Jorge Luis Prats Soca (born 3 July 1956) is a

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n pianist living in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Prats Soca was born in Camagüey. He studied piano since 1963 under Barbara Díaz Alea. In 1970, he was accepted into

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts p ...

, from which he graduated in 1976. He studied under Frank Fernández and Margot Rojas. In 1977, Prats won first prize at the

Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition The Long–Thibaud–Crespin Competition is an international classical music competition for pianists, violinists and singers that has been held in France since 1943. (A Jacques Thibaud Competition was held the year before in Bordeaux: Jacques ...

in France. Later he studied with

Rudolf Kehrer Rudolf Kehrer (10 July 1923 – 29 October 2013; surname also spelled Kerer) was a much-recorded Soviet and Russian classical pianist. Biography Kehrer was born in Tiflis, Georgia (later Tbilisi, Georgia Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილის� ...

in Moscow,

Magda Tagliaferro Magdalena Maria Yvonne Tagliaferro (19 January 18939 September 1986) was a Brazilian-born pianist of French parentage. Magdalena Tagliaferro was born in Petrópolis, Brazil. Her father, who had studied piano with Raoul Pugno in Paris, was a vo ...

in Paris,

Paul Badura-Skoda Paul Badura-Skoda (6 October 1927 – 25 September 2019) was an Austrian pianist. Career A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he perform ...

in Vienna and

Witold Małcużyński Witold Małcużyński (August 10, 1914July 17, 1977) was a distinguished Polish pianist who specialized in the works of Frédéric Chopin. His playing was marked by great passion and poetry. Biography Małcużyński was born in 1914. He was the ...

in Warsaw. He was awarded a number of decorations in Cuba, including the Félix Varela medal (the highest award in Cuba in culture) in 1984 and the

Premio Nacional de Música The National Music Award ( es, Premio Nacional de Música, links=no) is one of Spain's annual National Awards by the Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Mini ...

in 2004. He was the artistic director of the

National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba The National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba is the main institution dedicated to the performance of classical music in Cuba History Heir to the tradition of excellency established by its ancestor, the Havana Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Symp ...

until 2004. In 2004, Prats left Cuba to have an opportunity to travel. He settled in Spain and in 2005 became a naturalized Spanish citizen.

References

{{authority control Cuban classical pianists National Art Schools (Cuba) alumni