Lisbon-born Maria João Pires gave her first public performance at the age of four and began formal studies with Campos Coelho and Francine Benoît, continuing in Germany with Rosl Schmid and Karl Engel. In addition to concerts, she has recorded for Erato and Deutsche Grammophon for 35 years.
Since the 1970s, Pires has devoted herself to the influence of art in life, community and education, and to finding new ways of socially implementing this influence.
In 1999, she created the Belgais Centre for the Study of the Arts (Portugal), where she offers interdisciplinary workshops to both professional musicians and amateurs. Belgais concerts and recordings will be shared with the international digital community.
In 2012, she initiated two the Partitura Choirs, to develop choirs for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and the Partitura Workshops. Taking place in Belgium, they aim to create positive dynamics between artists of different generations outside of competitions, a notion gaining worldwide attention.