Celebrated concert pianist Gustavo Romero is set to return to South Africa for a performance at Helderberg Village’s Talani Terrace, on Sunday December 15, at 4pm.
Known worldwide for his technical brilliance and profound interpretive skills, he will treat South African audiences to an all-Chopin program, along with a special piece by South African composer Hendrik Hoffmeyr.
Mr Romero is known to Cape Town audiences for his flawless performances of the 32 Beethoven Sonatas in a seven-part concert series in 2022, followed by the complete Schubert sonatas in 2023 and a singular Rachmaninoff program earlier this year.
A native of San Diego with roots in Guadalajara, Mexico, Mr. Romero discovered his love and gift for the piano at the age of five and gave his first public performances at the age of 10, when he also won his first piano competition.
At 13, he performed with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. Rudolf Serkin recognized his exceptional talent, and at the age of 14 he attended the Juilliard School.
Since then, he has won numerous prestigious accolades, including the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, the Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the Musical America Young Artist Award.
He has performed with leading orchestras worldwide, from the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Pops Orchestra to the New Japan Philharmonic and Cape Town Philharmonic, and has graced the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall, London’s Barbican, and Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall.
Mr Romero’s dedication to musical exploration is evident in his work, with over two decades spent performing a renowned summer series in La Jolla, California, which has focused on single-composer programs.
He has mastered repertoires of Chopin, Bach, Schumann, Schubert, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Haydn, Händel, Liszt, Debussy, Gershwin, Ravel and Rachmaninoff, the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven and Mozart, the complete four-hand and two-piano works of Mozart and Clementi and piano concerti of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Mendelssohn conducting from the keyboard, solidifying his status as a master of both depth and versatility.
His extensive discography includes the works of Chopin, Debussy, Beethoven, and Albeniz, and he was the subject of the 2012 documentary Portrait in Piano.
Currently, he inspires young musicians as a Professor of Piano at the University of North Texas.
Tickets cost R130, and are available through Quicket, which also confirms access to Helderberg Village. For more information, contact Laurien Comyn at 082 467 0337.
