Monday, October 23, 2023
12 PM
Concert pianist Gustavo Romero is internationally renowned for his exceptional technical brilliance and interpretive depth and has gained an acclaimed reputation for his commitment to in-depth exploration of a wide variety of composers.
A native of San Diego with heritage in Guadalajara, Mexico, Mr. Romero discovered his love and gift for the piano at the age of five and gave his first public performances at the age of 10, when he also won his first piano competition. At 13, he performed with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. Rudolf Serkin recognized his exceptional talent, and at the age of 14 he attended the Juilliard School.
Mr. Romero has won many prizes including first prize in the prestigious Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Switzerland, The Avery Fisher Career Grant and The Musical America Young Artist Award.
He has performed with the world's leading orchestras including: The New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Houston Symphony, The Boston Pops Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Honolulu Symphony, New World Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Radio France Orchestra, Philharmonia Hungarica, New Japan Philharmonic, Shanghai Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic, Russian Symphony Orchestra, Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Liège Philharmonic, a concert internationally televised from the United Nations.
For the past twenty years, Mr. Romero has performed a summer series of concerts in La Jolla, California, sponsored by the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library featuring music of one composer each year. He has presented the works of Chopin, Bach, Schumann, Schubert, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Haydn, Händel, Liszt, Debussy, Gershwin, Ravel and Rachmaninoff, the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven and Mozart, the complete four-hand and two-piano works of Mozart and Clementi and piano concerti of Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn and Mendelssohn conducting from the keyboard.
In the 2017/18 season Mr. Romero focused on the piano works of Enrique Granados, celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth. Concert tours in 2017/18 include Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Vietnam, Taiwan, South Africa and the United States.
In the 2019/20 season Mr.Romero will present the complete Beethoven Sonatas in celebration of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth. This complete cycle of 32 Sonatas in seven concerts will be presented in the US, Europe, Asia and South Africa.
Free concerts at noon every Monday from fall through spring . . . no wonder the Mini-Concerts are the longest-running and one of the most popular classical music series at the library! This series was founded by Glenna Hazleton in 1970 at the Athenaeum, and has been going strong ever since. The concerts feature both local and touring musicians, prize-winning students, university music faculty members, local chamber ensembles. . . and the repertoire also includes jazz, folk and world music. There are no reservations, no tickets . . . just line up at the side door of the Athenaeum before noon. (Donations are always welcome!) Mini-Concerts take place every Monday at noon and last about an hour.
The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Doors open at 11:50 a.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.
Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.