André Watts

André Watts – born in Nuremberg, Germany on June 20, 1946 – was a Grammy Award-winning American classical pianist. Born while his African American father was stationed in Europe, he began playing violin at the age of 4. He then became interested in the piano before his family was transferred back to the United States when he was eight. After relocating to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. André Watts performed his first concert at the age of 10 with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra. He attended the Philadelphia Academy of Music, where he won an end-of-year competition. He then auditioned for Leonard Bernstein's show, Young People's Concert, and his performance of Liszt's piano concerto No. 1 captured the attention of Bernstein himself. He was featured on the televised show in mid-January 1963 and then, just two weeks later, he was asked to fill in for an ailing Glen Gould and performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO), where he received a standing ovation. He signed with Columbia Masterworks and released the album The Exciting Debut of André Watts (1963), which featured Bernstein and the NYPO. The album was critically acclaimed and brought him to commercial prominence when it won the Grammy Award for Most Promising Classical Artist. He continued his piano studies at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, graduating in 1972. While attending school, he continued to perform recitals in the US – including a performance at the Hollywood Bowl (Los Angeles, California) – as well as performing overseas. His recorded output featured solo recitals as well as performances with the NYPO, focusing on a romantic repertoire from composers such as Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, Saint-Saëns, Beethoven, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky. When his recording contract with Columbia ending in 1977, he focused on live performances. André Watts signed to EMI and resumed recording on top of his busy live schedule. A decade later, he signed with Telarc for a short time. He began to experience health issues at the turn of the millennium - a subdural hematoma in 2002 and a herniated disc in 2004 – which resulted in a reduction in his piano playing abilities. While he altered his style and was still able to perform, he also took on a teaching position at Indiana University in 2004. André Watts was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016 and died on July 12, 2023, at the age of 77. He left behind a recorded musical legacy that stretched back 60 years, some of which was compiled on 2016 boxset The Complete Columbia Album Collection.

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