ÁLVARO PIERRI
Álvaro Pierri is internationally acclaimed as one of the leading personalities in the world of the guitar. Critics around the world have praised his carefully conceived interpretations, breathtaking phrasing, brilliant technique and exceptional range of tonal colours. Popular with audiences and critics alike, he is a regular guest at major concert venues throughout Europe, North and South America, India, Japan, Korea and China.
His United States debut took place in New York and received outstanding reviews. In 1983 he made his German debut with string soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic. Since then, he has appeared worldwide on numerous radio and television programmes, both as a soloist and with artists and orchestras including Frank Peter Zimmermann, Astor Piazzolla and Charles Dutoit. His broadcasts have been produced by stations including Deutsche Rundfunk, PBS New York, CBC Canada, Radio France, NHK Japan and KBS Korea.
Pierri regularly performs with distinguished musicians, ensembles and orchestras. His collaborators have included Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Astor Piazzolla, the WDR Radio Orchestra Köln with Pinchas Steinberg, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra with Wojciech Rajski, the CBC Radio Orchestra with Mario Bernardi, the London Chamber Orchestra, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Ernö Sebestyen, Régis Pasquier, Hatto Beyerle, Philippe Müller, Leo Brouwer, Amjad Ali Khan, Alcides Lanza, Tracy Silverman, Maureen Forrester, Eduardo Fernández, the Ysaÿe Quartet, Cherubini Quartet, Turtle Island String Quartet, Ensemble Wien with Rainer Honeck, Vasko Vassilev and Pascal Rogé.
Contemporary composers including Leo Brouwer, Guido Santórsola, Jacques Hétu, Astor Piazzolla, Abel Carlevaro, Carlo Domeniconi and Dušan Bogdanović have written major works for Álvaro Pierri, which he has premiered.
His recordings have been released by Metropole-Polydor, Blue Angel-2001, Milan Records, Analekta, Amplitude, Madacy, HOMA, Pioneer Classics and Alpha Omega. His discography encompasses solo recordings, chamber music, guitar concertos and electro-acoustic music. Several recordings have received prizes and nominations, and he has twice received the Canadian Félix Award for Best Classical CD of the Year. Pioneer Classics Japan released a DVD devoted to Spanish and South American guitar music, while Deutsche Grammophon reissued a DVD featuring Pierri in duo with Astor Piazzolla.
Álvaro Pierri is also an internationally acclaimed teacher. His students have won major international guitar competitions and developed distinguished performing and recording careers. He has taught at the University of Santa Maria in Brazil, McGill University and UQAM in Montreal, and in 2002 was appointed professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW). He gives masterclasses at major festivals and institutions throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia.
Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, into a family of musicians, Pierri received his early musical education from his mother, pianist Ada Estades, and his aunt, Uruguayan guitarist Olga Pierri. He later studied with Abel Carlevaro and composer Guido Santórsola, as well as at the Uruguayan National Institute of Musicology. From the age of eleven, he was already performing in concerts and winning prizes in international guitar competitions, including First Prize at competitions in Buenos Aires and Porto Alegre, and the Gold Medal at the 18th International Competition in Paris.
In recognition of his outstanding artistic career and contribution to music and the guitar, Álvaro Pierri was named an Honorary Citizen of Montevideo in 2008. In March 2025 he received the Premio alla Carriera in Rome, and in June 2025 the Guitar Foundation of America presented him with its Artistic Achievement Award, inducting him into the GFA Hall of Fame. In May 2026, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Rhine Guitar Festival & Academy in Germany.