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To announce a Hungarian cultural event, please contact the AHF Cultural Affairs Committee,
Zoltan Bagdy, Chair

About Andre Watts
(courtesy of www.thehungarypage.com)

(b. 6/20/1946, Nürnberg, Germany) Acclaimed Classical Pianist - one of the "Great Pianists of the 20th Century"

The first African-American concert pianist to achieve international superstardom. Critics have called Watts electrifying, sensational, daring, colorful, imaginative, powerful, and a supervirtuoso. André Watts is the son of an American career soldier stationed in Germany and a Hungarian refugee. Watts began studying the violin at age four. By the time he was six he made it known that his preference was for the piano, so his mother, a pianist herself, gave him his first lessons. As is frequently the case, he loved to play but hated to practice. When his habit persisted, his mother began relaying stories of her countryman, pianist and composer Franz Liszt, emphasizing the fact that he practiced faithfully. Liszt soon became Watts's hero, and he even adopted Liszt's bravura playing style.

At 10 he performed a Haydn concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra. He burst upon the music world at the age of 16, when Leonard Bernstein chose him to make his debut with the New York Philharmonic in their Young People’s Concerts, broadcast nationwide on CBS-TV. He became an overnight sensation. More than 30 years later, André Watts remains one of today’s most celebrated and beloved superstars. His performances each year with the world’s great orchestras and conductors and his sold-out recitals and appearances at the most prestigious international festivals bring him to every corner of the globe. A much-honored artist who has played before royalty in Europe and heads of government in nations all over the world, André Watts was selected to receive the Avery Fisher Prize in 1988. At age 26, he was the youngest person ever to receive an Honorary Doctorate from Yale University.

In October 2006 he performed at Carnegie Hall in New York for the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution

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