Haydée Schvartz

Haydée Schvartz

Haydée Schvartz is one of Argentina’s leading pianist, with a repertoire that embraces classical to contemporary music. Schvartz has performed in the major concert halls of Argentina and several North/South American and European countries, appearing in numerous recitals and important festivals such as: North American New Music Festival, World Music Days (Canada), Festival de Popayan (Colombia), International Forum of New Music (Mexico), Porto Alegre Festival (Brazil), and the Festival de Música Contemporánea (Chile). As a soloist she has played works from  the classical  (Liszt Concertos) to the contemporary repertoire  (first South American performance of Lutoslawski’s Piano Concerto).

Schvartz has performed John Cage’s Europera 5 (1997) and the role of Clara Schumann in Gerardo Gandini’s opera Liederkreis at the Colón Theatre of Buenos Aires. Her innovative performance of the complete Debussy Preludes has been unanimously acclaimed as a highlight of the musical scene. She was recognized as “Performer of the Year 2000” by the newspaper Página 12 (Argentina).

After the death of the great American pianist Yvar Mikhashoff, Schvartz was declared one of the inheritors of his International Piano Tango, and she took the initiative to continue the project by commissioning leading Argentinean composers to create a work for this collection.

A recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship, she studied with Yvar Mikhashoff in Buffalo, earning a Master’s Degree. She was also a student of the great piano teacher Maria Curcio. Her  awards include the Nicholas Patterson Fund, Delta-Kappa-Gamma Fellowship, and Mozarteum Argentino. In 1991 she was winner of the Cameron Baird Competition in the U.S.A.

Schvartz is currently on the piano faculty at the Municipal Conservatory of Buenos Aires and director of the piano department at CEAMC (Center for Advanced Studies in Contemporary Music) of Buenos Aires. She has given piano Master Classes in Argentinean Universities, New England Conservatory of Boston, State University of New York at Buffalo, Porto Allegre (Brazil), and La Serena University (Chile). Schvartz is the pianist of the Quinteto CEAMC, focusing on 20th century music, which regularly gives concerts, recordings, seminars and commissions to composers. She has recorded for Mode, Melopea, Testigo and Cosentino Records.