Draft:Adam Kent

Adam Kent
Born	20 October 1964 New York, NY
Years active	1985 - present

Adam Kent is an American pianist, educator, and advocate for Spanish and Latin-American music. Known for his expertise in the Spanish repertoire, Kent has performed extensively in recital, as a soloist with orchestras, and in chamber music across the United States, Europe, and Latin America. His contributions to the promotion of Iberian and Latin-American music have earned him recognition, including Spain’s Orden al Mérito Civil in 2011.

Early Life and Education

Adam Kent was born in the United States and developed an early passion for music. He pursued his musical education at prestigious institutions, earning a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) and Master of Music (M.M.) from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under Solomon Mikowsky. Kent later received a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from The Juilliard School, studying with Jerome Lowenthal. His doctoral dissertation, “The Use of Catalan Folk Materials in the Works of Federico Mompou and Joaquín Nin-Culmell”, was awarded The Juilliard School’s Richard F. French Prize.

Career

Performances

Kent made his New York recital debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 1989 and has since performed in major venues across the United States, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Latin America. His performances have been broadcast on radio stations such as WQXR, WNYC, WFUV, WVOX, and Sirius Radio. A versatile artist, Kent has appeared as a soloist with orchestras, in solo recitals, and as a chamber musician, notably with the Damocles Trio, which he co-founded in 1996 with violinist Airi Yoshioka and cellist Sibylle Johner. The trio has performed at venues such as Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, and BargeMusic, and has toured internationally.

Kent’s performances are noted for their technical precision and expressive depth. A review in the Indianapolis Star praised his performance of Isaac Albéniz’s Iberia, Book I, as “Albénizian to the core…his suave legato touch wedded to a tone with an Old World patina about it.” Similarly, Excelsior of Mexico City lauded an all-Spanish recital for its “magnificent technical ability” and ability to “delve into the essence of what the composer sought to express."

Specialization in Spanish Music

Spanish and Latin-American music has been a cornerstone of Kent’s career. His advocacy for this repertoire has been supported by institutions such as the Spanish Ministry for Education and Culture, the Consulate General of Spain in New York, the Foundation for Iberian Music at the CUNY Graduate Center, and the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at NYU. In 2011, King Juan Carlos I of Spain honored Kent with the Orden al Mérito Civil for his contributions to Spanish music, following an all-Spanish program at Weill Recital Hall. Each year from 2006-2013, the Spanish Consulate in New York sponsored Kent’s programs of Spanish piano music at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Kent has performed and lectured extensively on Spanish composers such as Isaac Albéniz, Enrique Granados, Federico Mompou, and Xavier Montsalvatge, as well as contemporary figures like Tania León and Benet Casablancas. His critically acclaimed recording of the complete piano works of Ernesto Halffter is available on Bridge Records, and he contributed performances and interviews to documentaries on Enrique Granados, Manuel de Falla, and Federico Mompou. In 2025, Kent embarked upon a project to record little-known piano works by Colombian composers, with a grant from the State University of New York. Kent’s performances of Spanish music have been compared to those of the legendary pianist Alicia de Larrocha, with BBC Music Magazine noting his “command of buoyant articulation.”

Kent frequently cites Alicia de Larrocha as a particular influence and was heavily involved with events marking the pianist’s centennial in 2023. His programs and lectures on repertoire dedicated to Larrocha, including little-known music by Larrocha’s husband Joan Torra and Larrocha herself, were heard in venues from New York City to Barcelona. In 2001, Kent gave the inaugural lecture-recital for the Foundation for Iberian Music at the Graduate Center of the City of New York, at which Larrocha was honored on the centenary of the foundation of the Academia Marshall-Granados.

The music of Cuban-American composer Tania León, winner of a 2021 Pulitzer Prize and a 2022 Kennedy Center Honoree, has been an area of particular concentration for Kent. León dedicated Homenatge, one of her most important piano works, to Kent, who premiered it at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in 2011 and collaborated with choreographer Pedro Ruiz in a version for Dance Theater of Harlem as well. His album devoted to León’s piano music “Teclas de mi piano” was triumphantly received in the international press. The New York Times reported, "The pianist Adam Kent has the measure of León’s sound throughout, whether he’s dealing with student pieces written in the 1960s or more recent items like “Homenatge,” from 2011. In the latter, he brings a virtuoso’s zest to the dance rhythms and bluesy clusters that cavort in the composition’s opening minutes. But he also offers a patient, less showy sensibility during the ruminative airs of the final minutes...Throughout, Kent pays as much attention to León’s formal invention as to the way she reworks her diverse inspirations." All About the Arts commented, "...the gifted Adam Kent triumphantly takes on every one of the pianistic hurdles contained in Tania León’s panoply of works." The CD was cited by National Public Radio in its list of “10 More Terrific Albums of 2022” Kent has performed León’s music throughout the U.S., Spain, and Cuba, including in a special concert in honor of León’s receipt of the 2024 Premio Tomás Luis de Victoria of the Sociedad General de Autores y Editores in Madrid, Spain.

