Acclaimed as one of the greatest interpreters of Mozart, Portuguese pianist Maria-João Pires is an artist who combines exquisite stylistic refinement with a serious effort to plumb the intellectual complexities and spiritual depths of music. Refusing to conform to the traditional image of a concert virtuoso, Pires emphasizes the spiritual dimensions of music, always searching for hidden meanings which may elude the analytical performer.Read more This remarkable reverence towards works of music, clearly manifested in her performances of Mozart, was made explicit by her remark that, as a performer, she acts as a channel for the composer's ideas. Interestingly, Pires views both the composer and the performer as conduits for a transcendent force. However, while approaching the work of music with immense awe, Pires is acutely aware of its formal structure, finding a certain transparency in the most intricate formal constructions. In her performances of Romantic masters, particularly Chopin and Schumann, Pires masterfully reconciles her passionate experience of the music with an admirable appreciation for the inner logic of the work she is interpreting. Reflecting her vast emotional range, her tone, as critics have observed, encompasses a dizzying variety of intensities, from an almost imperceptible lightness to an imposing monumentality, with a rich scale of intervening nuances. Another hallmark of her style is her uncanny ability to capture, and convey, the precise variety of inner movement which constitutes the being of a particular musical creation.
Pires started playing at the age of three, giving her first public performance two years later. Pires performed Mozart concertos when she was seven and received Portugal's major prize for musicians at nine. She studied with Campos Coelho and Francine Benoit at the Lisbon Conservatory, graduating at 16. Post-graduate studies took her to Germany, where she studied with Rösl Schmidt, in Munich, and with Karl Engel, in Hanover. In 1970, she won the Beethoven Bicentennial Competition in Brussels. Pires made her London debut in 1986, and she first played in New York three years later. She has performed with the major European and American orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Often praised for her extraordinary renditions of Mozart's works, Pires has shown a remarkable affinity with several of the greatest composers, including Bach, Chopin, and Schubert. An enormously successful recording artist, Pires, who since 1989 records exclusively for Deutsche Grammophon, released several critically acclaimed discs, including a Bach disc, recordings of Chopin's Nocturnes and Schubert's Impromptus, and a recording of two Mozart concertos with Claudio Abbado. Her recording of Mozart's complete sonatas received the 1990 Grand Prix du Disque. Since 1989, Pires has been an enthusiastic performer of chamber music, touring Europe and the Far East with violinist Augustin Dumay. Forming a trio with Dumay and cellist Jian Wang, Pires toured the Far East in 1998, playing Beethoven's Concerto for piano, violin, cello, and orchestra in several European centers in 1999. In 2000, Pires decided to take several months off in order to concentrate on a variety of educational projects in Portugal. Several collections of her performances, including Artist Portrait: Maria-João Pires, appeared in the early 2000s. Read less
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 4796969
Release Date: 01/27/2017
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Ottorino Respighi,
Béla Bartók,
Manuel de Falla,
Gustav Holst
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Performer:
Julius Drake,
Ian Bostridge,
Eric Schneider,
Anna Prohaska
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Conductor:
Giuseppe Sinopoli,
Pierre Boulez,
Lorin Maazel,
William Steinberg
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
New York Philharmonic,
Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
...
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002599300
Release Date: 12/16/2016
Number of Discs: 21
Composer:
Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Krystian Zimerman,
Jan Lisiecki,
Anatol Ugorski,
Maurizio Pollini
...
Conductor:
Krystian Zimerman,
Krzysztof Urbanski,
André Previn
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Polish Festival Orchestra,
North German Radio Elbphilharmonie Orchestra,
Beaux Arts Trio
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Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002596702
Release Date: 12/02/2016
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Richard Strauss,
Bedrich Smetana,
Johannes Brahms,
Antonín Dvorák
...
Performer:
David Garrett,
Hélčne Grimaud,
Max Richter,
Daniel Hope
...
Conductor:
Gustavo Dudamel,
Rafael Kubelik,
Herbert von Karajan,
André de Ridder
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
Boston Symphony Orchestra,
Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin
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Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002587002
Release Date: 11/18/2016
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Bernhard Flies,
Leopold Mozart
Performer:
Barbara Bonney,
Christoph Eschenbach,
Arleen Augér,
Karl Richter
...
Conductor:
Trevor Pinnock,
Leonard Bernstein,
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
Kurt Gaebel
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
English Concert,
English Concert Choir,
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
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Label: Decca
Catalog: 002576902
Release Date: 11/18/2016
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Josef Triebensee,
André Rieu
Performer:
Andras Schiff,
Barry Tuckwell,
Joshua Bell,
Erik Smith
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Conductor:
Willi Boskovsky,
James Levine,
Sandor Végh,
Peter Maag
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Members of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble,
Amsterdam Mozart Players,
Vienna Mozart Ensemble
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 002549202
Release Date: 10/28/2016
Number of Discs: 200
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Montserrat Caballé,
David Busch,
Amandine Beyer,
Daniel Barenboim
...
