Joaquín Achúcarro
Artistic Director, Instrumental Music

In March 2010  Opus Arte released his DVD “Achucarro plays Brahms” with Brahms n.2 piano concerto with Sir Colin Davis and  London Symphony, which  received rave reviews and  5 stars all over Europe being “Editor´s Choice”  of CLASSIC FM Magazine and “Outstanding” by the International Record Review and immediately climbed  to n.1 of the Bestsellers  charts in  the USA www.Amazon.com.

Last year a second DVD,named “Falla and Friends” with Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle came to the market, this time under Euroarts label, and also is receiving the same acclaim.          

Joaquín Achúcarro has been described by the Chicago Sun Times as “The Consummate Artist”. His impeccable and modelic artistic career has earned him a reputation of the highest degree both nationally and internationally.

His victory in England at the 1959 Liverpool International Competition (one year after Zubin Mehta had won it as conductor) and the rave reviews in the London papers after his debut with the London Symphony in the Royal Festival Hall marked the beginning of his career.

Since then, Achúcarro has been enjoying an uninterrupted international career touring 59 countries, performing  in venues as Avery Fisher Hall, Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, Concertgebouw, Festival Hall , Musikverein,  Albert Hall, Salle Gaveau, Salle Pleyel, Teatro Scala, Suntory Hall, Sydney Opera ,Teatro Colón,Barbican, both playing recitals and as soloist with over 200  orchestras including, Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, La Scala of Milan, London Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, BBC Symphony, Philharmonia, Royal Scottish, Hallé, National de France, Yomiuri, Tokyo Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, RIAS Berlin, Tonkunstler Wien, and every Spanish Orchestra, under more than 350 conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Sir Adrian Boult, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Colin Davis, Zubin Mehta, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Seiji Ozawa and Sir Simon Rattle.

He was named “Artist for Peace” in 2000 by the UNESCO in Paris in recognition of “his extraordinary artistic achievement”. He is Accademico ad Honorem of the Accademia Chigiana in Siena,and in Spain Achúcarro has received the highest honours in the Arts:  Gold Medal of Fine Arts, The National Award for Music  and the Great Cross of Civil Merit.
In 2004 his home town  Bilbao, named him ”Hijo Predilecto de la Villa “.

Achucarro rewrote  and recorded for SONY his revision of  Rodrigo’s Piano Concerto. He has prize-winning recordings of  Falla, Granados, Ravel and Brahms with BMG-RCA, Claves , Master of Arts and Ensayo. Other recordings include music by Schumann, Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven, Debussy, Bartok, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Turina and Hermann.

Since August 1989 he holds the Tate Chair at the private University SMU  in Dallas (USA) adjusting his teaching periods to his busy concert schedule.

In 2008, the Joaquín Achúcarro Foundation was created by a group of individuals and institutions from the Dallas community “to perpetuate his artistic and teaching legacy” and to help young pianists at the outset of their careers.

www.achucarro.com