At the age of seven, the Portuguese Maria João Pires was already playing Mozart's piano concertos in concert halls.
Maria João Pires
Dirigent
She studied piano, as well as composition, music theory and music history at the Lisbon Conservatory, and continued her studies in Munich and Hanover. Her big breakthrough came in 1970 when she won the Beethoven Bicentennial Competition in Brussels. Since then she has played with numerous famous orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
In 1989, Maria João Pires signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, where she has since made various CD recordings of works by Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and others. Maria João Pires has founded various organizations and projects to bring music closer to people, including the Equinox Project, which initiates choirs for children from underprivileged families, and the Partitura Project, in which she brings together artists from different generations to exchange experiences. She also coaches talented pianists, including the brothers Arthur and Lucas Jussen recently.