Watts, André (1946– )

German-born US pianist. He studied piano in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of nine. He was catapulted to fame in 1963, when he played on national television with the New York Philharmonic. After his first world tour in 1967, he became an international favourite, primarily noted for his elegant handling of the 19th-century repertoire. The son of an African-American soldier and a Hungarian mother, Watts was born in Nuremberg, Germany.