Since 2006, Kent has served as Director of Cultural Outreach for the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain, where he also performs and teaches. His lecture-recitals on Spanish music, often bilingual, have been presented throughout the United States, Spain and South America.

Chamber Music and Recordings

As a chamber musician, Kent has collaborated with the Damocles Trio, recording Joaquín Turina’s complete piano trios and quartet with violist Lawrence Dutton of the Emerson Quartet for Claves Records in 2004. The trio also recorded Heitor Villa-Lobos’s complete piano trios and Oscar Lorenzo-Fernândez’s Trio brasileiro in 2009. These recordings have been praised for their sensitivity and authenticity. A collaboration with Flamenco cantaor Fernando Barros revealed another side to Kent’s creativity, with the two artists adapting and re-imagining the melodies of Leonard Cohen with lyrics by Federico Garcia Lorca in an album entitled “Flamenco Metamorphoses”.

Kent’s solo recordings, available on the Bridge and Albany Records labels, showcase his affinity for Spanish and Latin-American repertoire. His performances of Albéniz’s Iberia and Granados’s Goyescas have been particularly celebrated, with critics noting its stylistic authenticity and technical finesse.

Academic and Teaching Career

Kent is a dedicated educator, currently serving on the music faculty of the State University of New York at Oneonta. He has been a long-standing member of the Piano Faculty at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division and has served as an adjunct professor at The Juilliard School. Additionally, Kent has served as faculty member at the Cursos de Verano of the Escuela Internacional de Música, sponsored by the Princess of Asturias Foundation in Oviedo, Spain, and at the Barcelona Song Festival.

Kent’s scholarly work includes publications in journals such as Clavier, Music in Art, Diagonal Journal, and Cambridge Scholars, as well as a Spanish-language monograph on Xavier Montsalvatge published by the Spanish Society of Authors and Editors. With funding from the State University of New York, Kent has produced a series of educational documentaries on Robert Schumann, the Twenty-Four Preludes, Op. 28 of Frederic Chopin, and the Fantasy and Sonata in C Minor, K. 475/457 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Since 1990, Kent has served as Music Director of the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation in White Plains, New York, where he organizes and performs in the “Music at CUUC” concert series.

Awards and Honors

• Orden al Mérito Civil (2011), bestowed by King Juan Carlos I of Spain
• American Pianists Association Fellowship
• Simone Belsky Music Awards
• Top prizes in the Thomas Richner, Juilliard Concerto, and Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Competitions
• Arthur Rubinstein Prize
• Harold Bauer Award
• Richard F. French Prize for his doctoral dissertation (The Juilliard School)

Personal Life

Kent is deeply committed to community engagement, as evidenced by his virtual recital series “A Tempo with Adam” during the COVID-19 pandemic, which offered half-hour musical interludes to provide comfort and connection. He has also been credited with a drive to improve working conditions for Manhattan School of Music Precollege faculty, by spearheading a unionization drive and serving as president of ARTS-MSM, the union which represents the School’s faculty. He continues to reside in New York, balancing his roles as a performer, educator, and advocate for music.

Discography

• Complete Piano Works of Ernesto Halffter (Bridge Records, 2001)
• Joaquín Turina: Complete Piano Trios and Quartet (with Damocles Trio and Lawrence Dutton, Claves Records, 2004)
• “Remembrances: Lyric Pieces by Edvard Grieg” (2006)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos: Complete Piano Trios and Oscar Lorenzo Fernández: Trio brasileiro (with Damocles Trio, Claves Records, 2009)
• “Flamenco Metamorphoses” (with Fernando Barros, cantaor, 2019)
• “Teclas de mi piano”: Complete Piano Works of Tania León (Albany Records, 2022)