He is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music who awarded him a scholarship to further his solo studies with Carmel Kaine at the Queensland Conservatorium in Australia. His prizes include first prize in the Concerto Competition at the Richmond Music Festival playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto and the Silver Medal at the Marlow Music Festival.
As a soloist he has performed in Great Britain, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Australia, China, Korea and on Cypriot National Television.
He has appeared on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and recorded for BBC radio.
Solo appearances in London include; Queen Elizabeth Hall, recitals in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Mozart Violin Concerto No.5 and Sinfonia Concertante at St Paul’s Covent Garden and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in St James’s Piccadilly with the Orfeas Ensemble, Bruch Violin Concerto No 1 and the World Premier of ‘A Greek in New York’ Concerto for Violin and Chamber Ensemble by Denise Mangiardi, written for Orpheus.
He is the leader and founder of the Orfeas String Quartet and Ensemble. They have performed in the Royal Festival Hall, at festivals and concert halls throughout England and broadcast on the Voice of America. Trinity College of Music selected the Quartet to perform at their Annual Trinity Laban Conference in 2011.
Passionate advocates of contemporary music the quartet has premiered works written for them. Composers they have forged an intimate musical bond with include Aziza Sadikova, Denise Mangiardi, Amir Sadeghi Konjani, Theothoros Harithis & William Attwood. Orpheus has also given premiers of solo works written for him and recorded the music of Ezio Bosso at Abbey Road.
As a recital artist he has given concerts of Classical, Central European and Balkan Folk music in the UK and Europe,recently performing Schindler’s List for the Holocaust Memorial at the Slovak Embassy and Sarasate Zigeunerweizen. His exploration of folk inspired music from around the globe continues.
In March 2011 Orpheus gave a series of performances of ‘The Lark Ascending’ touring England with the generous support of the Ralph Vaughan Williams Charity. In May 2011 he gave the British premiere of ‘Sea Rain’ for violin and strings by Ezio Bosso.
He performed for Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubillee Celebrations and also performed in the London 2012 Olympic Games. Recently he performed for her Majesty the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
This season solo engagements include performances of Mozart 3rd violin concerto and Bruch 1st violin concerto with conductor Scott Wilson, a solo apperance at the Royal Overseas League, a recital tour of Lithuania including performing on National Television, festival appearances with Orfeas String Quartet and performances of Handel’s Opera‘Semele’ with the Orfeas Ensemble. He also made his baroque debut performing at 415 temperament leading the London Early Opera in Bach’s ‘Easter Oratorio’
In September 2013 he toured southern China with his duo partner pianist Rimantas Vingras.
Orpheus is the leader of the London European Orchestra with whom he regularly appears in such venues as the Cadogan Hall and St John’s Smith Square.
Pianist and pedagogue Alberto Portugheis was born in La Plata, Argentina, to parents of Russian and Rumanian descent. His international career began after winning First Prize at the Geneva Concours de Virtuosité.
He performs in recitals, chamber-music concerts and as soloist with major orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Philharmonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Paris and Israel Sinfoniettas, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Sinfonica Nacional of Argentina, Filarmonica of Buenos Aires. His annual Steinway Masterclasses are now legendary.
Alberto Portugheis’s repertoire includes music from the baroque to contemporary, with several composers writing specially for him. His acclaimed recordings include: 4 Chopin Ballades, Alfred Nieman nd Sonata, Ginastera complete piano music and chamber music with piano, Khachaturian Piano Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra, Khachaturian solo works, Rachmaninov and Shostakovitch cello and piano sonatas with the cellist Gwyneth George, a CD dedicated to the piano music of Rossini. 2013 saw the release of a double CD with The Complete Piano Works by Spanish composer Elena Romero.
Alberto Portugheis is founder member and Vice-chairman of the Beethoven Piano Society of Europe, Vice-chairman of the International Society for the Study of Tension in Performance, Vice-president of the European Piano Teachers' Association and founder of the Asociacion Latino-Americana de Pianistas Pedagogos.
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 for his peace work and proposals, Portugheis published The Game of War and a Path to Peace the following year. His second book “$$$$s In Their Hearts” was released in November 2014.
Free recital (retiring collection)