Luis Parés Biography

Concert Pianist.

Venezuelan/Italian pianist Luis Parés enjoys an international career as a soloist and chamber musician having performed in numerous countries in Europe, Asia, North and South America. He has appeared at the most prestigious British venues, including the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall and Bridgewater Hall among many others. He has appeared with distinguished orchestras in Europe and South America and made live broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, RAI, Kol HaMusika Israel and Spanish radio.

Luis started his piano studies with Juan Antúnez and Igor Lavrov and later studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Gordon Fergus-Thompson and Andrew Ball and also held the Mills Williams Junior Fellowship at the RCM. He was a prize-winner at many national and international piano competitions, including First Prize at the XI Ricard Viñes International Piano Competition (Lerida, Spain) and Third Prize at the Maria Canals International Competition, duo sonatas category, in Barcelona. He was one of the winners of the 2006 Making Music Young Concert Artists Awards and he was a YCAT finalist in 2007.

Luis performs a wide range of concertos and solo works and is a keen chamber musician, with a particular interest in the string and piano repertoire. He has played with renowned musicians such as Ani Schnarch, Walter Delahunt, Pavel Vernikov, Atar Arad, Rudolf Koelman and Giovanni Guzzo.

Luis is a sought-after teacher and adjudicator and he is currently Head of Keyboard at Dulwich College in London. He is also an examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and Executive Director of New Virtuosi International Violin Mastercourses, which take place annually in the UK and Italy.

Download Luis's Press Pack Here: [Low Res] | [High Res].

Online

Bach Prelude and Fugue Eb minor WTC1

Live from Wigmore Hall.

Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody (Part 1)

Luis Parés, piano. Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody. Michael Young, conductor. Charities Philharmonia, St Johns Smith Square, London

Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody (Part 2)

Luis Parés, piano. Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody. Michael Young, conductor. Charities Philharmonia, St Johns Smith Square, London

“Parés always plays with the soul in his fingers” - Daniel Fernández, El Nuevo Herald

Repertoire

J.S. Bach
  • Concerto in D minor
Bartók
  • Concerto No. 3
Beethoven
  • Concertos No. 1,2,3,4 & 5
  • Triple Concerto
  • Choral Fantasy
Brahms
  • Concerto No. 2
De Falla
  • Nights in the Gardens of Spain
Grieg
  • Concerto in A minor
Joan Guinjoan
  • Concerto for Piano and Winds
Messiaen
  • Turangalîla Symphony
Mozart
  • Concertos No. 9, 23, 25 & 27
Prokofiev
  • Concerto No. 3
Rachmaninov
  • Concerto No. 2
  • Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Ravel
  • Concerto in G major
Schumann
  • Concerto in A minor
Shostakovich
  • Concertos No. 1 & 2
Stravinsky
  • Concerto for Piano and Winds
Albéniz
  • Evocación, El Puerto
J.S. Bach
  • The Well-Tempered Clavier (Selection)
  • Partitas No. 2 & 6
  • Toccata in E minor
Bartók
  • Piano Sonata
  • Suite Op. 14
Beethoven
  • Sonata Op. 10 No. 1
  • Sonata Op. 10 No. 2
  • Sonata Op. 10 No. 3
  • Sonata Op. 13 ‘Pathetique’
  • Sonata Op. 14No. 2
  • Sonata Op. 27 No. 1
  • Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 “Moonlight’
  • Sonata Op. 31 No. 2 ‘The Tempest’
  • Sonata Op. 31 No. 3
  • Sonata Op. 49 No. 1
  • Sonata Op. 49 No. 2
  • Sonata Op. 81° ‘Les Adieux’
  • Sonata Op. 101
  • Sonata Op. 109
  • Sonata Op. 110
Berg
  • Piano Sonata Op. 1
Boulez
  • 12 Notations
Brahms
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 Op. 5
  • Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel Op. 24
  • 6 Klavierstucke Op. 118
Chopin
  • Scherzos No. 1, 2 & 3
  • Ballades No. 1 & 3
  • Fantasie in F minor Op. 49
  • Barcarolle Op. 60
  • Heroic Polonaise Op. 53
Debussy
  • Preludes (Selection)
  • Estampes
  • L’isle joyeuse
  • Children’s Corner
De Falla
  • Fantasia Baetica
Estévez
  • 17 Piezas Infantiles
Ginastera
  • Danzas Argentinas Op. 2
  • Malambo Op. 7
  • Suite de Danzas Criollas Op. 17
  • Sonata No. 1 Op. 22
Granados
  • Goyescas
Haydn
  • Sonata in A major Hob. XVI/26
  • Sonata in B minor Hob. XVI/32
  • Sonata in D major Hob. XVI/37
  • Sonata in C major Hob. XVI/48
Liszt
  • Vallee d’Obermann
  • Jeux d’eaux a la Villa d’Este
  • Liebestraum No. 3
Prokofiev
  • Piano Sonata No. 3
  • Piano Sonata No. 7
  • Sarcasms Op. 11
Rachmaninov
  • Preludes Op. 23 (Selection)
Ravel
  • Miroirs
  • Sonatine
  • Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
Scarlatti
  • Sonatas (selection)
Schubert
  • Impromptus Op. 90
  • Sonata D664
  • Wanderer Fantasy
Schumann
  • ABEGG Variations Op. 1
  • Carnaval Op. 9
  • Blumenstuck Op. 19
  • Faschingschwank aus Wien Op. 26
Shostakovich
  • Prelude and Fugue Op. 87 No. 15-17
  • Preludes Op. 34
Joan Albert Amargos
  • ’En el aire’ for Violin and Piano
  • Atlantic Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano
Bartok
  • Romanian Folk Dances
  • Constrasts for Violin, Clarinet and Piano
Beethoven
  • Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-10
  • Cello Sonatas No. 2, 3 & 4
  • Piano Trios Op. 1 No. 1, Op. 11, Op. 70 No. 1 ‘Ghost’, Op. 97 ‘Archduke’
  • Quintet for Piano and Winds Op. 16
Berg
  • Four Clarinet Pieces
Bernstein
  • Clarinet Sonata
Britten
  • Cello Sonata
Brahmsh5
  • Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3
  • Scherzo in C minor for Violin and Piano
  • Clarinet/Viola Sonatas Op. 120 Nos. 1 & 2
  • Cello Sonata No. 1
  • Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A minor Op. 114
  • Piano Quartets Nos. 1 & 3
  • Piano Quintet
Debussy
  • Violin Sonata
Fauré
  • Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major Op. 13
  • Piano Quartet No. 2
Franck
  • Violin Sonata in A major
Grieg
  • Violin Sonata No. 3 in C minor
Messiaen
  • Quartet for the End of Time
Mozart
  • Violin Sonatas in E minor, G major, B flat major
  • Piano Quartets in G minor and E flat major
  • Quintet for Piano and Winds
Poulenc
  • Violin Sonata
  • Rapsodie Negre
Prokofiev
  • Violin Sonatas Nos 1 & 2
  • Five Melodies for Violin and Piano
Ravel
  • Violin Sonata
  • Tzigane
Saint-Saens
  • Violin Sonata in D minor
  • Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso
  • Septet for Trumpet, Strings and Piano
Schubert
  • Violin Sonatinas Nos. 1-3
  • Fantasy in F minor for Piano Duet
  • Piano Trio No. 2 in E flat
Schumann
  • Violin Sonata in A minor
  • Marchenbilder Op. 113
  • Adagio and Allegro
  • Fantasiestucke
  • Piano Quartet Op. 47
  • Piano Quintet Op. 44
Shostakovich
  • Viola Sonata
  • Piano Quintet
Stravinsky
  • Suite Italienne for Violin and Piano
  • Soldiers’ Tale for Violin, Clarinet and Piano

