Biography
A native of Málaga (Spain), Ana Benavides holds degrees from the Málaga, Granada, Madrid, and Vienna conservatories. Her principal teachers included Gloria Emparán, Manuel Carra, Dianko Illiew and Alicia de Larrocha. She received a Piano Performing Diploma from the Royal College of Music of London and a degree in Spanish Philology from the University of Málaga. She has also received a doctorate in Humanities from the University of Carlos III (Madrid), with the Premio Extraordinario de Doctorado. She was a scholar-in-residence at the University of California, Riverside for the 2014-2015 academic year.
Ana Benavides has performed recitals throughout Europe, Australia, and North and South America and is also a regular visitor to international festivals as both a soloist and chamber musician. She also maintains an active interest in the Spanish piano repertoire of the 19th century and is often invited to give lectures, courses, and concerts on this topic at leading music schools and festivals, including: the Juilliard School of Music, University of Texas, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, Lancaster International Piano Festival, University of Melbourne, and University of Adelaide, among others. In addition to solo recitals, Ana Benavides performs extensively in a duo with clarinetist Pedro Rubio and also in a classical quintet, Músicos del ayre, playing pianoforte. Ana Benavides served also as the curator for the exposition The Piano in Spain, which was organized by the Joaquín Turina Professional Conservatory of Music in Madrid.
Her numerous national and international awards include: Concurso Nacional Marisa Montiel (Linares, 1983), Vienna International Music Competition (Viena, 1995), Concours International de Piano Lucien Wurmser (Paris, 1996), Concours International d’Interpretation Pierre Lantier (Paris, 1996). Spanish music awards include: “Luis Colemán” (1988), “Andrés Segovia” (1989), “Rosa López Comunión” (1990) and “Premio a la mejor edición de música clásica” (Academia de la Música & SGAE, 2008).
She co-edited (with Walter A. Clark) and contributed to the catalogue of the exhibition El paisaje acústico de Joaquín Rodrigo, organized by the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid for the twentieth anniversary of the composer’s death (May-September 2019). Ana Benavides is currently a Distinguished Professor at the Real Conservatorio Superior de Música de Madrid and Associated Professor at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid.
