Born in Granada in 1964, Pilar Cabrera began to study music at the age of six under her parents’ tutelage and combined these studies with ballet classes. In 1981 she was named Youth Performer of the Year and awarded the First Youth Music Award of Granada. In 1984 she took First Prize for Organists of the Concurso Permanente de Jóvenes Intérpretes de Juventudes Musicales (National Young Performers Competition ) of Spain. On completion of her studies she gained honours in piano, organ, and chamber music, taking first prize in each of these areas. Whilst Pilar Cabrera studied piano with Rosa Sabater, Gloria Emparán, and Alfredo Gil, it was the organ that really captivated her and she studied organ with Daniel Roth (Paris) and Rosalinde Haas (Frankfurt am Main). In 1989 she obtained the Diplom der Künstlerischen Abschlussprüfung for organ from the Robert Schumann School for Higher Studies in Düsseldorf, achieving the highest classification and a special recognition from the judges. Since 1982, Pilar Cabrera has devoted all of her time to giving recitals in Europe and the USA not only as a soloist but also in conjunction with trumpet, percussion, brass ensemble and Chamber and Symphony Orchestras. In 1986 Pilar Cabrera made the first ever recording "TOCCATA" on the large 4-manual Blancafort organ Organo del Sol Mayor in Marbella (Costa del Sol) for CBS, Spain. She also recorded on this instrument for RNE, Spanish National Radio. Her CD "Die Sonnenorgel von Marbella" (Organo del Sol Mayor de Marbella), dedicated to the King and Queen of Spain and released by Motette (Düsseldorf, Germany), has received lavish praise and rave reviews internationally. Pilar Cabrera has been for 20 years the regular organist at the church of Our Lady of Incarnation in Marbella (southern Spain) with its well known magnificent four-manual Blancafort organ Organo del Sol Mayor, the first large tracker organ and one of the most important instruments built in Spain in the 20th Century. The construction was carried out between 1971 and 1975 by the master organ builders Gabriel Blancafort and Joan Capella from Barcelona. Since July 2006 Pilar Cabrera is the regular organist of the new 4-manual Organ of Valladolid's Cathedral and the 3-manual Concert Organ of Cubillas de Santa Marta. |