Pianist and Jacobs School professor André Watts dies at 77

By KATY SZPAK

Celebrated American pianist and IU Jacobs School of Music professor André Watts died today at the age of 77, according to an obituary released by the Jacobs School of Music. Watts joined Jacobs School faculty in 2004.

Watts made his national concert debut when he was 16 years old with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic. Shortly after, he was asked to substitute in place of Glenn Gould with the Philharmonic. That performance is credited with launching Watts’ career.

Watts spoke about meeting Leonard Bernstein in an interview recorded in the WFIU studios in 2018.

“I always say to people... Bernstein came with a big platter that had a career on it and said, ‘Hey kid, you want this, it's yours.’”

He received the Avery Fisher Prize in 1988, a top honor for American classical musicians. He was the youngest recipient of an honorary doctorate from Yale at 26. In 2011, Watts received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama, and in 2014, he was inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame.

Evelyne Brancart is a professor at the Jacobs school and a friend of Watts. She said he was an astute observer of people and the human condition, and this translated to a profound connection to different musical styles and composers.

"He was a very dedicated and caring teacher," she said. "And he was communicating, not only music and piano, but deep life wisdom and profound musical insights."

Watts performed with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra and Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

“The first thing I ever wanted to be was a writer, and somehow that didn't work out,” Watts said in the same interview about his career. “I wanted to tell stories. So now, as a concertizing pianist, I'm reduced to trying to tell stories at the piano through music.”