This is Fresh Air, I'm Tanya Mosley.

Classical pianist Andre Watts died last week at the age of 77.

Watts is known as one of the first black superstars in classical music.

He became famous at 16 after performing for composer Leonard Bernstein at the New York

Philharmonic on a nationally televised program called The Young People's Concert.

Bernstein would later call on Watts to perform a concert in place of Canadian pianist

Glenn Gold, who would fall in ill.

Watts rose to international fame after that performance, recording extensively with orchestras

in the United States and Europe.

Here he is performing Brahms Concerto No. 2, Hyden, with Leonard Bernstein and the New

York Philharmonic.

Watts brought electricity and emotion to his performances.

Sometimes humming, stomping his feet, and bobbing his head as he played.

He was born in Normburg, Germany, and later raised in Philadelphia.

His father was a non-commissioned officer in the army.

His mother was an amateur pianist from Hungary.

She's credited it with teaching Watts to play the piano beginning at the age of six.

Watts spoke to Terry Gross in 1985, and they began their conversation talking about those

early lessons.

There was not a lot of discipline involved, so it was just fun, and actually I'm in retrospect

always very thankful about the way I started playing the piano, although it's the unconventional

way, and it makes all those, and I say this with no sarcasm, all those decent, hardworking,

...