Gabriela Montero’s visionary interpretations have won her a quickly expanding audience and devoted following around the world.  Her engagements include acclaimed performances with the New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and WDR Sinfonieorchestre Koln.  Recent collaborators include conductors Claudio Abbado, Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Lorin Maazel, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and Leonard Slatkin. In recital she has appeared at the festivals of Salzburg, Istanbul, Kuhr, Ravinia, and Tanglewood, as well as the Koln Philharmonie, Tonhalle Dusseldorf, Kennedy Center and Library of Congress in Washington DC, Wigmore Hall in London, Gewandhaus Leipzig, National Arts Centre Ottawa, Orchard Hall Tokyo and at the ‘Progetto Martha Argerich’ Festival in Lugano where she is invited annually.

Ms. Montero’s 2012/13 season highlights include her debut with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and a European recital tour with cellist Gautier Capuçon.  She returns for performances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic. Ms. Montero recently toured with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and The Cleveland Orchestra, and she performs regularly with Vienna Radio Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra ... read full bio

Gabriela Montero’s visionary interpretations have won her a quickly expanding audience and devoted following around the world.  Her engagements include acclaimed performances with the New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Cleveland Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, and WDR Sinfonieorchestre Koln.  Recent collaborators include conductors Claudio Abbado, Gustavo Dudamel, James Gaffigan, Lorin Maazel, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, and Leonard Slatkin. In recital she has appeared at the festivals of Salzburg, Istanbul, Kuhr, Ravinia, and Tanglewood, as well as the Koln Philharmonie, Tonhalle Dusseldorf, Kennedy Center and Library of Congress in Washington DC, Wigmore Hall in London, Gewandhaus Leipzig, National Arts Centre Ottawa, Orchard Hall Tokyo and at the ‘Progetto Martha Argerich’ Festival in Lugano where she is invited annually.

Ms. Montero’s 2012/13 season highlights include her debut with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and a European recital tour with cellist Gautier Capuçon.  She returns for performances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Rotterdam Philharmonic. Ms. Montero recently toured with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and The Cleveland Orchestra, and she performs regularly with Vienna Radio Orchestra and the Zurich Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to her brilliant and nuanced classical interpretations, Gabriela Montero’s unique personal style comes from her improvisational gifts. “I connect to my audience in a completely unique way – and they connect with me.  Because improvisation is such a huge part of who I am, it is the most natural and spontaneous way I can express myself”.  Today, in both recital and after performing a concerto, Gabriela often invites her audience to participate in asking for a melody for improvisations.

It has long been a desire to take her improvisations to the next logical step of composition.  Gabriela has enthusiastically embarked on this new phase of her career by composing a work entitled ExPatria for piano and orchestra.  Her composition received its premiere performances in London and on tour in Germany with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields orchestra.  In these concerts, her multi-faceted talents were featured along with her new work as Ms. Montero performed Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto as well as her legendary solo improvisations.  Ms. Montero will revisit ExPatria this season with orchestras in the United States and Europe.

Gabriela's innovative perspectives are also in wide demand outside of the classical music world. For the second time, Gabriela Montero is invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland as a featured speaker. She also participates in the Women of the World Festival held at London's Southbank Centre. Ms. Montero performed at the invitation of the White House for President Obama's inauguration in 2008. She is an honored recipient of the 2012 Rockefeller Award for her contributions to the arts.

Ms. Montero’s recordings for EMI Classics comprises of one disc of music by Rachmaninov, Chopin and Liszt and a second of her deeply felt and technically brilliant improvisations. Her EMI CD Bach and Beyond is a complete disc of improvisations on themes by Bach which topped the charts for several months. She earned two ECHO Awards from the Deutsche Phono-Akademie: the Keyboard Instrumentalist of the Year Award in 2006, and the Klassik-ohne-Grenzen Award for Bach and Beyond in 2007. In February 2008 her follow up EMI recording of improvisations Baroque was nominated for a Grammy Award and released with great critical acclaim, receiving 5 star reviews from BBC Music Magazine and Classic FM.  Gabriela’s most recent recording Solatino, released by EMI Classics in January, is devoted exclusively to works by Latin American composers.  She selected the works of six composers, including Alberto Ginastera’s Piano Sonata No. 1 as well as her own improvisations on Latin themes.

Born in Caracas Venezuela, Gabriela gave her first public performance at the age of five.  At the age of eight she made her concerto debut in Caracas and was granted a scholarship from the Venezuelan Government to study in the USA.  She currently resides in Massachusetts with her two daughters.

Last updated September 2012. Contact Opus 3 Artists for the most up-to-date version.

Audio Clips:
Excerpts from Solatino by Gabriela Montero. Release date October 4, 2010. (P) 2010 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd.