Born in Bahia (Brazil) in 1964, Ricardo Castro started to play piano at the age of three and began his musical studies with Esther Cardoso, a dedicated exponent of the French pianoschool, at the age of five. In 1975 Castro won, when he was only eleven, at the Pro Arte National Competition in Brazil, suggesting the musical talent he should later confirm. In 1984 he joined the class of Maria Tipo at the Geneva Conservatoire. Consequently he won a number of prizes including the Patek Philippe Award