Alexandre
Rey Colaço

Alexandre Rey Colaço (1854-1928) was a Portuguese pianist of a French father and Spanish-Portuguese mother. He studied piano at the Madrid Conservatory and gave his first performance in Lisbon in 1881. A certain Count of Daupias was present and so impressed that he offered Colaço a trip to Paris to continue his musical education. From there he moved on to Berlin to study at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik under Barth and Rudorff (piano) and Harertel and Bargiel (composition). Due to his outstanding talent, he was invited to teach piano at this school, whose director was the famous violinist Joseph Joachim, a great friend of Schumann and Brahms. In 1887, Rey Colaço returned to Lisbon and became a Portuguese citizen. He was appointed piano professor at the Conservatory of Music and contributed largely to the cultural activities of this country as a performer, pedagogue and composer. He taught music to the young portuguese Prince D. Manuel (later Manuel II of Portugal).