Rafael Puyana (Harpsichord)

Born: October 14, 1931 - Bogotá, Colombia

The Colombian harpsichordist, Rafael Puyana Michelsen, began piano lessons at age 6 with his aunt and at age 13 made his debut at the Teatro Colón in Bogotá. At age 16 he went to Boston to continue his piano studies at the New England Conservatory. He also had general music training at the Hartt College of Music in Hertford, Connecticut. He subsequently went to Berlin to study harpsichord with Wanda Landowska and then to Paris to study composition with Nadia Boulanger.

Rafael Puyana made a tour of Europe in 1955, his début in New York in 1957 and in London in 1966. Thereafter he toured world-wide. His extensive repertoire ranges from early music to contemporary scores. He has performed with the likes of Yehudi Menuhin, Leopold Stokowski, and Andrés Segovia. Composers of the stature of Federico Mompou and Xavier Montsalvatge have dedicated compositions to him.

Aside from concerts, Rafael Puyana has taught harpsichord. Christopher Hogwood and Elizabeth de la Porte were among his students. He has also has collected original instruments and made copies of famous instruments.

Source: Wikipedia Website; Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (October 2006); Teddy Kaufman (December 2006 - Photos)

Rafael Puyana: Short Biography | Recordings of Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Rafael Puyana (Wikipedia)
Rafael Puyana (Gran Enciclopedia de Colombia) [Spanish]

MUSIC: Rafael Puyana (New York Times)
MUSIC: Rafael Puyana, Harpsichord (New York Times)