Born in Málaga, Spain, pianist Antonio Pastor began his musical studies with Alfredo Gil at the Conservatorio Superior de Música (Málaga), where he obtained the diploma Professor of Piano. He completed further studies with Fernando Puchol at the Real Conservatorio de Música de Madrid, where he received the highest prize awarded in 2000 (Mencion Honorifica Final de Carrera). In 2005, he obtained the Diplôme d’Enseignement (Mention Très Bien avec Distinction) and the Prix François Dumont (best interpretation of a Beethoven Sonata) at the Haute École de Musique de Genève (Switzerland), as a student of Sébastien Risler. He later earned the Diplôme de Soliste avec Distinction at the Conservatoire Supérieur et Académie de Musique Tibor Varga under the guidance of Dominique Weber.

 

Mr. Pastor has participated in music festivals such as the Gijón International Piano Festival in Spain, in masterclasses with Boris Slutsky and Marc Durand. In the summer of 2005, he attended the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada on a full scholarship, in the class of Julian Martin. In addition, he has performed in masterclasses of Ana Guijarro, Alexei Nasedkin, Bruno Canino, and John O’Connor.

 

He has offered solo recitals in various locations in Spain, including: Auditiorio de las Rozas “Joaquín Rodrigo” (Madrid), Centro Cultural Provincial de Málaga, Teatro Municipal “Miguel de Cervantes” (Malaga), Universidad Politécnica de Gandía (Valencia). Other recital appearances include the series “II Semana de la Música de Ronda” (Málaga) and “Jóvenes Solistas Internacionales” (Gijón). In collaboration with the Orquesta Académica de Madrid, he performed at the Circulo de Bellas Artes de Madrid, in a concert organized by the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. In Switzerland, he has performed at the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, the Chapelle of Sion and a recital hosted by the Société Frederic Chopin in Geneva. In 2008, he presented recitals during the Pianists of the World Series at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London and in The American Church in Paris. He also appeared as soloist with the Orchestre Tibor Varga and with the University Symphony Orchestra under the direction of maestro Claudio Vandelli and Gary Lewis, respectively. In 2010, he performed a solo recital broadcast live on WFMT radio from Preston Bradley Hall in Chicago, as part of the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts Series, and he recently performed at Carnegie’s Weill Hall with the New York Concerti Sinfonietta under the direction of Paul Hostetter. Upcoming performances in 2014-15 include four-hand piano recitals with his wife, Pia Bose, as the Bose-Pastor Duo, in Geneva, London, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

 

As a recipient of the First Prize in the competition ‘Muestra de Jóvenes Interpretes Ciudad de Málaga’ (Spain 2000), Antonio Pastor was given the opportunity to record a CD in cooperation with the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional awards include an Honorable Mention in the 2005 Bradshaw and Buono International Competition, and winner of the 2009 Honors Concerto Competition at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has received aid from organizations such as the Minister of Culture of Spain, AIE, and the Consejeria de Educacion de la Comunidad de Madrid, and numerous scholarships such as the Diane Hobson from Presenting Italy Scholarship from the Banff Centre for the Arts and the N. and T. Anderson Scholarship from the University of Colorado at Boulder, during his doctoral studies with Dr. Andrew Cooperstock.

 

Mr. Pastor has served as Assistant Coordinator and Chamber Music Faculty at the Escuela de Verano para Jóvenes músicos “Ciudad de Lucena” in Córdoba, Spain and is currently on the piano faculty of the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève in Switzerland.

Bose-Pastor Duo

 Pia Bose and Antonio Pastor, pianists
 

Photo: Jorge de la Vega