Sergio Tiempo

Pianist Sergio Tiempo is renowned for his audacious and nuanced interpretations and for the depth of understanding he brings to his repertoire, from Brahms to Villa-Lobos, and from Beethoven to Ginastera. From a “sound [so big] you might have thought his piano was amplified” (Philadelphia Explorer) to “a seductive pianissimo” (Berliner Morgenpost) and “whispering phrases” (New York Classical Review), both “sparkling and crystalline” as well as “percussive” (Frankfurter Rundschau), he uses the full spectrum of expression to let the listener in on what he sees in a piece of music. Tiempo’s interpretations are easily set apart from others, resulting in “scintillating” (New York Times) performances, presented with incredible stage presence and charisma, rendering the universally acknowledged virtuosity of his playing (New York Times, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Limelight) almost an afterthought.

Tiempo’s career, spanning more than 35 years, began when he made his professional debut at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw at the age of 14. Since then, he has performed with orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and Berliner Philharmoniker, all within the past five years.

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Tiempo began his piano studies with his mother, Lyl Tiempo. He pays tribute to her and other significant musical influences in his new album "Hommage," released in September 2023. Among these influences are his sister and regular recital partner, Karin Lechner; Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire; Alan Weiss; and Mischa Maisky, who, aside from his sister Karin, was Tiempo’s first chamber music partner and with whom he recorded several discs for Deutsche Grammophon. Other recordings include "Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition," "Ravel: Gaspard 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. Shaped by this rich environment of musical minds, Tiempo went on to study at the Fondazione per il Pianoforte in Como, Italy, where he worked with Dimitri Bashkirov, Fou Tsong, Murray Perahia, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

Tiempo has performed with conductors including Claudio Abbado, 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 perhaps most notably, his fellow countryman and friend Gustavo Dudamel. With Dudamel, notable performances include the world premiere of Esteban Benzecry’s piano concerto Universos Infinitos with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, followed by performances at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic. Among their many shared performances of Ginastera’s Piano Concerto No. 1 is Tiempo’s recent debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Strong connections also tie him to the LA Philharmonic and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, where he served as artist in residence in 2018.

Tiempo’s recent orchestral repertoire includes Beethoven’s Triple Concerto (LA), Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (LA, Philadelphia), Grieg’s Piano Concerto (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE Madrid, Queensland), Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (LA), Ravel’s Piano Concerto (Taiwan National Symphony, Boston), Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Liverpool, Stavanger, St. Petersburg), Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Frankfurt), and Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (LA, São Paulo, Queensland).

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