PEDRO BURMESTER

"he has a strong personality, imposes himself on the audiences, has an astonishing creativity in his interpretation and a perfect technical quality. His intelligence and culture are immediately noticed."

"Alfred Brendel" London

Pedro Burmester was born in Porto (Portugal) in 1963. He gave his first recital at the age of ten. He studied for ten years with Helena Costa, and worked with Léon Fleischer and Dmitri Paperno. He attended the masterclasses of Jörg Demus, Aldo Ciccolini, Karl Engel, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Tatjana Nikolaiewa and Elisabeth Leonskaja.

In 1983, he won second prize of the International Piano Competition "Vianna da Mota" in Lisbon. He was awarded the Jury Discretionary Award of the 1989 Van Cliburn Competition, and he was prize winner of several national piano competitions.

Besides being invited to perform in all Portuguese festivals, he has played in France's main Festivals (such as Roque d'Anthéron), in Festivals in Italy, at the Belfast Festival, the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker, both the Flanders Festival and the Wallonie Festival in Belgium. He went on tour in Poland, the US, Japan (with the Metropolitan Orchestra), Australia (with the Australian Chamber Orchestra), South Africa, Latin America, …. Some of the prestigious halls and series who have invited Pedro Burmester include the 92nd Y-series and the Frick Collection in New York, the Salle Gaveau and Châtelet in Paris, the Kölner Philharmonie, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Beethoven-Haus Bonn, as well as various German radio stations including Radio Bremen and WDR-Köln.

He has performed with many well-known orchestras (such as the National Opera Orchestra Belgium, Northern Sinfonia of England, Nederlands Kamerorkest, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Australian Chamber Orchestra to name a few) and was invited by Sir Georg Solti to perform Beethoven V with the London Symphony Orchestra at the opening concert of "Lisbon, Cultural Capital of Europe '94".

Pedro Burmester is also very much at ease in chamber music, among his partners we find cellist Anner Bylsma, Mischa Maisky, the Prazak Quartet and violinist Thomas Zehetmair, with whom he has toured Belgium (Flanders Festival, Philharmonic Society Brussels), Holland (the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam), France and Austria (Linz, Innsbruck).

Recently, Pedro Burmester played, amongst others, at the prestigious Wigmore Hall in London, the Gulbenkian, the Folles Journées Bach in Nantes and again in La Roque d’Anthéron and recorded the Robert Schumann concerto after playing it in various cities in Portugal. Another project for BMG/RCA, is the recording of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas, which he will be presenting in concert and recording with Gerardo Ribeiro.

Upcoming projects include, chamber music tours with clarinet, percussion, recitals in various European countries, … Apart from his concert-work, Pedro Burmester is at the head of the commission responsible for the programming at the newly “Casa de Musica”-building, which was one of the projects for “Porto, European Capital of Culture 2001”.

Discography
- SCHUMANN : Kreisleriana op 16 + SCHUBERT : Sonata D784 - EMI - CDP 7497392
- J.S. BACH : Partita nr 6, BWV 830 - Choral "Jesu bleibet meine Freude" - Num komm' der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 - Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme - Toccata and Fugue in d minor - EMI - CDP 7498202
- J.S. BACH : Goldberg Variations - BWV 988 - EMI Classic - CDP 7545222
- Pedro Burmester, Mario Laginha : duos by Barber, Copland, Ravel, Poulenc, Milhaud.
- MENDELSSOHN, Concerto for violin, piano & strings, with Gerardo Ribeiro & the Orquestra Metropolitana Lisbon - EMI
- CHOPIN RECITAL : Chopin Préludes op. 28 on BMG/RCA Classics
- BEETHOVEN : Triple concerto with Orquestra Metropolitana Lisbon - EMI
- R. STRAUSS : Complete concertante works - Burleske in d-minor with Orquestra Metropolitana Lisbon - EMI
- to be released : SCHUMANN, Concerto

AUG/2002

Weinstadt Artists Management
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