Alvaro Pierri

Pierri, Alvaro

Alvaro Pierri. Guitarist, teacher, b Montevideo, Uruguay, 18 Jan 1953. Born into a family of musicians, he began studying piano at four with his mother, Ada Estades, and one year later he began taking guitar lessons with his aunt, Olga Pierri. He subsequently received further training from Abel Carlevaro and Guido Santórsola. He won first prize at international competitions in Porto Alegre and Buenos Aires, as well as first prize and the jury's gold medal at the 18th Concours international de guitare in Paris.

When he made his North American debut at Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York in 1978, critics compared him with such great masters as Segovia, Bream and Yepes. Settling in Montreal in 1981, he joined the teaching staff of McGill University, UQAM and the Orford Arts Centre, in addition to being guest professor in Paris, Bordeaux, Frankfurt, Berlin and Rome. He has performed regularly in Europe and America, in recital or with orchestra. He has premiered works by Bazan, Brouwer, Carlevaro, Gonzalez, J. Hétu, Kaplan, Lanza, Piazzolla, Rougier and Santórsola. On CD, he has recorded Guitar Recital featuring works by Brouwer, Falla, Gismonti, Hétu, and Torroba, released in 1991 (Amplitude CLCD-2010). He has made several other albums for Métropole-Polydor (France) and Blue Angel (Germany).