Leonel Morales

Professor at the Sommerakademie in Salzburg, Alfonso X el Sabio University, Forum Musikae Superior School of Music. Exclusive Artist of Yangtze River Piano (China), artistic director and founder of the María Herrero International Piano Competition (Granada) and the Compositores de España International Piano Competition (WFIMC) in Madrid, as well as the Granada music festival "Leonel Morales and Friends". Since 2024 exclusive representative of the prestigious German piano brand Grotian-Steinweg in Spain.

Leonel Morales has been an exclusive artist of the MUSIESPAÑA concert agency for more than 25 years, and is also a member of the Santa Isabel de Hungría Academy of Fine Arts.

Born in Cuba, Spanish national and resident since 1991. He studied at the University of La Habana under the tutelage of master Frank Fernández, a student of Víctor Merzhanov, which means his school is grounded in and follows the deepest roots of the great and traditional Russian school.

He took classes in Weimar with master Jacov Latainer and also worked with Mihail Voskresensky during his stay in Cuba as a selected student. For two years he was an assistant in the class of the late great master Aquiles Delle Vigne at the Sommerakademie in Salzburg.

Leonel Morales arrived in Spain at the age of 25, and between ages 26 and 28 he won first prizes in several international competitions such as the Fundación Guerrero International Piano Competition, Citat de Manresa, Teresa Carreño, Jaén International Piano Competition, along with special awards for Best Performance of Contemporary Music and the "Rosa Sabater" Award for Best Performance of Spanish Music, Second Prize at the Santa Cecilia International Piano Competition, Porto, Award with Distinction at the Aosta International Piano Competition, Sommerakademie del Mozarteum Award in Salzburg, William Kapell, etc.

At age 28 he stopped competing as his career was completely consolidated, performing with all the major orchestras in Spain, notably his tour with the complete cycle of Rachmaninov's piano and orchestra concertos including the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Since 2018 he has been an exclusive artist in China for the Yangtze River piano brand, conducting annual concert tours in the country's finest halls, Wuhan Quintai Concert Hall, Harbin Concert Hall, Shenzhen Grand Theater, Central Conservatory of Music Beijing, Yichang Grand Theatre, Xi'an Concert Hall, also giving masterclasses and lectures, etc.

His two-hour masterclass during the Shenzhen 2024 International Piano and Orchestra Competition reached a broadcast of over 10,000 listeners, becoming the most-listened masterclass in the history of streaming masterclasses organized by Parsons Music.

In October 2008, he received the prestigious "Tasto D'Argento 2008" award (Alexandria – Italy) for his established international career. He demonstrated his exceptional talents in concerts performed throughout the United States with the National Orchestra of Spain, National Orchestra of Mexico, throughout Germany with the Valencia Symphony Orchestra and the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra.

…His incredible Concert of Tchaikovsky created an instantaneous ovation. "Hero of the day".

(Palm Beach Post)

…The Spanish pianist with Cuban origin, was the hero of the night, with his enormous technique achieved the magic in every note with facility. He played the piano with elegance, discipline and intelligence.

(Die Rheinpfalz)

He is invited to serve on the jury in important international piano competitions such as China Shenzhen International Piano and Orchestra Competition (China), Cleveland Competition, Ettore Pozzoli, Scriabin (Grosseto), Lyon, Valsecia, Cesar Franck, Pancho Vladigerov, UNISA (South Africa), Santa Cecilia (Porto), Shenzhen, Clara Schumann, Rio de Janeiro, Epinal, Cantú, Rina Sala Galo (Monza), Russian Composer (San Remo), Cidade de Ferrol, J. Brahms (Vienna), Seiler Piano Open Competition Tsingtao and International Youth Piano Competition (Shanghai) etc.

Leonel Morales's classes are considered among the strongest and highest level in Spain, with his students obtaining over 50 national and international awards annually, competitions such as José Iturbi, UNISA, Hummel, Epinal, Paderewski, Sommerakademie Salzburg, Lyon, Santa Cecilia (Porto), CSIPCC Shenzhen, Ferrol are some of the competitions won by his students.

Morales gives Masterclasses around the world in places such as the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Korea, Italy, Mexico, France, Belgium, China, Japan, Italy, Poland, Croatia, USA, Belgium, Germany and France, etc.

In the interpretation of Beethoven's 32 sonatas, Morales has been called by critics one of the best interpreters of this genius composer.

In his tours in the USA with the National Symphony Orchestra of Spain and the Symphony Orchestra of the State of Mexico organized and arranged by Columbia Artists, he has had the opportunity to perform in the most important halls in North America, including Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Tuckerman Hall, achieving great success with both critics and audiences.

… extraordinary interpretation and power

(WASHINGTON POST)

…Undoubtedly Morales is a pianist of great virtuosism, trust, efficiency but of big naturality and without big gestures

(CLASSICAL MUSIC REVIEW)

Once again in 2010, the critic named him "the hero" on the concert tour through Germany in halls such as "Beethovensaal" in Stuttgart, "BASF-Feierabendhaus" in Ludwigshafen with the Valencia Symphony Orchestra performing F. Chopin's Concerto No. 1 …

The Spanish pianist with Cuban origin, was the hero of the night, with his enormous technique achieved the magic in every note with facility. He played the piano with elegance, discipline and intelligence. After the frantic applause, Morales offered three pieces outside the program: "Malagueña" by Ernesto Lecuona, "Danza" by Ignacio Cervantes and one waltz by Chopin in which he showed once again his brilliant technique. (Die Rheinpfalz)

At Carnegie Hall in New York it was said of him … Impressively clean and nice structured Sonata Op. 101 of Beethoven … His marvellous Petrushka made tremble the audience.

(Harris Goldsmith, NEW YORK CONCERT REVIEW)

Over 60 pianists from around the world come to his International Masterclass and Granada Piano Festival (Leonel Morales & Friends) which is held every year in July.

Morales's skill and virtuosity have been frequently demonstrated during his concerts with the National Orchestra of Spain, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Spanish Radio and TV Orchestra, Real Filarmónica de Galicia, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra, Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, Murcia Symphony Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra of Portugal, Porto Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt-Oder Orchestra, RAI Turin Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of Adana, Istanbul Symphonic Orchestra, Ankara Symphonic Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Virtuosos Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Ljubljana Symphony Orchestra, Denver Philharmonic, Yakima Symphony Orchestra, Toruń Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Zemtrun (Dortmund), Burgos Symphony Orchestra, Ohio Symphony Orchestra, Miami Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Symphony Orchestra where he has demonstrated his capacity as a soloist, conducted by important Spanish and foreign conductors such as: Frühbeck de Burgos, Cristóbal Halffter, Víctor Pablo González, Juanjo Mena, Pedro Halffter, Miguel Ángel Gómez Martínez, Manuel Galduf, Enrique García Asensio, Antoni Ros Marbá, Max Valdés, Tania León, Michael Jurowski, George Pehlivanian, Alexander Rahbari, Marc Tardue, Jacques Mercier, Adrian Leaper, George Pehlivaniam, Jacques Mercier, Ovidiu Balan, Franz Krager, John Bae, Emin Güven Yasliçam, Jiri Malat, Enrique Bátiz, Marzio Conti, Yaron Traub, Pavel Baleff, Joel Revzen, En Schao, Antoni Witt, Mariusz Smolij, Lawrence Golan, Andrés Salado among others.

Currently he shares his class with his son Leo de María, winner of international competitions, as an assistant in his chair at Alfonso X el Sabio University, combining it with his intense concert activity, performing an average of 40 concerts annually each year.