The biggest appreciation so far of Marialy Pacheco’s qualities has been the winning of the Montreux Solo Piano Competition 2012. She is the first woman to win this prize in 15 years history of the competition. In the explanation of the decision Jury president Leszek Mozdzer said: “Deciding between the three contenders was tough. In the end, the contestants’ joy in performing and her authenticity guided our decision making.”
Born in Havana 1983, Marialy Pacheco was raised in a musical family and began piano studies from an early age at the Conservatorio Alejandro García Caturla. At 15 she attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes, followed by three years of composition studies under Tulio Peramo at the Instituto Superior de Artes in Havana.

In 2002 she won the Cuban competition Jo-Jazz, with Grammy award-winner Chucho Valdes presiding over the jury. Two years later she recorded her first album “Bendiciones”. The pianist moved to Germany, toured through Europe – both solo and with her trio – and built international reputation.
On the occasion of the 185-year-old jubilee of Bösendorfer, Marialy Pacheco guested in 2013 as the only Jazz-Act, beside classical stars like Valentina Lisitsa and Maria Mazo in the Musikverein Wien. In 2014, Marialy was announced as first female jazz pianist worldwide to be an official „Bösendorfer Artist“. Marialy Pacheco is the only female pianist in the currently row of famous Cuban jazz piano players like Roberto Fonseca, Omar Sosa or Gonzalo Rubalcaba.