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Biography
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"From the time I was very young I´ve had a natural interest in music, but it was not revealed to me as a life´s driving passion until the miraculous night when I discovered the soul of the cello in Carlos Prieto´s hands. It was a revelation that left me infected forever after with the mysteries of music and the joy of a great friend."
      — Gabriel García Márquez (Translated by Edith Grossman)

"Like Rostropovich, Carlos Prieto is a true champion of the cello. A creative artist, scholar and storyteller, Carlos has been a prolific contributor to the flow of music throughout the western hemisphere, premiering compositions of some of the greatest contemporary composers and helping to nurture and develop an entire generation of Latin America's most talented musicians. I am privileged to know him as a colleague and honored to call him my friend."
      — Yo-Yo Ma

"Renaissance man. But when does he sleep? Edith Eisler asks cellist Carlos Prieto about his astoundingly rich life as a performer, author, globe-trotter and tireless promoter of Latin composers".
      — Strings

"We owe Prieto at least 50 percent of the Latin American repertoire for cello. He has already made a huge impact in the history of music."
      — Music Notes, Michigan State University

"Prieto is a cellist of high gifts and impressive technical command".
      — The Boston Globe


Carlos Prieto, Mexican-born and MIT-educated, is one of the most respected cellists in the world, regularly premiering works composed especially for him by Latin American, North American and European composers.

Mr. Prieto began playing the cello at age four, studying with the Hungarian cellist Imre Hartman and later with Pierre Fournier in Geneva and Leonard Rose in New York.

Mr. Prieto was a long time friend of Igor Stravinsky. When Stravinsky returned to Russia in 1962 after a fifty-year absence, he was accompanied in Moscow by Mr. Prieto, who was at that time studying in Russia. He also knew Shostakovich and has premiered his first Cello Concerto in different cities in Mexico as well as in Spain.

Mr. Prieto's playing has inspired such rare critical acclaim as "impeccable" (The New York Times), "in true bravura fashion, unafraid, secure, zestful" (The Boston Globe), "distinguished music-making" (San Francisco Chronicle), "remarkable, razor-sharp" (The Star-Ledger), and "impeccable...absolutely gorgeous...breathtaking" (The St. Louis Post-Dispatch), "stunning performance" (The Globe and Mail, Toronto).

He has played with orchestras from all over the world, the Royal Philharmonic in London, the Orchestra of the European Union, the American Symphony Orchestra in New York, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Chamber Orchestra, the Spanish National Orchestra, the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra, the Irish National Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina, The Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela, the MAV Budapest Orchestra and many others.

Remarkable is Carlos Prieto's contribution to the cello repertoire. Since 1980 he has played the world premieres of over 80 compositions, most of which were written for him by the main composers from Mexico, Latin America, Spain and other countries.

Mr. Prieto has played the Bach Suites literally all over the world: twice in New York's Lincoln Center (where he played the complete six suites in one single concert), and in Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Paris, Madrid, Moscow, Beijing, Shanghai, New Delhi, Buenos Aires, Mexico, South America, etc.

The personable, many-faceted cellist has recorded more than 90 compositions, including the complete Bach suites, works by Shostakovich, Saint-Saens, Boccherini, Fauré, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Kodaly, Bruch, Martinu, etc. In addition, he has recorded 11 CDs devoted to cello music from Latin America and Spain which include the world premieres of many concertos and chamber works.

The January 1998 issue of Strings magazine devoted a cover article to Carlos Prieto calling him a "Renaissance Man" and examining "his astoundingly rich life as a performer, author, globe-trotter and tireless promoter of Latin composers."

Prieto has written six books: "Russian Letters", "Around the World with the Cello", "From the USSR to Russia", "The Adventures of a Cello" – translated into English, Russian and Portuguese, "Paths and Images of Music" and "5000 Years of Words". A seventh book, "Throughout China with the Cello" is scheduled to appear in 2008.

Mr. Prieto's unusual background includes degrees in Engineering and in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which in 1993 appointed him member of its Department of Music and Theater Arts Visiting Committee.

France awarded him the Order of the Arts and Letters in the grade of Officer.

He received the Achievement Award of the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York.

The University of Indiana honored Mr. Prieto with the Eva Janzer Award, entitled "Chevalier du Violoncelle" in recognition of his "exceptional contribution to the world of cello playing."

The School of Music of Yale University honored him with the Cultural Leadership Citation.

He was awarded the Mozart Medal from the Austrian Ambassador in Mexico.

In 2004, he was appointed Member of the Fine Arts Advisory Council of the University of Texas at Austin.

In 2006, the King of Spain awarded him the Order of Civil Merit.

In 2007, the President of Mexico awarded him in the National Prize for the Arts of 2007, the top prize given by the Mexican Government.

Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded him in 2008 the prestigious Pushkin Medal, in recognition of his "great contributions in the fields of Russian culture and of the enrichment of cultural interchanges between nations."

Every three years, the National Council for the Arts of Mexico and the Las Rosas Conservatory organize the Carlos Prieto Cello Competition, so named in recognition of his career and his work in the promotion and enrichment of Latin American cello music. The next competition will take place in August, 2009

Highlights of Mr. Prieto's 2006-2007 season include concert tours in China, France, Hungary, Spain, the United States, four recitals as guest artist with Yo-Yo Ma in Mexico and book presentations in many cities in Europe, the United States, Spain and Latin America. In August, 2007, he traveled to South Korea as a Chairman of the Jury of the Aldo Parisot International Cello Competition.

In June 2008, he will play the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto with the Boston Pops Orchestra, at Symphony Hall in Boston, on his 50th MIT Reunion.

Mr. Prieto makes his home in Mexico City with his wife and family. Music definitely courses through the veins of his family. The first Prieto String Quartet was formed 80 years ago by his grandparents and the current Prieto String Quartet (composed of Mr. Prieto, his brother Juan Luis, his son Carlos Miguel and his nephew, Juan Luis Prieto R.) play regularly in Mexico and have toured Spain, Ireland, England and France. His son Carlos Miguel is a fast rising star within the world of classical music. He is the principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico and of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in New Orleans and is conducting regularly in the US and Europe.