Born in Uruguay, in 1948, pianist Alberto Reyes had a remarkable early music career: a gifted child, he was reading music by the age of three and a half. He started formal lessons at six with Sarah Bourdillon, a pupil of Alfred Cortot’s École Normale de Musique, and made his recital debut at eight, playing works by Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, Debussy and Schubert.
He continued to make appearances in recitals and as orchestral soloist throughout his teens, in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. At thirteen Alberto Reyes made his debut with the Uruguayan Symphony Orchestra (SODRE) at Teatro Solís in Montevideo, the oldest extant theater in the Americas.
In 1966, Alberto Reyes received a full scholarship from the Organization of American States and moved to the United States to study at the Indiana University School of Music with Sidney Foster, the first Leventritt Award winner. A string of prizes and awards promptly followed: in 1969 the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition, in 1970 the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, in 1971 the Leventritt Competition in New York and in 1973 the Van Cliburn International Competition in Texas, which led to successful tours in the United States, Canada, South America and the former Soviet Union.
In 1971 he was appointed to the Piano Faculty at Indiana University.
Then, in 1976, Alberto Reyes decided to make a drastic career change and became a simultaneous interpreter. For three decades he worked for the United Nations and he limited his concert appearances to New York City and his native Montevideo. Alberto Reyes returned to his professional activities as a pianist after his retirement from the U.N.
"A musician who clearly hearkens back to the Golden Age of piano playing in the Romantic tradition"
(Colin Clarke for Seen and Heard International)
He continued to make appearances in recitals and as orchestral soloist throughout his teens, in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. At thirteen Alberto Reyes made his debut with the Uruguayan Symphony Orchestra (SODRE) at Teatro Solís in Montevideo, the oldest extant theater in the Americas.
In 1966, Alberto Reyes received a full scholarship from the Organization of American States and moved to the United States to study at the Indiana University School of Music with Sidney Foster, the first Leventritt Award winner. A string of prizes and awards promptly followed: in 1969 the Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition, in 1970 the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow, in 1971 the Leventritt Competition in New York and in 1973 the Van Cliburn International Competition in Texas, which led to successful tours in the United States, Canada, South America and the former Soviet Union.
In 1971 he was appointed to the Piano Faculty at Indiana University.
Then, in 1976, Alberto Reyes decided to make a drastic career change and became a simultaneous interpreter. For three decades he worked for the United Nations and he limited his concert appearances to New York City and his native Montevideo. Alberto Reyes returned to his professional activities as a pianist after his retirement from the U.N.
"A musician who clearly hearkens back to the Golden Age of piano playing in the Romantic tradition"
(Colin Clarke for Seen and Heard International)