Maria João Pires was born in Lisbon. She made her first public performance at the age of seven with Mozart’s Piano Concertos in Oporto, Portugal, and received Portugal’s highest award for young musicians just one year later. From 1953 until 1960 she studied at the Lisbon Conservatory with Professor Campos Coelho and took courses in composition, music theory and history with Francine Benoit. She continued her studies in Germany, first at the Munich Music Academy with Rosl Schmid, then in Hanover with Karl Engel.

1970
Wins first prize at the Brussels Beethoven International Competition commemorating the composer’s 200th birthday.

1986
Makes her highly acclaimed London début playing Bach, Mozart, Schumann, and Beethoven at the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

1987
Appears in Hamburg, Paris and Amsterdam during the inaugural tour of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra with Claudio Abbado.


Maria João Pires has since toured Europe, Canada, Japan, Israel, and the USA appearing with all the major orchestras including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Boston Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, the Orchestre de Paris, and the Vienna Philharmonic.

1989
Signs exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon; makes her very successful New York début and begins an extensive collaboration with Augustin Dumay; since then the two artists have appeared together throughout the world.

1990
Gives her début at the Salzburg Easter Festival with Claudio Abbado and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.


In recent years, Maria João Pires has been heard at all the major international festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Schubertiade Feldkirch, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Montpellier, Lucerne, Edinburgh Festival, and BBC Promenade Concerts.

1991
Release of Mozart’s Complete Piano Sonatas; first Deutsche Grammophon release of a recording by the partnership of Pires and Dumay: Mozart’s Violin Sonatas K. 301, 304, 378, and 379.

1992
Visits Japan on an extended recital tour with Augustin Dumay; release of first chamber-music CD, with Augustin Dumay, of Brahms’s Violin Sonatas.

1996
Release of Chopin’s Nocturnes (Record Academy Prize, Tokyo 1996, CD Compact, Barcelona, Grand Prix du Disque, 1997); first trio recording, with Augustin Dumay and cellist Jian Wang, of Brahms’s Piano Trios (Grand Prix du Disque, 1997).

1997
Release of Le Voyage magnifique, the first CD with texts selected by Maria João Pires.

1998
Pires and Dumay tour in the Far East together with Jian Wang.

1999–2001
Establishment in Portugal of Belgais, an inter-cultural centre.

2001
Release of Moonlight, a CD with solo works by Beethoven recorded in Belgais.

2002
Extensive tour of Japan; completion and release of Beethoven’s Complete Violin Sonatas with Augustin Dumay; receives IMC-Unesco-Music Prize 2002.

2003
Tour of Britain with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Charles Mackerras; solo, duo and trio recitals throughout Europe with Ricardo Castro, Dumay, and Jian Wang.

2004
Appearances with the Orchestre National de France, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra (Menu¬hin Festival, Gstaad), Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and Philharmonia Orchestra. Duo recitals with Castro throughout Europe, with Jian Wang in Paris, and Dumay in Luxem¬burg.

2005
Tour of Spain with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Krivine; concerts with the Real Philharmonia de Galicia, and the Budapest Festival Orchestra; tour of Japan. Recitals throughout Europe and at festivals in Luxemburg and Italy. Release of Réso¬nance de l’Originaire – Schubert piano sonatas and pieces for four hands with Ricardo Castro.

2006
Concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orquesta Nacional de España, the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Receives the Don Juan de Borbón da Música Prize in Segovia for “her qualities both as an artist and as a human being”. Disappointed by the lack of support for her Belgais project from the Portuguese authorities, she moves to San Salvador, Brazil.

2007
Appearances at the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen; performances with the Zurich Ton¬halle Orchestra, and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. Solo recitals in Spain and Vienna; duo recital in San Salvador with Dumay. Pires is awarded the Prémio Eduardo Lourenço by the Centro de Estudos Ibéricos for her contribution to the diffusion of musical culture.

2008
Concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra under Gardiner, the English Concert, Concertgebouw Orchestra and Berliner Philharmoniker, all with Pinnock, and the London Chamber Orchestra. Concerts and recitals in South America; solo recitals throughout Europe. Audio release in Portugal of works by Chopin, including the Piano Sonata no. 3, the Polonaise op. 61, and the Cello Sonata op. 65 with Pavel Gomziakov.

2009
Concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra and Gardiner, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Haitink (Lucerne Festival), the Rotterdam Philhar¬monic, the Philharmonia Orchestra under Mackerras, the London Philharmonic under Pinnock, and the Royal Concertgebouworkest under Fischer. European tour with the Basle Chamber Orchestra, and an extensive concert and recital tour of Japan. Recitals in Lisbon, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands in which she is joined by cellist Pavel Gomziakov. International release of the Chopin recording.