Leo de María
LEO DE MARÍA, piano
A unique blend of technical skill, great sensitivity and deep passion in his playing has established Leo de María as one of the best performers of his generation.
Born in Madrid in 1995, he began his musical training at the age of 11. He studied at the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts of the Alfonso X El Sabio University in Madrid under the direction of Maestro Leonel Morales, and later completed his master’s studies with Maestro Pavel Gililov at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. He is currently Piano Professor at the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts of the University Alfonso X El Sabio of Madrid (UAX) and the Superior School Forum Musikae (FMK).
Leo de María has more than 40 national and international awards. Noteworthy among them are the First Prizes at the UNISA International Piano Competitions in Pretoria (February 2024, South Africa); Ciudad de Ferrol (November 2017, Spain); MozARTè (September 2016, Germany); Grand Prix Lyon (June 2016, France; and the Premio Nacional Cultura Viva a la Revelación Artística (September 2018, Spain).
He has been awarded the Second Prize at the International Competitions of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Bratislava (FMCIM); Santa Cecilia, Portugal (FMCIM); Épinal, France (FMCIM); Música Rusa, Italy; Neue Sterne, Germany; Valsesia Música, Italy; and the Concurso-Festival de Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
He has also received the Third Prize at the Ettore Pozzoli from Seregno and the Scriabin from Grosseto, Italy. Also in Spain, the Frechilla-Zuloaga de Valladolid, in addition to the Special Prize Rosa Sabater for the best interpretation of Spanish music at the Premio Internacional de Piano Jaén.
At the age of 15 he performed his first concerto with orchestra (Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 1) with the Cukurova State Symphony Orchestra in Adana-Turkey.
Since then, his concert activity has taken him to different parts of the world, performing in the most prestigious concert halls such as the Laeishalle in Hamburg, Wiener Saal and Solitär Concert Hall in Salzburg, Casa da Música in Porto, Sala Reduta in Bratislava. In China at the Guotai Arts Center (Chonqing), Daning Theater (Shanghai), Cangjiang Theater (Xiamen), Fuzhou Grand Theater (Fuzhou), Elfers Concert Hall in Connecticut (USA), CKK Jordanki Auditorium (Torun-Poland), Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City, Auditorio de San Pedro de Monterrey-Mexico at the Festival Santa Cecilia-Parnassós, Salle Molière in Lyon at the Festival “Les Virtuoses du Piano”, Teatro Bibiena de Mantova in Italy, the Casa de A. Scriabin’s House in Moscow, Radio France in Paris, Turkey, Slovenia, Italy, Holland…
In Spain, he has collaborated for the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Sofia, Cycle “Descubre” in the National Auditorium of Madrid with the National Orchestra of Spain, Rafael Orozco Cycle in Cordoba, Juan March Foundation, Olivar del Castillejo Foundation, La Maestranza in Seville, Granada in its different halls including the Manuel de Falla Auditorium, San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid, Iturbi Hall of the Palau de la Música in Valencia, Auditorium of Castellón, Mozart Hall of the Auditorium of Zaragoza…
He has been invited as a soloist abroad with orchestras such as: Slovak National Philharmonic Orchestra in Bratislava, Porto Symphony Orchestra (Portugal), in Italy with the symphony orchestras of San Remo and Grosseto, Bursa State Symphony Orchestra (Turkey), Toruń Symphony (Poland), in Mexico Eduardo Mata University Youth Orchestra (Mexico City), Brazilian Symphony Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). In Spain, with the Malaga Philharmonic (OFM), with the Symphonic Ochestra of Galicia (OSG), the Symphonic Orchestra of Castilla y Leon (OSCyL), with the National Orchestra of Spain (OCNE)…
Last May 2022, he was invited to the Great Soloists Cycle Pilar Bayona, in the auditorium of Zaragoza. In its XXV edition, artists such as Grigory Sokolov, Alessio Bax, Joaquín Achúcarro among others took part… Leo de María received a 5-star review: “Music as a panacea”.
In 2019, he toured China extensively with a total of 12 concerts on the main stages of the Asian country, starting in the city of Chong Qing and concluding in Beijing, at the Tianquiao Performing Arts Center.
Due to the success obtained, Leo de Maria got artistic representation in China, through the Concert Agency CHONGQING PERFORMANCE CO.Ltd.
He is also an artist of the MUSIESPAÑA agency, an international endorsement factor.
He is invited every year to give master classes at The Hotchkiss School Summer Portals in Connecticut in the USA.
“Powerful“, “He plays like a great“, “Dominant and Conquering” are some of the superlatives used by different critics around gthe world to describe him.
“Power”, “Plays like a great”, “Dominant and Conquering” are some of the superlatives used by various critics around the world to describe him. – El Norte (México – Monterey).
