André Watts remembered as ‘a pianist’s pianist’

André Watts

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced yesterday the death of renowned pianist André Watts on July 12. The artist was 77. Mr. Watts, a frequent guest artist in Cincinnati, was distinguished professor of piano and the Jack I. and Dora B. Hamlin Endowed Chair in Music at the university. He joined the faculty there in 2004.

Mr. Watts was a brilliant statesman of the art form and a piano superstar, celebrated across the globe as a musical genius. At age 16 in 1962, Mr. Watts won a competition to play in Leonard Bernstein’s televised “Young People’s Concerts” series with the New York Philharmonic. A year later, he stepped in to play for Glenn Gould with the New York Philharmonic, launching a performance career that would span more than 60 years.

“André was first and foremost a gentleman who had a profound understanding of the human experience,” said Eugene Pridonoff, emeritus professor of piano at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. “His humility was genuine and he never let his fame define him.  This was reflected in his music making that was always in service to the music and never about him.  He will be greatly missed!”

Mr. Watts was beloved by Cincinnati audiences.  He appeared in 17 subscription weekends with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, beginning in March of 1970, when he performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor. He also appeared with the Cincinnati Symphony at Carnegie Hall in 1977, performing Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 under the baton of Leonard Bernstein.

In Cincinnati, Mr. Watts performed Brahms, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky (he performed Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Minor under Carmon DeLeone in 1973).

But his final program with the CSO in Oct. 2014 was more unusual. He delivered an electrifying performance of the rarely played Concerto No. 2 by American composer Edward MacDowell. My description of his playing offered a view of his jawdropping yet also thoughtful artistry: “The glittery showstopper had one treacherous feat after another, and the pianist tackled them all with a combination of elegance and ferocity.”

At intermission of that performance, he was inducted in the Cincinnati-based American Classical Music Hall of Fame, which awarded him its John Ruthven-designed medal. In addition, he received the MacDowell medal from the Cincinnati MacDowell Society.

Many benefited from Mr. Watts’ warmth and generosity. A little-known fact is that he donated his 1995 performance for Cincinnati’s Xavier Piano Series, to benefit the Sarah Marvin Foundation. His recital opened the Jarson Kaplan Theatre at the Aronoff Center for the Arts. He was the first soloist to grace the arts center. But before he could play a note, the fire alarm went off, and we all found ourselves outside on the sidewalk, where Mr. Watts chatted easily with audience members. He carried on with his concert as soon as the fire department gave the all-clear.

Pianist Jeffrey Biegel was inspired by Mr. Watts at a young age, and recalled some of their conversations. “He was one of my idols while growing up, and knowing he is no longer with us physically, his legacy will live on for many of us, and for many years. He was a pianist’s pianist, playing everything with his trademark warmth, charm and genuine emotion,” Biegel wrote on Facebook.

Born on June 20, 1946, in Nuremberg, Germany, Mr. Watts was a piano prodigy, receiving his first piano lessons from his mother. When the family relocated to Philadelphia, he began playing with the Philadelphia Orchestra at age 9 and received training at the Philadelphia Musical Academy.

During his career, he gave concerts in every major city with top orchestras around the world, including the Berlin and Israel philharmonics, and every major American orchestra.

His 1976 recital, aired on “PBS Live from Lincoln Center,” was the first full-length recital broadcast nationally in the history of television. Mr. Watts was a featured performer on the hit children’s series “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

Luckily for us, he was also a prolific recording artist. Mr. Watts recorded works by Gershwin, Chopin, Liszt and Tchaikovsky for CBS Masterworks and made recordings featuring the concertos of Liszt, MacDowell, Tchaikovsky and Saint-Saens on the Telarc label. He is included in the “Great Pianists of the 20th Century” series for Philips, and in 2016, Sony Classical released “Andre Watts: The Complete Columbia Album Collection.”

Among his many awards, Mr. Watts received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2011 and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017.