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Andre Watts was a pioneering American classical pianist known for his captivating performances and extensive collaborations with major orchestras worldwide.
Watts performed Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat at a Young People's Concert on January 12, 1963, televised nationally. He also filled in for Glenn Gould to perform the same concerto at a regular subscription concert on January 31, 1963, leading to widespread acclaim.
Watts's first LP, "The Exciting Debut of André Watts," which included the Liszt Concerto with Bernstein and the Philharmonic, was released by Columbia Masterworks shortly after his televised debut. He later signed a long-term exclusive contract with them on his 21st birthday.
Watts was a frequent guest, performing numerous times with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, including his debut at the Ravinia Festival in June 1965 and many subsequent concerts with various conductors.
Watts was scheduled to perform with the DSO, with pianist Terrence Wilson stepping in for him due to health reasons for Classical Roots Concerts in March 2020.
The Star-Ledger chatted with Andre Watts ahead of his May 15 concert with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, highlighting his return as an audience favorite.
Watts was lifelong friends with Tucson musicians Harry Clark and Sanda Schuldmann and performed with their Chamber Music Plus series.
In 1985, Watts signed a recording contract with EMI and recorded with them until the early 1990s.
Watts also recorded for Telarc, another recording label.
Andre Watts, born on June 20, 1946, in Nuremberg, Allied-occupied Germany, was a celebrated American classical pianist. His musical journey began early, studying violin at age four before transitioning to piano at six. His mother, a Hungarian pianist, provided his initial lessons and encouraged his practice by sharing stories of Franz Liszt, a figure who greatly inspired Watts’s theatrical playing style. The family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, when Watts was eight. At age ten, he performed Mendelssohn’s G minor concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Robin Hood Dell, and by fourteen, he played Franck’s Symphonic Variations, again with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Watts’s career took a significant turn at age sixteen when he auditioned for Leonard Bernstein’s televised Young People’s Concert series with the New York Philharmonic. His performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 on January 12, 1963, was nationally televised, leading to widespread recognition. Shortly after, Bernstein asked Watts to step in for Glenn Gould, where he once again performed the Liszt E-flat Concerto to a standing ovation. This led to his first LP, “The Exciting Debut of André Watts,” released on Columbia Masterworks. He then enrolled at the Peabody Institute, studying part-time while maintaining an intensive concert schedule, debuting with many major orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra in 1966.
Throughout his six-decade career, Watts performed with nearly every major American orchestra and many of the world’s finest. He received numerous accolades, including a Grammy Award in 1964 for Most Promising New Classical Artist, the Avery Fisher Prize in 1988, and the National Medal of Arts in 2011. In 2004, he joined the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, becoming a distinguished professor in 2017. Watts continued to perform and inspire audiences until his death on July 12, 2023, at the age of 77.
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