José Feghali
Brazilian pianist José Feghali was born on 28 March 1961. He played his first recital aged five and made his concerto debut at eight years old with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra. He studied in London, first with Maria Curcio and then at the Royal Academy of Music with Christopher Elton.
He won a gold medal in the 1985 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, played solo and chamber music in many countries, made recordings on the Koss, Naxos and VAI labels, judged at international piano competitions and gave masterclasses.
He also worked as a producer, recording and mastering engineer on audio recording projects, and won an award for his work with internet conferencing technology.
Until his unexpected death, apparently a suicide by gun shot wound, on 8 December 2014 at his home in Fort Worth, Texas, USA, aged fifty-three, he was artist-in-residence at Texas Christian University's school of music in piano.