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The Cubam pianist, Jorge Luis Prats, studied in Cuba in his youth with such illustrious figures as Cesar Perez Sentenar, Barbara Dìaz Alea, Margot Rojas, and Alfredo Diez. Upon graduation from the National Arts College he was awarded a scholarship to the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow where he studied under Rudolf Kerer. He continued his higher piano education at the Paris Conservatory and later while at the Hochshüle für Müsik und Künstler in Vienna he studied with Paul Badura-Skoda and with Magda Tagliaferro in Paris. He also received master-classes from Witold Malcuzcynski in Warsaw. At the age of 21, Prats won the Grand Prix at the prestigious “Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud” piano competition in Paris, 1977. At the same time he received special prizes for the best interpretation of Maurice Ravel and André Jolivet along with the Chevillon Bonnard and Mohan awards. Other awards include the Gold Medal at the Katia Popova Festival in Bulgaria and First Prize at the Amadeo Roldán Piano Competition in Havana, Cuba.
Jorge Luis Prats, hitherto known mostly among the piano cognoscenti, is a virtuoso in the grand manner whose technical powers and rare artistic temperament illuminate a vast repertoire. His concert tours have taken him to every nation in the European continent, as well as North, South and Central America, China, Japan and Korea. He has performed as soloist in London with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and in the USA with the EOS Orchestra in New York and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. In Mexico he has performed with the Mexico City Orchestra, Ofunam Orchestra, and the Jalapa Orchestra. In South America he has performed with the Colombia Philharmonic, Venezuela’s “Simon Bolivar” Orchestra, Municipal Caracas Orchestra, Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, and Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Caracas, and in Europe with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra and the Lamoreaux and Pas de Loup Orchestras of France. He has also toured on various occasions throughout Latin America and Spain with the Cuban National Symphony, Prague Philharmonic, etc.
His repertoire includes concertos and works for piano and orchestra amongst which are: various works by W.A. Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, Johannes Brahms and Sergei Rachmaninov (all of the concertos), Prokofiev (second and third), Ravel, Camille Saint-Saëns, Franz Liszt, Grieg, Robert Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Scriabin, Dohnanyi, Litolf, Frédéric Chopin. His diverse recital repertoire includes works such as J.S. Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier and other J.S. Bach's Suites and Partitas, all of W.A. Mozart’s Sonatas and a great number of the L.v. Beethoven's Sonatas; nearly the entirety of F. Chopin’s works and all of F. Liszt’s Sonatas and Etudes as well as The Hungarian Rhapsodies and Mephisto Waltz. It also includes Gaspard de la Nuit by Ravel as well as works by Debussy such as Pour le Piano and works by Heitor Villa-Lobos together with all the Cuban inventory of classical music from the 18th and 19th centuries including the dances and contra dances by Manuel Saumell and Ignacio Cervantes along with all of Ernesto Lecuona’s piano compositions. He also masters the most important productions by contemporary Cuban composers such as Carlos Fariñas and Harold Gramatges.
Jorge Luis Prats’ future performances include his debut at the “Discovery Series” of the Miami International Piano Festival at the Lincoln Theater, Miami Beach on May 8, 2007 and his debut at the Concertgebow, The Netherlands on November 2, 2008.
Jorge Luis Prats has recorded for a number of major labels: Pathé Marconi (EMI France), Deutsche Gramophone (Germany), ASV, IMP (UK), Musical Heritage (USA). His discography includes the first ever recording of the 24 Preludes and The Satanic Poem by A. Scriabin for Pathé Marconi (EMI France), works by L.v. Beethoven, piano concertos by Grieg, the entirety of the works for piano and orchestra by S. Rachmaninov, the F. Chopin's concertos and a considerable roster of Cuban music. His February 27, 2007 concert at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts under the auspices of the Miami International Piano Festival was recorded and this live performance has recently been released on a DVD by VAI (Video Artists International).
Jorge Luis Prats has been invited to serve as either a juror or president of numerous international competitions such as the Iberian-American Piano Competition in Havana, the International Piano Competition of Santander, Colombia, the Hilton Head in South Carolina and Jaen International Piano competition. He has been a regular guest professor at the following prestigious institutions: the National University of Colombia in Bogota, the National School of Arts in Havana, The Center for Fine Arts, Mexico DF, the Conservatory of Cordoba, Spain, and the Glenn Gould Royal Conservatory in Toronto. He served as the Artistic Director and performed as a soloist with the Cuban National Symphony since 1985.
Since 2006 Jorge Luis Prats has been the grateful recipient of support from Patrons of Exceptional Artists, a non-profit Florida arts organization dedicated to the career development of outstanding performers. Their support made his debut at the Miami International Piano Festival in 2007. He has been decorated with the Cuba’s highest awards granted to national and international personalities of the arts and culture: the “Alejo Carpentier” and “Félix Varela” medals. |