Reviews

Beethoven Concerto No. 1

"No doubt the main draw for many of the RCM Sinfonietta concert was the opportunity to hear the Venezuelan pianist Luis Parés. His account of Beethoven's First Concerto evinced an undoubted command of the keyboard, and his agility in the visceral passagework of the outer movements was matched by some exquisite playing in the Largo."

Richard Whitehouse Classical Source

Schumann Concerto

“Luis Parés lived up to his glowing reputation when he entranced the audience at Boston Orchestra's spring concert with his interpretation of Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor at the Sam Newsom Music Centre. […] the beautiful melodies stood out like rays of light. There have been many outstanding soloists in the orchestra's concerts over the years but the opinion of its seasoned players was that this performance stood comparison with the best.”

Peter Flynn Boston Standard, Lincolnshire.

Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody

"Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was the second item, in which the orchestra was joined by the Venezuelan-Italian pianist Luis Parés, a very gifted artist who gave a scintillating account of this wonderful score."

Robert Matthew-Walker Musical Opinion

Recital in Lyddington

“Luis Parés started the concert with Alban Berg’s sonata. This poetic though complex sonata is written in a single movement and the audience became immediately aware of Pares' talent and dexterity. This was followed by a fantasy by Franz Schubert, based on the theme of the folk song 'The Wanderer'. The poetic and tuneful melody recurs throughout the piece, which was delivered with sensitivity and precision, rising to an awe-inspiring climax at the end. The second half of the concert was given over to Johannes Brahms' Piano Sonata No 3 in F minor, which is a technically challenging and energetic composition and which was competently delivered by Parés, demonstrating without doubt the outstanding ability of this talented player.”

Jenny Pearce Rutland and Stamford Mercury.

Victor E. Clarke Hall, Miami

“Few interpreters achieve that magical unfolding in which, without stopping being themselves, they become suitable means – or mediums – for the music they play. Venezuelan/Italian pianist Luis Parés demonstrated in his recital of Friday 4th at the Victor E. Clarke Hall of the University of Miami, that he possesses not only an impeccable technique but also complete versatility which enables him to move from classical to modern style, and even traditional music, with equal display of authenticity. Both smiling and stern, he showed the same control and commitment in Beethoven’s Sonata in A Op. 101 that opened the recital, and the throbbing Ginastera’s dances that closed it. Parés always plays with the soul in his fingers.”

Daniel FernándezEl Nuevo Herald.
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"An undoubted command of the keyboard" - Richard Whitehouse, Classical Source