Whether you consult the New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung or LimelightMagazine, it is hard to find a review of Sergio Tiempo that does not highlight the virtuosity of his playing.Yet his technical prowess is rendered almost irrelevant by the individuality of Tiempo’sinterpretations and by the depth of his understanding and insight into the repertoire heplays, from Brahms to Villa-Lobos, from Beethoven to Ginastera. Utilising the full arsenal of expressionat his disposal, from a “sound [so big] you might have thought his piano was amplified” (PhiladelphiaExplorer) to “a seductive pianissimo” (Berliner Morgenpost) and “whispering phrases” (New YorkClassical Review), both “percussive” and “sparkling and crystalline” (Frankfurter Rundschau), he lets thelistener in on what he sees in a piece of music. Both audacious and nuanced, his playing exposes thecomposer’s ideas as he recognises them. If his choices seem daring, then that is a risk that pays off.It is easy to set Tiempo’s interpretations apart from any other and the results are “scintillating” (NewYork Times) performances, presented with incredible stage presence and charisma.

A career that started more than 35 years ago, when Tiempo made his professional debut at Amsterdam’sConcertgebouw at the age of 14, has seen him perform with orchestras including the New YorkPhilharmonic, Boston Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique deMontréal, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo and Berliner Philharmoniker in the past fiveyears alone.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Tiempo began his piano studies with his mother, Lyl Tiempo. He pays tributeto her, and some of his closest musical relations and influences, in his new album ‘Hommage’ (September2023, Avanti). Among them are his sister and regular recital partner Karin Lechner, with whom herecorded Tango Rhapsody for two pianos and orchestra, written for the duo and the RSI Lugano byArgentinean composer Federico Jusid; Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire, both of whom enteredhis life as family friends long before they became teachers and companions of his musical journey;Alan Weiss, a life-long friend and one of his earliest teachers; Mischa Maisky, who, aside from his sisterKarin, became Tiempo’s first chamber music partner and with whom he recorded several discs forDeutsche Grammophon. Other recordings have included Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition, RavelGaspard de la Nuit and three Chopin Nocturnes for ‘Martha Argerich Presents’ on EMI, as well as his disc‘Legacy’, released on Avanti in January 2018.

It is this rich environment of musical minds, driven as much by compassionate generosity as byuncompromisingly demanding artistry, that shaped Tiempo more than anything, and from where hewent on to Fondazione per il Pianoforte in Como, Italy, where he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, FouTsong, Murray Perahia and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. He has performed with conductors such as ClaudioAbbado, Marin Alsop, Myung Whun Chung, Sir Mark Elder, Christoph Eschenbach, Thierry Fischer,Emmanuel Krivine, Ken-David Masur, Ludovic Morlot, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Alondra de la Parra,Rafael Payare, Alexander Prior, Leonard Slatkin, Michael Tilson Thomas, Xian Zhang, and, maybemost of all, with his fellow countryman and friend Gustavo Dudamel. With him, notable performancesinclude the world premiere of Esteban Benzecry’s new piano concerto Universos Infinitos with the LosAngeles Philharmonic, followed by performances of the work at the Lincoln Center with the New YorkPhilharmonic. Among their many shared performances of Ginastera’s Piano Concerto No. 1 isTiempo’s recent debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Strong relationships connect himespecially to the L.A. Philharmonic and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, where he wasArtist in Residence in 2018.

Orchestral repertoire in recent season has also included Beethoven Triple Concerto (L.A.), Chopin 1(L.A., Philadelphia), Grieg (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE Madrid,Queensland), Prokofiev 1 (LA), Ravel (Taiwan National Symphony, Boston), Rachmaninov 3(Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Liverpool, Stavanger, St Petersburg), Rachmaninov Paganini Variations(Frankfurt) and Tchaikovsky 1 (L.A., Sao Paulo, Queensland).

As a recitalist, he has appeared at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London’s International Piano Series,Konzerthaus Wien, Wigmore Hall, Berliner Philharmonie and Edinburgh International Festival,at Klavier Festival Ruhr, at the George Enescu Festival, the Martha Argerich Festivals in Lugano andat Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Oslo Chamber Music Festival, Warsaw Chopin Festival, Brussels ChopinDays, Music Days in Lisbon, and recital tours across China, Korea, Italy, and North and South America.