Arturo Nieto-Dorantes
Pianist
"A master of the
full-orchestra sound
in piano "
- Kurt Rutz, Die Rorschacher Zeitung, Switzerland
Mexican-Canadian pianist Arturo Nieto-Dorantes is a brilliant artist who seduces his audience with his brio, dexterity and maturity through his fascinating sonority at the piano. He is the first pianist to perform the integral piano works by Mexican composer Manuel M. Ponce outside of Mexico which he is currently recording for Urtext Digital Classics in four double albums. He is also one of the rare pianists to perform integrally Isaac Albéniz Iberia in concert which he just recorded for Urtext. The press has said about him: “A master of the full-orchestra sound for piano” (Kurt Rutz, Die Rorschacher Zeitung, Switzerland), “a Latin-American firestorm” (Marian Hartmann, Die Hagener Zeitung, Germany) and “impecable technique and prodigious hands” (Kurt Hermann Wilhelm, Claridades, Mexico).
Since his debut with orchestra at the age of 14 performing Chopin Concerto no. 2, he has soloed with the most important orchestras in Mexico such as the Mexico City Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra and OFUNAM among many others. He has also performed with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, the Charlemagne Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Brussels, the Orchestre Symphonique de Longueil and the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec. He has also collaborated with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano and the Quatuor Arthur-Leblanc in Canada.
He has been prizewinner at the “Angelica Morales” National Piano Competition in Mexico, the “Claude Khan” European Competition in Paris and the Award to the Best Interpreter of 2002 awarded by the Mexico’s National Critic Association.
Nieto-Dorantes has recorded six CD’s solo, in chamber music and a soloist with orchestra. Among them, we can mention his recording “Tres Conciertos de Compositores Mexicanos” with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Querétaro (Álamo Records), “Altar de Muertos” with the Cuarteto Latinoamericano (Urtext Digital Classics). His solo CD “Días de Mar y Río” (Quindecim Recordings) features a repertoire of concert piano music base on Latin-American folklore. These recordings have been played in radio stations in North America and Europe. He is also the creator of the interactive website “Jouer Chopin” and the recital “Le Piano Sorcier” which combines a combination of the traditional piano recital with augmented reality.
He studied at the Mexico and Paris Conservatories as well as at Indiana University in Bloomington where he studied with the legendary Hungarian pianist György Sebök. He also completed a Master’s Degree in Spanish Music Interpretation at the Katarina Gurska Superior Center in Madrid. Currently he combines his concert activities with academia. Since 2002 he is a full profesor at the Laval University Music Faculty where he is also director of the Master’s and Doctorate in Performance programs.