Background
Imagination, concentration and confidence are three great words to always have in mind prior to a performance. Obviously only when the word ‘work’ has been added a long time ago in the process!
Prizes
Rafael Gutiérrez-Vélez began playing the piano at the age of five. At nine he was admitted to the Jose Jacinto Cuevas Music School to study with Alberto Alvarez Iñiguez, who up to this date continues to be his mentor. In the UK he studied at the Purcell School of Music with Tatiana Sarkissova and Ilana Davies. He is a graduate of the Moscow State Conservatory, studying with Elena Richter and has recently completed his Master’s degree at Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart with Professor Peter Nagy.
Rafael has played concerts at Steinway Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and the Barbican Centre in London, Rachmaninoff Concert Hall and Moscow International House of Music, as well as in Spain, France, Switzerland, Germany, Mexico, Russia and Ukraine. He has appeared as a soloist with the Yaroslavl Philharmonic Orchestra and the Donetsk Philharmonic, taking part in festivals such as Crimea Music Festival and Prokofiev Spring Festival. His passion for conducting, which he studied in Stuttgart and Milan, has led him to found and conduct the ORJUMID orchestra in Mérida.
In 2022 Rafael was a Deutschland-stipendium holder and the recipient of the Maria Rosa Oubiña award for outstanding Mexican pianists.
Gallery
2023 Competition Performances
2023 Competition Repertoire
Preliminary Round
Preliminary Round 1: 20-Minute Recital
No.1 Con brio – Largo
No.3 Andante con rubato e molto espressivo – Molto largamente
Entrant in Composing the Future 2021
Preliminary Round 2: 30-Minute Recital
I. Allegro abbandonamente
II. Andantino con moto
III. Allegro con spirito
Semi Final Round
Semi Finals Round 1: 70-Minute Recital
No.7 Après une lecture du Dante. Fantasia quasi Sonata
I. Allegro assai – Maestoso
II. Tema. Allegretto tranquillo
Semi Final Round 2: Chamber Music
I. Allegro con brio
II. Adagio cantabile
III. Scherzo. Allegro – Trio
IV. Finale. Allegro
Act II Méditation
I. Adagio sostenuto ed espressivo
II. Allegro molto più tosto presto
III. Rondo. Allegro
Introduction. Adagio
Thema
Variation I
Variation II
Variation III
Final Round
Final Round 1: Concerto 1800 and Earlier
I. Allegro
II. Romance
III. Allegro assai
Final Round 2: Post 1800 Concerto
I. Allegro
II. Adagio – Presto – Più adagio
III. Allegro molto