Santiago Rodriguez (born February 16, 1952) is a Cuban-American pianist. Rodriguez is an exclusive recording artist for Élan Recordings. His Rachmaninov recordings received the Rosette award in The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music and he is a silver medalist in the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Background
Rodriguez was born in Cárdenas, Cuba, and began piano studies at age four with Nelson DeBerge. When Rodriguez was eight years old, he and his brother became part of Project Peter Pan, a project sponsored by Catholic Charities which brought Cuban children to America during Fidel Castro’s regime. Although his parents originally thought that they would be quickly reunited, it took six years for the parents to immigrate to America. He continued his piano lessons while living in the orphanage in New Orleans supported by money that his mother had sewn in his coat. When he was ten years old, Rodriguez debuted with the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 27. Rodriguez completed his Bachelor of Music degree with William Race at the University of Texas and the Master of Music degree with Adele Marcus at the Juilliard School. After winning the silver medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 1981, Rodriguez launched his international career. He has been featured on the ABC, NBC, PBS, CNN, BBC, CBC television networks.
Concert career
Highlights of Rodriguez's concert career include performances at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Schauspielhaus in Berlin, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Montreal's Théâtre Maisonneuve, Alice Tully Hall in New York, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. He has performed internationally with orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra of Japan, the Tampere Philharmonic of Finland, the Berliner Symphoniker, the Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, Baltimore, Seattle, Indianapolis, American Composers, as well as the Houston Symphony Orchestras, the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, D.C., and the American Symphony Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Festivals include the Santander Festival in Spain and the Ravenna Festival in Italy.
As a chamber musician, Rodriguez has performed with the Guarneri Quartet, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Ruggiero Ricci, Nathaniel Rosen, Walter Trampler, Ransom Wilson, Gervaise de Peyer, Aurora Nátola-Ginastera, and Robert McDuffie.
Recordings
Rodriguez records exclusively for Élan Recordings, a record company which he and his wife, Natalia Rodriguez, founded in 1985. He has recorded for the label works by Rachmaninov, as well as some of the Spanish composers in which he specializes. Other recordings he has made include works by Bach, Brahms, Ginastera, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, and Grieg.
Selected discography
Rachmaninov, Volume I (Piano Sonata No. 1, Preludes, Op. 32) 1993. Élan Recordings. Rachmaninov, Volume II (Piano Sonata No. 2, Chopin Variations, Morceaux de fantaisie) 1994. Élan Recordings. Rachmaninov, Volume III (Preludes Op. 23, Corelli Variations, Nocturnes, Songs Without Words) 1995. Élan Recordings. Santiago Rodriguez plays Rachmaninov (Includes live performance of Rachmaninov 3rd Concerto with Lake Forest Symphony) 1999. Élan Recordings. Rachmaninov 3rd/Prokofiev 3rd (Sofia Philharmonic) 1997. Élan Recordings. Rachmaninov 2nd/Chopin 2nd (Berliner Symphoniker Orchestra) 1997. Élan Recordings. Ginastera Variaciones Concertantes (Richmond Sinfonia) 1996. Élan Recordings. Santiago Rodriguez Plays Ginastera (also works by Albeniz, Falla, Granados, and Ruvo) 1998 Élan Recordings. Spanish Album (music by Manuel de Falla, Antonio Soler, Joaquin Turina, and Ernesto Lecuona) 1994. Élan Recordings. Brahms (Paganini Variations, 16 Waltzes, Chaconne by Bach) 1997. Élan Recordings. Tchaikovsky, Grieg and Liszt Piano Concertos (Sofia Philharmonic) 1996. Élan Recordings. Piano in Hollywood: the Classic Movie Concertos (Fairfax Symphony Orchestra) 1995. Élan Recordings. Max Reger: "Mozart Variations for Two Pianos: Bach-Reger: Brandenbug Concertos (Peter Rosel and Santiago Rodriguez. Élan Recordings.