Conductor:
Leonard Bernstein,
Benjamin Britten,
Trevor Pinnock,
Christopher Hogwood
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Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra,
Academy of Ancient Music,
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
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Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 556480
Release Date: 08/05/2016
Number of Discs: 6
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Maurice Ravel,
George Frideric Handel,
Antonio Vivaldi
...
Performer:
Yehudi Menuhin,
Barry Tuckwell,
Mikhail Rudy,
Maria-Joao Pires
...
Conductor:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
Kent Nagano,
Sir Thomas Beecham,
Alberto Lysy
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Camerata Lysy,
St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra
...
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 556482
Release Date: 08/05/2016
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Maurice Ravel,
George Frideric Handel,
Antonio Vivaldi
...
Performer:
Yehudi Menuhin,
Barry Tuckwell,
Mikhail Rudy,
Maria-Joao Pires
...
Conductor:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
Kent Nagano,
Sir Thomas Beecham,
Alberto Lysy
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Camerata Lysy,
St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra,
Philharmonia Orchestra
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 002528702
Release Date: 08/05/2016
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Jules Massenet,
Erik Satie,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Ludwig van Beethoven
...
Performer:
Joshua Bell,
Pascal Rogé,
Emma Johnson,
Vladimir Ashkenazy
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Music Lab Collective
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 556102
Release Date: 06/17/2016
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Antonio Vivaldi
...
Performer:
Christian Zacharias,
David Fray,
Fabio Biondi,
Natalie Dessay
...
Conductor:
David Zinman,
André Cluytens,
Riccardo Muti,
Mariss Jansons
...
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 556099
Release Date: 06/17/2016
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Maurice Ravel,
Johann Strauss Jr.,
Marc-Antoine Charpentier,
Johann Sebastian Bach
...
Performer:
Samson François,
Maria Tipo,
Martha Argerich,
Anne Queffélec
...
Conductor:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt,
William Christie,
John E. Gardiner,
David Zinman
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Les Arts Florissants,
Emmanuelle Haďm (Conductor/Harpsichord),
Le Concert d'Astrée
...
Label: Dg Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002500602
Release Date: 06/17/2016
Number of Discs: 12
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Johannes Brahms,
Edvard Grieg,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
...
Performer:
Augustin Dumay,
Maria-Joao Pires,
Jian Wang,
Renaud Capuçon
...
Label: Dg Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002422702
Release Date: 12/11/2015
Number of Discs: 111
Composer:
Johannes Brahms,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Maurice Ravel,
Felix Mendelssohn
...
Performer:
David Oistrakh,
Igor Oistrakh,
Sviatoslav Richter,
Martha Argerich
...
Conductor:
Claudio Abbado,
Daniel Barenboim,
Lorin Maazel,
Franz Konwitschny
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Amadeus Quartet,
Paris Orchestra
...
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 553009
Release Date: 11/13/2015
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Antonio Vivaldi
...
Performer:
Christian Zacharias,
Kerstin [Mezzo-soprano Vocal] Meyer,
Frederick Guthrie,
Gré Brouwenstijn
...
Conductor:
David Zinman,
André Cluytens,
David Fray,
Fabio Biondi
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Europa Galante,
Les Arts Florissants,
Concentus Musicus Wien
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002281002
Release Date: 04/21/2015
Number of Discs: 40
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Robert Schumann,
Frédéric Chopin,
Johannes Brahms
...
Performer:
Pierre-Laurent Aimard,
Géza Anda,
Martha Argerich,
Daniel Barenboim
...
Label: Onyx (Classical Label)
Catalog: 4125
Release Date: 08/12/2014
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer:
Maria-Joao Pires
Conductor:
Daniel Harding
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 002093102
Release Date: 07/29/2014
Number of Discs: 20
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Frédéric Chopin,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
...
Performer:
Maria-Joao Pires,
Pavel Gomziakov,
Ricardo Castro
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Label: Erato
Catalog: 631065
Release Date: 06/24/2014
Number of Discs: 17
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Franz Schubert
...
Performer:
Maria-Joao Pires,
Huseyin Sermet
Conductor:
Claudio Scimone,
Theodor Guschlbauer,
Armin Jordan,
Michel Corboz
Orchestra/Ensemble:
I Solisti Veneti,
Lisbon Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra,
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne
...
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