Lilian BARRETTO

Member of the jury 2025

Nation : Brazil

“En duo, en trio, en solo, Lilian Barretto a témoigné de tout ce qui fait le bonheur de la musique: l’ardeur et la virtuosité tout d’abord, gage d’un climat d’euphorie, la capacité de s’investir à fond et l’art de parler la musique”. MDM – La Libre Belgique, Bruxelles, Belgium

Born in Brazil, Lilian Barretto made her studies with Gilberto Tinetti in São Paulo and Gloria Maria Fonseca Costa and Jacques Klein in Rio de Janeiro. She received awards at local Piano Competitions in São Paulo and Bahia, in 1968, and was granted a scholarship by the Government of Poland to study at the Fréderick Chopin Music University in Warsaw in Prof. Jan Ekier class in 1969/1970. In 1970 she took part in the International Music Festival of Annecy, France, where she had classes with Amy Dommel-Dieny and Norbert Dufourcq. Back in Brazil she has been playing as soloist with some of the major orchestras of the country.

Vis-à-vis with her career as soloist and chamber music performer, Lilian developed an intense activity as an artistic producer and Programming Director of the Rio de Janeiro Art Foundation (FUNARJ), General Director of Sala Cecília Meireles and Artistic Director of Theatro Municipal, all in Rio de Janeiro. Lilian made tours throughout Europe and Brazil performing with the Brazilian violinist Paulo Bosisio in Lisbon, London, Madrid, Oslo, and Milan and with the bandoneonist Daniel Binelli in Belgium, Italy, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

In 1983, in Germany, Lilian recorded with tenor Aldo Baldin the “Preludes and Love Songs” by Claudio Santoro. In 1984 she attended the International Musicist Women Congress in Paris, and that same year she was granted the “Order of Merit Award” by the Culture Ministry of Poland. In 1985 and 1987 Lilian underwent a professional training with the Royal Opera House in London, by invitation of the British Council in Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil, she has been playing under the batton of Isaac Karabtchevsky, Roberto Tibiriçá, Olivier Toni, Camargo Guarnieri, Simon Blech, David Machado, Julio Medaglia, Helder Trefzger, Y. Sharowski, Roberto Duarte, Diogo Pacheco, Alceu Bocchino, and many others. From 2004 to 2009 Lilian performed the show “Three moments of love” in duo with the ballet star Ana Botafogo. In 2001 she was a juror at the Vianna da Motta International Piano Competition in Lisbon, Portugal. In August 2003 and 2004 she played at the “Festival Musical du Château de la Follie” in Ecaussines, Belgium, and at the Music Festivals of Grottammare, Rapallo and San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy. In December 2004 she played Mozart at the Festival “Les Nuits Pianistiques” in Marseille, France, with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Werner Stiefel. Lilian also performed at the Musée Debussy in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France and at the Amiata Piano Festival, Italy. In November 2019 Lilian served as juror at the Paderewski International Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz, Poland. From 2008 to 2016 she was the Artistic Director of the BNDES International Piano Competition of Rio de Janeiro.

Lilian Barretto is the director of Sonata Artistic Productions and Executive-Director of the Instituto Arte Plena, as well as Artistic Director of the International Piano Festival of Rio de Janeiro

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