several first prizes in important national competitions, including the 10º Competition ‘Meeting of Children and Young Musicians’ (Córdoba, Argentina), and the Vº Biennial Youth Competition 99/00, sponsored by Shell CAPSA, the latter including a jury composed by Maestros Martin Lovett, Malcolm Binns and Elizabeth Robson.

Some other awards include: “Best New Artist in Classical Music” in the “Vº Awards for Arts and Entertainment”, organized by the prestigious Argentine newspaper “El Clarín”, the scholarship of the “Fondo Nacional de las Artes” (National Fund of Arts, Argentina) and JCI (Junior Chamber International) prize as one of TOYP (The outstanding young persons) winners 2004 in Argentina in the field “Cultural Achievements”.

He has performed as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, including the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Filarmonica della Scala, Orquesta de la Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, London Chamber Pleyers, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Orquestra do Norte of Portugal, Orquesta Sinfónica de la Ciudad de Oviedo, Orquesta Filarmónica de Buenos Aires, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Argentina, Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, among others. He has also been under the baton of outstanding Maestros, such as Charles Dutoit, Antonio Pappano, Benjamin Zander, Christopher Wilkins, George Pehlivanian, Anton Nanut, Martin Sieghart, Arthur Fagen, Terje Mikkelsen, David Murphy, among others.

He has played in the Teatro Alla Scala (Milan), Salle Olivier Messiaen-Radio France (Paris), Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Herkulesaal (Munich), Wigmore Hall (London), Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (Rome), Jordan Hall (Boston), International Piano Festival La Roque d’Antheron, Teatro Municipal (Rio de Janeiro), Teatro Alpha (São Paulo), Teatro Teresa Carreño (Caracas), Teatro Malibrán (Venice), Auditorio Nacional de Música (Madrid), Auditorio de Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canarian Islands), Auditorio de Galicia (S. de Compostela), Palau de la Musica Catalana (Barcelona), Luzern Saal (Lucerne), Auditorio ‘Príncipe Felipe’ (Oviedo), Grande Auditório Europarque (Porto), Martha Argerich Festival (Buenos Aires), Hamarikyu Asahi Hall (Tokyo) among others.

Recordings

His first CD, ‘Debut’, released in 2000 for the label Testigo and sponsored by Shell, includes pieces by Mozart, Chopin, Berg and Ginastera. As invited soloist of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas – Inaugural Tour 2002 -, he recorded Beethoven’s Concerto No. 4. His last CD, “The three Bs”, includes works by Bach, Brahms and Beethoven. It was recorded live for Testigo during the season of Festivales Musicales de Buenos Aires 2005. It was sponsored by Supervielle Bank.

Biography

From very early ages, he started studying music with his father, percussionist, who taught him the basis of percussion and theory of music. He started his piano studies at the age of seven under pianist Martha Freigido, who graduated from Scaramuzza’s school of music. Five years later, he furthered his musical training with Maestro Antonio De Raco. He has taken composition and analysis classes with Mrs. Graciela Tarchini, Professor of Musical Analysis and Resident Composer of the University de Buenos Aires. He was also advised by great maestros such as Daniel Barenboim, Martha Argerich, Charles Rosen. In July 2001 he was awarded a scholarship by the Italian Embassy and the CIDIM (‘Comitato Nazionale Italiano Musica’) to take part of a seminary given by Maestro Maurizio Pollini in the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena (Italy). In October 2003, he was awarded a scholarship by Juventudes Musicales de Madrid to take the post-graduate course of Piano Interpretation at the University of Alcalá (Spain), under the guidance of Maestro Josep Colom, with whom he studies at the present.

Simultaneously, he has been working with the composers Karlheinz Stockhausen, Marlos Nobre, Esteban Benzecry, Joan Guinjoan, Richard Dubugnon, Guillaume Connesson, Atsuhiko Gondai, and Mauricio Kagel.

External links

* [http://www.horaciolavandera.com Official site of Horacio Lavandera]
*es icon [http://www.clarin.com/suplementos/cultura/2005/07/02/u-1005531.htm "Clarín" interview with Horacio Lavandera]
*es icon [http://www.diariodecuyo.com.ar/home/new_noticia.php?noticia_id=114694 "Diario de Cuyo" news article on Horacio Lavandera]