Maria João Pires

Born in Lisbon, Portugal on July 23, 1944, Maria João Pires is an acclaimed classical pianist whose repertoire focuses mostly on works by Mozart and Chopin. She played her first recital at the age of five and was performing Mozart piano concertos when she was seven. She came to international prominence when she won the Beethoven Bicentenary Competition – held in Brussels, Belgium - in 1970. Maria João Pires then began to perform with major international orchestras across Europe, America, Japan, Canada, and Israel. Performing both as a member of a chamber orchestra and a soloist, she has released many recordings during her career including Mozart: Great Piano Concertos (1978), Mozart: Complete Piano Sonatas (1990), Brahms: The Violin Sonatas (1992), Grieg: Violin Sonatas (1993), Schumann: Piano Pieces (1995), Chopin: The Nocturnes (1996), Beethoven: Complete Violin Sonatas (2002), and Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 (2015). In 1999, she founded the Belgais Centre for Study of the Arts, and eventually relocated to Brazil in 2006. Although she never officially retired, Maria João Pires made fewer albums and performances. In her absence, several box sets of her music were released in 2014 including The Complete Erato Recordings and The Complete Solo Recordings.