EDITH PEÑA
Piano
Born in Caracas, Edith Peña began playing the piano at four. At eight, she performed as soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica Venezuela. At nine, her family moved to Philadelphia, where she made her debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
She trained in the United States with Susan Starr, then with Sergei Babayan in Cleveland – a teacher of reference whose students include Daniil Trifonov and Kirill Gerstein. This American schooling, combined with her Latin American roots, shaped an artistic profile that resists easy categorisation: rigorous technique, a strong temperament, and an eclectic repertoire.
Based in Madrid, she maintains an international career that takes her regularly to Germany, Austria, France, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom, Canada and across Latin America. She is a regular guest soloist with the Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela, the ensemble founded by José Antonio Abreu and brought to world fame by Gustavo Dudamel – a connection to her home country she has kept alive despite a career now firmly rooted in Europe.
In recital, she builds programmes that reach beyond the standard repertoire. Danzas en todos los tiempos – one of her most acclaimed recordings – spans four centuries of dance-related music, from the Baroque to the present day. The follow-up album, Danzas de mundo, was a Grammy finalist in the chamber music category. She has also recorded an album devoted entirely to Venezuelan piano music, a repertoire she is among the very few to champion on the international stage.
She has recorded for Radio France, Radio Nacional de España, Radio Nacional de Venezuela and WFLN Philadelphia.
