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The Argentinean-born Canadian pianist, conductor, composer, teacher Raoul (Raùl) Sosa, studied from 1951 to 1957 at the Buenos Aires Conservatory with Rafael Gonzalez (piano) and Lita Spena (piano and theory), earning his diploma in 1957. He made his debut in 1959 at the Teatro Colón and took part in numerous chamber music concerts. He was a finalist in the 1962 International Van Cliburn Competition. He continued his training from 1963 to 1967 with Magda Tagliafero in Paris and Salzburg on a French government scholarship and later worked with Stanislav Neuhaus in Italy. He played in 1965 at the Salle Chopin-Pleyel in Paris and made his London debut in 1967 at Wigmore Hall. He won first prize in the 1964 Jean-Hubert Biermans International Competition and was among the prize winners of the 1966 Magda Tagliafero International Competition, the 1966 Maria-Canals Competition, and the 1967 Santiago de Compostela Competition. He was a finalist in the 1968 Montreal International Music Competition for piano and won second prize in the 1970 Olivier Messiaen Competition in Royan.
Raoul Sosa began to teach at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec (CMM) in 1967, and he made a recital tour the same year for the JM of Belgium. He played for the Ladies' Morning Musical Club in 1971 and toured western Canada and Quebec for the JMC (Youth and Music Canada) in 1973-1974. In 1973 he became naturalized Canadian citizen. His recital om March 18, 1977 at the Salle Claude-Champagne in Montreal was greeted enthusiastically by the critics: Claude Gingras described the pianist as an 'altogether exceptional musician' (La Presse) and Gilles Potvin thought him 'a first-rate artist' (Le Devoir). He appeared in another recital at the Place des Arts (PDA) in February 1978.
Raoul Sosa has played on occasion with the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) Ensemble (Alban Berg's Chamber Concerto 1972), and has performed as soloist with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre Lamoureux in Paris, in concertos by Johannes Brahms, Prokofiev, and Tchaikovsky. He has appeared on the CBC TV series 'Les Grands Concerts' and 'Les Beaux Dimanches,' and a 1978 broadcast for the CBC radio series 'Récital' earned him the Canadian Music Council award for the year's best radio program by a Canadian soloist. He also has performed in such major centres as Paris, London, Madrid, and Washington, DC.
In 1980, after injuring his right hand, Raoul Sosa focused his piano career on the interpretation of works for the left hand. He also took up conducting and following studies with Sergiu Celibidache, he was the founder in 1986 and conducted until 1989, the St-Léonard Symphony Orchestra of Montreal. In 1990 and in 1991 he toured China and Japan as pianist, conductor, and teacher. Sosa also taught from 1970 to 1973 at the Orford Art Centre, was an adjudicator for the 1977 CBC Talent Festival and at the 1987 MSO Concours, and has served accredited music-training institutions as an examiner. He has composed works for piano, including three sonatas for the left hand, a string quartet, and a piece for viola and percussion. His recording of piano music of Schubert for the Select label (1977) contains the Wanderer Fantasy, Op. 15; the Sonata in A Minor, Op. 143; the Impromptu in A Flat, Op. 90 No. 4; and four Ländler.
Raoul Sosa's wife, Claudette is also a pianist and teacher. |
