The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1984 (11. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1984-03-01 / 3. szám
PROFILES IN FOCUS Andre M atts: The Black-American-Hungarian Maestro of The Keyboard — by — Paul Pulitzer His father wasa Black-American. His mother was a Hungarian. This makes Andre Watts, one of the greatest concert pianists in the world, a Black-American- Hunga rian! His maternal lineage makes him one of ours. We American-Hungarians can be justly proud of the accomplishments of this prodigiously talented, 36-yearold, “Maestro of the Keyboard", whose mastery of his instrument prompts the frenzied, cheering, and standing ovations of audiences all over the world. He is, in fact, the living heir to the musical legacy of another great Hungarian master of the piano, Franz Liszt, who has been his idol since childhood. Andre Watts was born in Nuremberg. Germany, the son of a Black-American G1 and his Hungarian-born wife. Until he was eight-years-old, he lived in and around American military establishments there and elsewhere in Europe. His first musical instrument was not the piano, but a miniature violin, which he began playing at the age of four. By the time he was six, however, he became fascinated by the piano and his mother, who was also an accomplished pianist, taught him his first lessons. Not because she thought of a musical career for him, but because she believed, like most Hungarians, that an educated man should know about and appreciate music. But, then, Mrs. Watts did something that had a tremendous impact upon the future course of her son’s life. To induce him to practice more diligently, she began telling him stories about Franz Liszt and about how hard and faithfully the great master had to practice in order to perfect his technique. She also played some of his music for her son. Then, came the big surprise. Soon, little Andre began playing the piano as if he were Franz Liszt. What happened was that, Andre has adopted Liszt as his idol and had become determined to follow in the footsteps of the great Hungarian pianist! Page 14 THE WATTS RETURN TO THE UNITED STATES When Andre’s father completed his tour of duty abroad, the family returned to the United States and settled in Philadelphia. There, Andre was first enrolled in a Quaker school and. later, in a Catholic parochial school. Aware by now that her son was gifted with unusual talent, Mrs. Watts also enrolled him in the famous Philadelphia Musical Academy. From that moment on. Andre’s climb towards the very top of the concert world was a foregone conclusion. By the time he reached the age of 14, he had already competed against 40 other gifted youngsters for an engagement at the Philadelphia Orchestra's Children’s Concerts, had performed brilliantly with the Philadelphia Orchestra during its Robin Hood Dell summer series, and had been invited to playagainforthe Philadelphia Musical Academy. Then came the Eighth Hungarian Tribe ANDRE WATTS Pianist
