Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner Performs a Piano Tribute to Mexican Composers

Pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner began his journey as a musician at age 2 when he was drawn to the instrument in his family’s living room. His mother, Martha Sanchez-Werner, a lover of the arts and music, knew she needed to enroll her son in lessons immediately. His earliest memories as a child in California included catching shows at the Hollywood Bowl or listening to the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At age 9, Sanchez-Werner’s family moved to New York City, which is where he grew to be the virtuoso pianist he is today, and he attended Julliard.

“I am forever grateful that my mother started me on that journey,” said Sanchez-Werner in a recent phone interview.

On Friday, February 10, at 6 p.m., Sanchez-Werner will pay homage to the life, loves and art of Frida Kahlo with a program at the Parrish Art Museum highlighting music by Mexican composers. The piano concert is offered in conjunction with the current Parrish exhibition “Kahlo: An Expanded Body,” which runs through April 2. Sanchez-Werner will perform a program featuring works by Jesús González Rubio, Manuel Ponce and Carlos Chávez — who was a close friend of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo — as well as compositions inspired by Mexican and Spanish culture by Leonard Bernstein and Claude Debussy.

“We will be going on a little bit of a journey,” Sanchez-Werner explained of his upcoming performance. “Hopefully, there will be an oral and visual journey that the audience will be taken on.”

Last year, Sanchez-Werner, whose mother was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, performed at the Parrish, playing one short Mexican piece on the program. Monica Ramirez-Montagut, director of the Parrish Art Museum, also has roots in Mexico and explained to Sanchez-Werner that she was planning this Frida Kahlo exhibition.

“Monica asked me if I would want to play a program of Mexican music that is specifically fitting to the Frida Kahlo theme and I said absolutely,” he noted, adding of the Mexican composers in the show, “They have fascinating stories to tell.”

The concert will begin with a historic protest dance of Mexican revolutionaries during their War of Independence against the Spanish Empire that evolved into a popular folk melody: the “Mexican Hat Dance” (Jarabe Tapatío). Following will be works by Chávez, one of Mexico’s most prominent composers, including “Preludios Aztecas — referencing his interest in the same indigenous themes and raw elements that inspired Kahlo. Part two of the concert will parallel Kahlo’s travels — to New York, with Leonard Bernstein’s “Mambo” from the Broadway musical West Side Story, based on the Mexican and Cuban dance; “Paris, “with a piece by Claude Debussy inspired by Granada, Spain; and a piece that acknowledges Kahlo’s relationship with the Russian exile Leon Trotsky — Sergei Prokofiev’s “Scherzo” from Sonata No. 2.

Part three of the concert will bring the focus back to Mexico, just as Kahlo returned from her travels abroad, beginning with the 1940 classic pop song “Besame Mucho” by composer/pianist Consuelo Velázquez. The program concludes with two rhapsodic pieces in the Romantic style by Manuel Ponce, who had a profound influence on 20th -century Mexican music.

“When I was two, I was good at understanding music by ear. Soon after, I learned to read music,” said Sanchez-Werner explaining how his talent began.

He added that he made his concerto debut at age 6.

“I had a couple of different milestones in my realization that the arts were how I wanted to contribute to the world,” the 26-year-old pianist explained. “Years later, I realized, this is how I want to contribute to society. By being a performer, a composer. I knew this is what I wanted to do. I saw music and being a performer as a means of building bridges in various communities.”

At the age of 13, Sanchez-Werner was the first American guest musician to play with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra in Baghdad. He said this was his first time wearing a bulletproof vest, as all performers had to do. At the time, Baghdad was a war zone, and the composer was armed with a gun. His involvement in the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra gained worldwide press and recognition.

“It was inspiring to watch this orchestra give back to the community even when their lives were threatened,” he said.

The performance raised funds for a local children’s cancer care clinic. The audience comprised soldiers, some American ambassadors and Iraqi civilians.

Sanchez-Werner holds multiple degrees from the Juilliard School and Yale University, and he was named a Gilmore Young Artist, an honor awarded to the most promising American pianists. He has performed at the White House and Kennedy Center for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and has been featured on NPR, PBS, CNN International, the Wall Street Journal, and WDR-Arte. He has performed for President Peña Nieto of Mexico, Prime Minister Peres of Israel and President Kagame of Rwanda. He also performed for economic leaders and President Kagame as Rwandans continue rebuilding from the Tutsi genocide. Sanchez-Werner’s recent international performances include The Royal Concertgebouw in the Netherlands, Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, the Louvre and Grenoble museums in France, among other prominent venues.

Sanchez-Werner holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in music from Juilliard, where he was awarded the Kovner Fellowship, won the concerto competition, and was the youngest admitted to each program at age 14 and 18. He received an artist diploma from the Yale School of Music, where he was awarded the Charles S. Miller Prize. Sanchez-Werner is a Steinhardt doctoral fellow and adjunct professor at New York University. He studies with Eduardus Halim.

“I enjoy playing around the world whether it be the Netherlands, Abu Dhabi, Rwanda or Ireland,” Sanchez-Werner said, “But it is nice to be so close to home. It is just a little bit of a drive to share music with people and I am greatly looking forward to it.”

Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner performs a solo piano concert on Friday, February 10, at 6 p.m. at the Parrish Art Museum. Tickets are $35 ($25 for museum members, $20 for students, $10 for children). Advance ticket purchase with preevent registration is recommended at parrishart.org. Limited tickets will be available at the door. Parrish Art Museumis located at 279 Montauk Highway, Water Mill.

Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner will also perform the opening concert for the 2023 Shelter Island Friends of Music on Sunday, February 19, at 3 p.m. at the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, 32 North Ferry Road. Sanchez-Werner will perform the music of Schumann, Liszt, Chopin, Chávez and Stravinsky. Admission is free, but donations appreciated. For more information, contact shelterislandfriendsofmusic.org.