NT faculty member and renowned pianist Gustavo Romero continued his series of Schubert performances Monday night.
If you hang around NT's College of Music long enough, you can begin to lose perspective of the amazing musical talent it holds. Gustavo Romero is a performer who will quickly remind you of the artistic wealth saturating the university.
Romero performed the sixth of a seven-concert series on Monday in the Music Building Concert Hall. This faculty recital program features the major piano works of Franz Schubert and is accompanied by guest artists. Concert six included four duo piano pieces that Romero performed alongside DarÃo Ntaca, a piano virtuoso from Argentina.
A native of Chula Vista, Calif., located between San Diego and the Mexican border, Romero began performing professionally at the age of 11 with a concert at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla, Calif. His performance credits take us on a tour around the world of brilliant Western music and prestigious symphonies. Romero has performed several complete recital cycles from composers including Chopin, Bach, Beethoven and now Schubert.
The concert opened with a change in the program that seemed to almost reverse the previous order. Romero navigated the upper register of the piano with comfort like that of a king wielding his sword, while Ntaca complimented Romero in the lower register showing interaction only found in love. The apparent love for performance guided the music through the air as if the sound were a dance transcended from piano gods.
"Mr. Romero has great agility, adequate power and an unusually large repertory of colors and dynamic levels." - The New York Times
Both Romero and Ntaca have a vast expressional depth in their ability to interpret Schubert's compositions and perform together seamlessly. Their performance reminded me that great musicians apply their own expression to a composition and often evoke emotions that soothe the mind, body and soul.
In the fall of 2002, Romero joined the NT music faculty as associate professor of piano. The road to his current success began at a young age and continued to develop through his studies with Herbert Stessin at the Juilliard School.
Romero earned a bachelor's degree of music in 1988 and a master's in 1997.
Along the road of success, Romero received awards, grants, scholarships and even the Austin "Key to the City Award."
Romero's 1996 recording of the complete Chopin Impromptus received a Grammy nomination, and in 2004 Dallas Radio, WRR-FM, 101.1 rated one of his concerto concerts best chamber orchestra performance of the year.
Gustavo Romero's next recital for the major piano works of Schubert is scheduled for Oct. 17 at 8 p.m. in the Concert Hall.