Horacio Lavandera is an Argentinepianist, currently residing in Madrid, Spain. As the youngest competitor at the age of sixteen, he won the International Piano Competition Umberto Micheli, held at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatoire and in Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He has been invited to perform as a soloist with prestigious orchestras, as well as to offer recitals in America, Europe, and Asia.
Biography
Lavandera began studying music at a very early age with his father, a percussionist, who taught him the basics of percussion and music theory. He started piano studies at age 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 of Buenos Aires. He was also advised by great maestros such as Daniel Barenboim, Martha Argerich, and Charles Rosen. In July 2001 he was awarded a scholarship by the Italian Embassy and the Comitato Nazionale Italiano Musica to take part of a seminary given by Maestro Maurizio Pollini in the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena. 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, under the guidance of Maestro Josep Colom, with whom he currently studies.
Recordings
His first CD, Debut, was released in 2000 by Testigo. It includes pieces by Mozart, Chopin, Berg, and Ginastera. As an invited soloist of the YOA Orchestra of the Americas inaugural tour in 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 in 2005.“Live in Japan" in 2008, "Spanish composers of the generation of 51", by the Community of Madrid in 2008, CD + DVD "Argentine Composers" recorded by Sony Music /Calle Angosta in 2009 and “Chopin”, produced and edited by EPSA Music in 2012.
Lavandera has been winning competitions since his youth, including the 10th Competition 'Meeting of Children and Young Musicians', and the Vº Biennial Youth Competition 99/00, the latter including a jury composed of maestros Martin Lovett, Malcolm Binns, and Elizabeth Robson. In August 2004 he was awarded for his interpretation of his works during his Courses in Kürten by the German contemporary composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. He was selected as an active student in Maestro Maurizio Pollini's master classes at the Festival of Lucerne 2004. He was awarded the 'El Primer Palau 2004' by Orfeó Català Foundation – Palau de la Música Catalana. Some other awards include Best New Artist in Classical Music at the Vº Awards for Arts and Entertainment, organized by the Argentine newspaper El Clarín, the scholarship of the Fondo Nacional de las Artes and Junior Chamber International prize as one of the outstanding young persons winners 2004 in Argentina in the field of cultural achievements. At the young age of sixteen, he won the International Piano Competition Umberto Micheli, held at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatoire and in Teatro della Scala in Milan, playing a diverse repertoire that included pieces from baroque to contemporary music. He was also awarded a Special Prize of the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala. The jury included Luciano Berio, Maurizio Pollini, Luis de Pablo, Michel Beroff, Charles Rosen, and Alexis Weissenberg. In 2013 Gardel Prize awarded for “Best Classical Music Album” for his album “Chopin”. In 2014 he received the title of "Honorary Professor” at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario.
