Hailed by The New Yorker as “a pianist’s pianist,” Cecile Licad has captivated audiences around the world with her daring musical instincts, mesmerizing stage presence, and artistry that spans a wide range of styles and influences. Critics have lauded her as a virtuoso, praising both her interpretive depth and flawless technique.

Licad began her piano studies at the age of three and made her debut as a soloist with the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra at just seven. At twelve, she was admitted to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied under legendary teachers Rudolf Serkin, Mieczyslaw Horszowski, and Seymour Lipkin. A frequent participant at the Marlboro Music Festival, she often performed duet repertoire with Horszowski. Serkin once remarked, “Cecile Licad has an incredible instinct for all kinds of music and seems equally at home in any style.”

Her international career was launched in 1981 after she received the esteemed Leventritt Foundation Gold Medal Award. Since then, she has become one of the most widely traveled pianists in the world, performing with major orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, National Symphony, and the leading orchestras of Germany, Japan, and Russia. She has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, André Previn, Claudio Abbado, Charles Dutoit, Sir Neville Marriner, Eugene Ormandy, and Sir Georg Solti. Her performance of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No. 1 with Solti remains a fan favorite on YouTube.

As a chamber musician, Licad has performed alongside many of the world’s most celebrated artists, including violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, cellist Alban Gerhardt, and pianist Peter Serkin. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Guarneri, Takács, and other acclaimed string quartets. Her acclaimed recording of Chopin earned the Grand Prix du Disque, while her Naxos album featuring the music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk has become a perennial bestseller.

It is the music of Gottschalk that Licad brings to life in her performances with Louis, infusing each piece with her dynamically expressive style. As the New York Classical Review noted following her performance at Weill Recital Hall in December 2024, “Licad knows Gottschalk probably better than any living pianist, and the showpiece was dazzling and tremendous fun—a triple exclamation point at the end of the evening.”