Gabriela Montero

Gabriela Montero (born May 10, 1970) is a Venezuelan pianist, known both for her improvisations of musical pieces on themes suggested by her audience and other sources, as well as for her performances of a standard classical repertoire. Having started her artistic career in the El Sistema music education program in Venezuela, Montero later studied at the Royal Academy of Music in the U.K. She has performed in major concert halls in the U.S. and Europe with international orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Among other recognition, Montero has been honored with two Grammy Awards and two ECHO Prizes in Germany. Biography Born in Caracas, Venezuela, of an American-born mother and a Venezuelan father, Montero was seven months old when her parents introduced her to the piano. She used her right index finger to play individual notes. When she was fifteen months old, her parents noticed she was picking out a familiar tune. Three months later, before she could speak, she had picked out the melody of the national anthem. Montero began formal piano lessons at age four and gave her first public performance at the age of five. At eight, she made her concerto debut at the National Theatre of Venezuela in Caracas, performing the complete Haydn D Major Piano Concerto with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, conducted by José Antonio Abreu. At the age of nine, she was awarded a government scholarship to study in the U.S. From 1990 until 1993, she studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Hamish Milne. In 1995, she won third prize at the XIII International Chopin Piano Competition. Concerts At the end of both solo recitals and after performing a piano concerto, Montero has invited her audience to participate by proposing a melody for improvisation. At times, members of the orchestra have also suggested a theme.