Pianist Maria Olga Douwens Prats died at the age of 82 at her residence in Parede, victim of oncological disease, Portuguese media say. Olga Prats started playing the piano at the age of 6, having been a private pupil of João Maria Abreu e Motta. She gave her first recital, at the age of 14, at Teatro Municipal de S. Luiz, in Lisbon, on May 5, 1952.
After graduating in 1957, she continued her studies in Cologne, Germany, where she studied with Gaspar Cassadó and Karl Pillney, and in Fribourg, Switzerland, with Carl Seeman and Sándor Végh.
In Germany, where she received a scholarship from the German government in partnership with the Gulbenkian Foundation, Olga Prats played with several orchestras and received praise from the music critics.
In 1960, she returned to Portugal and continued her studies with the pianist Helena Sá e Costa (1913-2006).
Throughout her career, she has privileged chamber music, highlighting contemporary production. She also played with numerous orchestras and gave solo recitals.
She taught at the National Conservatory and at the Lisbon Superior School of Music (ESML) until November 2008.
