Carlos Prieto was born in Mexico City. He began playing the cello at age four, studying with the Hungarian cellist Imre Hartman and later with Pierre Fournier in Geneva and Leonard Rose in New York. Mr. Prieto was a long time friend of Igor Stravinsky. When Stravinsky returned to Russia in 1962 after a fifty year absence, he was accompanied in Moscow by Mr. Prieto, who was at that time studying in Russia. He also knew Shostakovich and has premiered his First Cello Concerto in different cities in Mexico as well as in Spain.

Mr. Prieto has received enthusiastic public acclaim and won excellent reviews for his performances throughout the United States, Europe, Russia and the former Soviet Union, China India, Indonesia, Singapore and Latin America. The New York Times review of his Carnegie Hall debut raved Prieto has no technical limitations and his musical instincts are impeccable. He has played with orchestras from all over the world, the Royal Philharmonic in London, the American Symphony Orchestra in New York, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, The Spanish National Orchestra, the Spanish Radio and Television Orchestra and many others. He has been invited to many of the worlds most prestigious halls such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York; Kennedy Center in Washington; Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles; Roy Thomson in Toronto; Barbican Hall and Wigmore Hall in London; Salle Gaveau and Salle Pleyel in Paris; Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia; Auditorio Nacional in Madrid; the Europalia, Granada, Berlin Festivals. etc. In 1985.

Carlos Prieto took a very active part in the celebrations that marked J.S. Bachs 300th anniversary and played Bach suites literally all over the world: in New Yorks Lincoln Center (where he played the complete six suites in one single concert), in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Paris, Moscow, Beijing, Shanghai, New Delhi, Mexico, Bogota, etc.

Remarkable is Carlos Prietos contribution to the cello repertoire. Since 1980 he has played the world premieres of over 50 compositions, most of which were written for him. They include pieces by the Spanish composers Joaquin Rodrigo, Manuel Castillo and Tomas Marco, 15 cello concertos by the major Mexican, Spanish and Latin American composers, Mascaras, concerto for cello and orchestra by the American composer Robert X. Rodriguez and many other works.

Mr. Prieto has recorded for EMI/Angel, PMG Classics, IMP Masters and OM Records. His recordings include the complete Bach Suites , works by Shostakovich, Saint-Saenz, Boccherini, Faure, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Kodaly, Bruch, Martinu, etc. Recently released by URTEXT Digital Classics is a series of 6 CDs devoted to the cello music of Latin America and Spain, which includes many world premieres.

Prieto has written five books: Russian Letters (1962), Around the World with the Cello (1988), From the USSR to Russia (1993), The Adventures of a Cello. Histories and Memoirs (1998,1999) and Paths and images of Music (1999).

Mr. Prietos unusual background includes degrees from in Engineering and in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which appointed him in 1993 member of its Department of Music and Theater Arts Visiting Committee. The County of Los Angeles gave him in 1992 a special award for his contribution to the friendship and understanding between Mexico and the United States through music.

In 1995 he was elected member of the Seminary of Mexican Culture and. received the Mozart Medal from the Austrian Ambassador in Mexico, He is since 1995 Chairman of the Foundation of the Conservatory of Las Rosas, the oldest conservatory of the Americas and Mexicos most ambitious music education project.

France awarded him in 1999 the Order of the Arts and Letters in the grade of Officer. Also in 1999 he received the Achievement Award of the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York.

In tribute to his career and to his exceptional contribution to the enrichment of the cello repertoire, the National Council for the Culture and Arts of Mexico and the Conservatory of Las Rosas decided to assign his name to the Latin American Cello Competition held every two years in Morelia, Mexico.

Mr. Prieto makes his home in Mexico City with his wife Isabel and family. Music definitely runs through the veins of his family. The first Prieto String Quartet was formed 80 years ago by his grandparents and the current Prieto String Quartet plays regularly in Mexico and toured Europe in 1998. His son Carlos Miguel is a fast rising star within the world of classical music and is associate conductor of the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra as well as of the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra.

For further information see the following Web Site

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