Harold López-Nussa sits down to the piano and, aftera few warm-up scales, goes to work. Whereas a few minutes earlier he was relaxed. chatting easily, joking with members of his audience, he suddenly appears transformed, both mentally and physically. His concentration is total, his virtuosity confirmedagain and again with flawless runs up and down the keyboard. His head and shoulders tilt toward his instrument, not with strain but with the humility ofa knight bowing to his sovereign. His audible breathing and intermittent mumbling make him seem like a less troubled version of Glenn Gould.

Harold plays Keith Jarrett’s "Memories of Tomorrow" then follows with one of his own compositions. This brief performance is enough to demonstrate the breadth of his musical inspiration as well as his mastery of modern jazz, indigenous Cuban rumba and just about anything in between. When he has finished playing, the applause is as intense and sustained as it was at the Montreux Jazz Festival, where Harold won first prize in the solo piano competition in 2005 and where he was invited for a return performance the following year.