"There was one time... that I questioned everything and wanted to study psychology, but I am entirely and absolutely musical; that is my essence. And it was impossible for me to turn my back on it."

Gabriela Montero is profiled in El Universal, discussing her musical journey, signature improvisations, her performance at President Obama's inauguration, and more. Read the interview below.

This was a recital of a unique, profoundly authentic, and gifted artist. Gabriela Montero has risen to prominence through her unique ability to improvise, but her uniqueness goes way beyond even this prodigious ability. In her fingers, the Ballades of Chopin became a story. No longer simply musical forms, they became real poems. The fluidity of the tempi served, above all, to create an atmosphere and to render the discourse more personal. Here, we were in the spirit of Cortot, searching for ways in which to make each note come alive beyond its place in the formal structure of the piece.