"Brilliant technique
performing Liszt’s
Hungarian Fantasy."
The Tucson Citizen Antonio Castillo
de la Gala has assumed his place as an heir to the Liszt
legacy. Mr. Castillo de
la Gala earned
a PhD
from the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City,
where he studied with Angelica Morales von Sauer, wife
of Emil Sauer, Franz Liszt’s last pupil, as well
as other masters including Joaquin Amparan, a student of
Max Power, also a Liszt protégé, Bernard
Flavigny, and Jörg Demus. During his prolific career
in Mexico, Mr. Castillo de la Gala was Professor of Music
at the National Conservatory of Music, pianist with the
National Ballet Company and Professor of Piano at the National
School of Music.
Mr. Castillo de la Gala’s career has
spanned across decades and nations. As a composer, arranger
and Musical
Director, he has performed throughout Mexico and the United
States. He has been featured in concerts and as a soloist
with a number of distinguished symphony orchestras. In
recital, Mr. Castillo de la Gala has appeared twice under
the auspices
of the International Committee of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Additionally, Mr. Castillo de la Gala has been an often-sought
guest on numerous radio and television programs in both
the United States and Mexico, and has recently performed
at the
world-renowned Liberace Foundation in Las Vegas.
Over the
last few years, Mr. Castillo de la Gala has mounted his one-man
show developed around his talents as a pianist
and showman – and his keen understanding of the human
condition. Replete with virtuoso musicianship, storytelling
and comedy, Mr. Castillo de la Gala inspires his audiences
to reach for their dreams through his unique musical performance
peppered with motivational messages about the pursuit of
fulfilling work, mastering the business of happiness, and
his own extraordinary example of success.
As a master of many different forms of music, Mr. Castillo
de la Gala’s signature classical repertoire includes
concertos by Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and
Gershwin. Included in his popular repertoire are over 1,500
selections of contemporary music, which he performs from
memory. He has recorded four albums including his most recent
solo piano recording, Date Night, featuring songs by New
York Times best selling author, John Lescroart.
With his remarkable talents for the piano evident since
his childhood, when he began lessons at age three, Mr. Castillo
de la Gala quickly made a name for himself, debuting on radio
at the age of five and performing his first solo recital
at six years of age. Later, as further testament to his prodigious
talent, Mr. Castillo de la Gala took the First Prize in the
distinguished Frederic Chopin National Competition in Mexico.
As befits his international experience, he is fluent in English,
French and Spanish. Mr. Castillo de la Gala makes his home
in Los Angeles.
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