André Watts obit

SAD NEWS: ANDRE WATTS HAS DIED

 

He was not on the list.

The American pianist, who was struggling with cancer, has died aged 77. He was professor at the Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University.

The son of an African-American serviceman and a Hungarian mother, born in June 1946, Watts lived in Europe until the age of 8. At 16 he played the first Liszt concerto with Leonard Bernstein on national television. Before the month was out, Bernstein booked him again in place of Glenn Gould.

Watts maintained his fame and made multiple recordings.

Statement by Jacob School of Music:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music is deeply saddened to announce the death of André Watts, distinguished professor of piano and the Jack I. and Dora B. Hamlin Endowed Chair in Music, on Wednesday, July 12, at age 77.

Joining the Jacobs School of Music faculty in 2004, Watts was recognized as a legendary statesman of the art form and a piano superstar, celebrated across the globe as a musical genius. His performance career spanned more than 60 years.

“André Watts was a treasured and beloved musician, teacher, colleague and friend to so very many,” said Abra Bush, David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean. “His graceful, elegant presence at the Jacobs School of Music will be deeply missed.”

Born in Nuremberg, Germany, Watts was the son of a Hungarian mother, Maria Alexandra Gusmits, a pianist; and an African American father, Herman Watts, a U.S. Army non-commissioned officer. André spent his early childhood in Europe, living mostly near army posts where his father was stationed.

Watts began to study the violin when he was four. By six he decided the piano was his instrument. When André was eight years old, Herman's military assignment brought the family to the United States. They settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother started him with his first piano lessons. As do many children, Watts disliked practicing. For encouragement, his mother would tell stories of the great pianist and composer Franz Liszt, making it clear that Liszt practiced faithfully. Watts found inspiration in Liszt, adopting his theatrical playing style. After the divorce of his parents in 1962, Watts remained with his mother, who supported them by working as a secretary and later as a receptionist.

Watts enrolled at the Philadelphia Musical Academy (now a part of the University of the Arts), where he studied with Genia Robinor, Doris Bawden, and Clement Petrillo, graduating in June 1963. He entered his first competition at nine, with forty other children, for the opportunity to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra Children's Concerts. Watts won the competition playing a concerto by Joseph Haydn.

At age ten, Watts performed Mendelssohn's G minor concerto with the Robin Hood Dell Orchestra and at fourteen, Franck's Symphonic Variations, again with the Philadelphia Orchestra.