Classical Instrumental Welcomes Guest Artist Jorge Luis Prats
Cervantes Fundación Hispanoamericana de Arte (Cervantes Hispanic-American Arts Foundation) and Hispanic Flavor Productions are proud to announce a free Gala Concert by the most prominent Cuban classical pianist of our time, the world renowned, Jorge Luis Prats, has been confirmed as part of the week long festivities of Que Pasa Fest 2015. This will be Prats’ very first visit to New Orleans. His program is expected to include works from Cuban composers Ignacio Cervantes and Felix Guerrero. The Spanish composer, Isaac Albeniz, will also be featured with selections from his suite Iberia. Prats will complete the program with virtuoso well-known universal piano composers such as Chopin and Ravel, among others.
The free and open to the public Gala Concert is scheduled for the evening of Friday, October 9 at 7:30pm and will take place at Dixon Hall on Tulane University’s campus. Prats will also hold a Master Class at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) the afternoon of Wednesday, October 7, which will also be free and open to the public.
Jorge Luis Prats, was born in Camaguey, Cuba in 1956. He completed his musical education in Havana National School of Arts. Following his graduation from the Moscow Conservatoire, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris with Magda Tagliaferro and Hochshule fur Musik und Kunstler in Vienna with Paul Badura Skoda. At just 21 years old, he won first prize at the prestigious Long-Jacques Thibaud Concours in Paris. He has been hailed as a long-lost virtuoso in the grand tradition and ‘the best pianist you have never heard of’ by the BBC Music Magazine. His recitals at the prestigious Meister Pianisten series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Piano 4 Etoiles series at Salle Pleyel in Paris and the Verbier Festival have all been received with standing ovations and re-invitations. Highlights of recent seasons include Rachmaninoff’s Second and Third Concertos with the Orchestre de Paris under Paavo Jarvi, and performances with the Guilbenkian Orchestra and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Daniele Gatti and Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and Thomas Sandergard, his debut in the Boston Master Pianists, and the opening concert of the 12/15 Club Musical de Quebec series. Prats discography comprises over 20 recordings including Scriabin’s 24 Preludes, all the Rachmaninoff concertos, the Beethoven concertos, as well as works by Grieg and Chopin. His most recent recordings are of Granados by Goyescas and Works by Cuban composers (DECCA). His most recent performances are at Harpha Theater in Reykjavic Iceland performing the most important Cuban piano works, and Iberia by Albeniz, London Philharmonic at the Royal Festival Hall, Paris Philharmonic with the Rachmaninoff 2nd concerto, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid playing the complete Iberia by Albeniz, and the Tchaikovsky piano concerto with the Mexico State Philharmonic Orchestra. Que Pasa Fest 2015 is proud to present this unique and compelling artist in his New Orleans debut.
Que Pasa Fest 2015 will be a six-day festival filled with music and dance and will be held at various locations throughout the Greater New Orleans area. Festivities will begin Monday, October 5 and culminate Saturday, October 10, 2015, with an outdoor festival for the whole family at the Al Copeland Meadow Concert area in Lafreniere Park, in Metairie, Louisiana. Que Pasa Fest’s objective is to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month. This year’s Fest will shine a light on Cuban artistry. National Hispanic Heritage Month is the period from September 15 to October 15 in the United States, when people recognize the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate the group’s heritage and culture.