Hailed for her brilliant fusion of pianistic power and poetry, Cecile Licad has received equally impressive accolades for her impeccable technique and musicality. She came to international attention in 1981, as the first musician in a decade to receive the prestigious Leventritt Gold Medal. That honor, followed by a nationally televised performance of TchaikovskyÂs First Concerto with Sir Georg Solti and the Chicago Symphony made her one of the most sought-after soloists of her generation. Cecile LicadÂs début recording of RachmaninovÂs Piano Concerto No. 2 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini with the Chicago Symphony and Claudio Abbado rose to the top of BillboardÂs classical charts. Her second recording, featuring ChopinÂs Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor and Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, with André Previn and the London Philharmonic, received the Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin. Other acclaimed recordings include solo works by Schumann as well as a recording of RavelÂs piano music and ChopinÂs Etudes, Op. 10. Cecile Licad began her piano studies at the age of three with her mother Rosario in her native Manila and later studied with Rosario Picazo, a highly respected teacher. She made her orchestral début at the age of seven with the Philippine Philharmonic. Five years later she came to the United States to study with Mieczyslaw Horszowski, Seymour Lipkin and Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she received the ÂMost Outstanding Student award. She went on to study
