Joaquín Achúcarro, piano

The Phillips Collection

October 12, 2009, 9:00 pm

Knighted in 1996 by King Juan Carlos of Spain with the Gold Medal of Fine Arts, pianist Joaquín Achúcarro has concertized with orchestras around the world. His victory at the 1959 Liverpool International Competition, performing the Schumann Piano Concerto and the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, led to his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra and launched his international career. This year, he celebrates 20 years as professor of piano at Southern Methodist University, where he holds the specially endowed Joel Estes Tate Chair. A native of Bilbao, Spain, Achúcarro is a descendent of Edvard Grieg by way of his Norwegian great-grandfather.

Featured performances:

• Bach-Busoni: Toccata, Adagio & Fugue in C major, BWV 564, transcribed for piano
• Johannes Brahms: Intermezzo, Op. 117, No 1 in E-flat major
• Claude Debussy: Preludes (Book 2)
  Brouillards
  La Puerta del Vino
  Feux d’artifice
• Enrique Granados: The Maiden and the Nightingale (from Goyescas)
• Isaac Albéniz:Tango
• Isaac Albéniz:El Puerto (Iberia)
• Isaac Albéniz: Navarra