Gonzalo Soriano

Who was Gonzalo Soriano?

Gonzalo Soriano was one of Spain's most distinguished classical pianists of the twentieth century.

Born in Alicante, Soriano began studying music at an early age, but soon began to concentrate on piano. Graduating from the Royal Conservatory in Madrid in 1929, he went on to study piano and composition with Amzel in Lisbon. Back in Madrid, as a protégé of Manuel de Falla, whose work he played on numerous occasions, Soriano's talent soon began to be recognized. He enjoyed the company of Ramón Gómez de la Serna and a group of like-minded artists and writers.

The Spanish Civil War interrupted his career and it was only after the end of the Second World War that he began to acquire a reputation in Europe, impressing the public and critics alike for his versatility, technique and musical sensitivity. He began to give concerts in Europe in 1947 and made his first U.S. tour in 1954 to considerable critical and commercial success. From this tour came the first American recording containing Albéniz's Suite española. With the same company he recorded the Variations sérieuses by Mendelssohn, Schumann's Three Romances, Op 27 and Schubert's Sonata in A minor Op 164, all on a single LP.