Carlos Prieto is a Mexican cellist and writer, born in Mexico City.[1] He has received enthusiastic public acclaim and won excellent reviews for his performances throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and the former Soviet Union, Asia, and Latin America. The New York Times review of his Carnegie Hall debut raved, "Prieto knows no technical limitations and his musical instincts are impeccable."[2]
He plays a Stradivarius cello named the "Piatti" after Carlo Alfredo Piatti, affectionately nicknamed "Chelo Prieto" by the current owner.[3] He is a promoter of contemporary, original classical instrument music by Latin American composers. The Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition[4] is held every three years in Mexico. His son, Carlos Miguel Prieto, is music director of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico.
Early years
Prieto began playing the cello at age four, studying under the instruction of Hungarian cellist Imre Hartman, and also with the Mexican cellist Manuel Garnica Fierro.
Prieto was a longtime friend of Igor Stravinsky. When Stravinsky returned to Russia in 1962 after a fifty-year absence, he was accompanied in Moscow by Prieto, who was at that time studying at the Moscow State University in Russia. He also knew Shostakovich and has premiered his first Cello Concerto in different cities in Mexico as well as in Spain.
He continued his instruction with Pierre Fournier in Geneva and Leonard Rose in New York. He also studied engineering and economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),[5] MIT later appointed him in 1993 as a member of its department of music and theater arts visiting committee.
Music career
He has played with orchestras from all over the world, the Royal Philharmonic in London, the Chamber Orchestra of the European Union, the American Symphony Orchestra in New York, the Boston Pops in Symphony Hall, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Spanish Radio, and Television Orchestra, the Irish National Orchestra, the MAV Budapest Orchestra, and many others. He has been invited to many of the world's most prestigious halls, such as Carnegie Hall[6] and Lincoln Center in New York,[7] Kennedy Center in Washington; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles; Roy Thomson in Toronto; Barbican Hall and Wigmore Hall in London; Salle Gaveau and Salle Pleyel in Paris; Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia; Auditorio Nacional in Madrid; The Beijing and Shanghai Concert Halls; the Europalia, Granada, Berlin Festivals, etc.[8]
He was appointed Honorary Member of the Fine Arts Advisory Council of the University of Texas at Austin.
From 1995 to 2010, he was chairman of the Foundation of the Conservatory of Las Rosas, the oldest conservatory of the Americas and Mexico's most ambitious music education project.
Every three years, the National Council for the Arts of Mexico and the Las Rosas Conservatory organize the Carlos Prieto International Cello Competition, so named in recognition of his career and work in promoting and enriching Latin American cello music.
In recent years, he played a series of concerts with Yo-Yo Ma in Mexico, Caracas, New Orleans, Chicago, Spain and Cuba.[9]
Writing career
Prieto has recorded over 100 works and written ten books: Russian Letters, Around the World with the Cello, From the USSR to Russia, The Adventures of a Cello –translated into Portuguese, Russian, and English- Paths and Images of Music, Five Thousand Years of Words (with a foreword by Carlos Fuentes); Throughout China with the Cello with a foreword by Yo-Yo Ma; Dmitri Shostakovich, genius and drama; Short history of music in Mexico, and My musical tours around the world. Music in Mexico and autobiographical notes. Some have been translated into English, Russian and Portuguese and have appeared in audiobook form.
1995: Mozart Medal from the Austrian Ambassador in Mexico
1999: Achievement Award of the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York
1999: France awarded the Order of the Arts and Letters in the grade of Officer
2001: Indiana University awarded the Eva Janzer Award, entitled “Chevalier du Violoncelle”
2002: School of Music of Yale University awarded the Cultural Leadership Citation
2006: The Order of Merit, awarded by the King of Spain.
2006 The title of Venezuelan Youth Emeritus Master granted by José Antonio Abreu, President of the Foundation for the National Network of Youth and Children Orchestras of Venezuela (FESNOJIV).
2007: The National Award for the Arts, given by the President of Mexico.
2008: The Pushkin Medal, awarded by the President of Russia.
2009: Professional Accomplishment Award by the University of Oviedo (Spain) and (ASICOM).
2012: The Commendation for Distinguished Leadership in the Arts awarded by TCU (Texas Christian University).
2012: The Fine Arts Gold Medal, awarded by the government of Mexico.
2014: The Robert A. Muh Award from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for outstanding contributions in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
2018- ''Embajador Gilberto Bosques'' Award in recognition of his exceptional careers and contributions to the cultures of their countries.[11]
2018- The Harold Gramatges Honorary Award given by the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.[12]
