Vanessa Pérez - Piano
Venezuelan-American Pianist Vanessa Perez has been hailed as an "exquisite artist, who gives her knowledge with devotion and unlimited generosity, in the manner of the most eminent artists in the history of the keyboard" – La Nacion, Argentina
"A Virtuosa with a wild heart and tender touch." –Ruhr Nachrichten : Dortmunder Zeitung
At age 11, she gave her official debut in Caracas, Venezuela playing the Grieg Piano Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfonica Municipal conducted by Carlos Riazuelo before an audience of 2500.
Legendary pianist Claudio Arrau heard Ms. Perez perform following her debut in 1989 and described her as a "pianist whose technique, musicality, and intelligent approach to the music she plays made a profound impression on me. It is not possible to find a young artist today better equipped with all the necessary qualities that my school of pianists requires from a performer.
In Venezuela she was awarded the Jose Felix Ribas Prize, the highest honor given by the president of Venezuela to a young artist who has contributed to the enhancement of the country.
She has appeared since the age of 10 , in recitals and Festival appearances around the world, including the Montpellier Festival-Radio France; Schauspielhaus, Berlin; Kammermusiksaal, Beethoven Haus, Bonn; Festival Settembre Musica, Turin; Societa Del Concerti, Milan; Keyboard Concert Series, Fresno; La Jolla 's Discovery Series; Gothic Hall, Brussels; Rios Reina, Caracas; Luis Angel Arango, Bogota; and Wertheim Performing Arts Center Concert Hall, Miami; Montevideo, Uruaguay; and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Ms. Perez is also an eclectic artist who has collaborated with artists such as Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and composer Arturo Sandoval , premiering one of his piano solo works at the Blue Note, in 2008 joined cellist's Jan Vogler as the pianist in his "Tango" release for Sony, and on the same label collaborated in 2009 with violinist's Joshua Bell in his "at Home with Friends" release.
Actively involved in new music, Ms. Perez also has performed works and collaborated with composers such as Paul Moravec, Suzanne Farrin, Lowell Liebermann, Paul Desenne and Alfred Schnittke, among others.
Her debut solo recital under the label VAI included Albéniz, and all Chopin Ballades, released in 2005, and together with Berliner Symphoniker she recorded in Germany Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Mozart Piano Concerto in D minor under the Baton of Eduardo Marturet following her debut in Berlin.
In recent seasons , her performances have carried her to New York's Carnegie Weill Hall, Rockefeller's Tri noon series, Chicago, Miami to Minnesota in the United States, to the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico conducted by Diego Matheuz, Barcelona's Palau de La Musica Catalana under David Gimenez Carreras in Spain, and major music centers throughout Latin America, among them the Sala Sao Paolo in Brazil under conductor Ligia Amadio, Buenos Aires with Rafael Gintoli, and Mexico under Enrique Batiz' direction.
Other highlights include a duo recital with Gabriela Montero in Lima, chamber music concerts at the Mortizburg Festival , also in Germany, a tour with Switzerland's Luzerner Sinfonie Orchester under John Axelrod, and performances with the Orquesta de la la Juventud Simon Bolivar, including a concert under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel.
