Like ad-libbing, in a classy way

By Staff
Like ad-libbing, in a classy way

At first we were a bit confused after Googling “Gabriela Montero” to learn more about the Caracas, Venezuelan pianist. On her MySpace page she appears both in sexy, long blond tresses and a sassy short brown ‘do, but perhaps that reveals something about her.

Namely, that she loves to improvise, and she is brilliant about it.

We lingered online awhile (www.myspace.com/gabrielmontero) just because her playing is so fabulous (check out Toccata in D Minor), but you can hear an entire evening’s worth of Montero when she appears in a 7:30 p.m. concert Nov. 18 at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts.

Montero, who studied at London’s Royal Academy of Music and won the bronze medal at the 1995 Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland, is best known for improvisations. On her newest CD, Baroque, she takes some of the best-known Baroque themes, including Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major, Albinoni’s Adagio, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Boccherini’s Minuet and Handel’s Water Music, and performs improvisational magic.

Tickets: $22 & $24. Info: visit www.scottsdaleperformingarts.org or call (480) 994-2787.



This article appears in the November 2007 issue of Latino Perspectives Magazine.

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