About
Nikolai Lugansky, already a major artist, has been hailed as the “next” in a line of great Russian pianists by his former teacher, the renowned pedagogue, Tatiana Nikolaeva. He has been described as “a pianistic phenomenon of exceptional class” by the Netherlands’ NRC Handelsblad and as “riveting” and “stand out” by London’s Telegraph.
Known for his superb interpretations of Rachmaninoff, Mr. Lugansky has been a prizewinner in several international competitions, including the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1988, the All-Union Rachmaninoff Competition in 1990, and the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1994. He made his American debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 1996 as a part of a tour with the Kirov Orchestra and Valery Gergiev.
Capable of great refinement and sensitivity in Mozart and Schumann, and breathtaking virtuosity in Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, Nikolai Lugansky is a pianist of extraordinary depth and versatility. Highlights for the 2012/13 season and beyond include concerto projects with the New York Philharmonic (with Charles Dutoit), the Orchestre de Paris (Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos), Bamberger Symphoniker (Mikhail Pletnev), the London Symphony Orchestra (Gianandrea Noseda) and St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Yuri Temirkanov). In recital and chamber performances, Lugansky appears at Paris’s Théâtre des ChampsElysées, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Konzerthaus Berlin and Madrid’s Auditorio Nacional de Música; his chamber music collaborations include performances with Vadim Repin and Leonidas Kavakos. He regularly appears at some of the world's most distinguished festivals, including the BBC Proms, La Roque d'Anthéron, Verbier, and the Edinburgh International festivals.
Last season saw Nikolai Lugansky make his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (with Dutoit) as well as performances with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (Andris Nelsons), Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra (Valery Gergiev), NHK Symphony Orchestra, The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also made his recital debut at the Vienna Konzerthaus along with recitals at Prague’s Rudolfinum and the Grand Halls of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Moscow Conservatoire. 2011/12 also saw him tour with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and Marek Janowski, and the Russian National Orchestra.
An acclaimed recording artist, Nikolai Lugansky records exclusively for the Naïve-Ambroisie label and his next recording, featuring Rachmaninov's two Piano Sonatas, will be released in Autumn 2012. This follows his disc of solo Liszt works, which led Le Monde to write that “Nikolai Lugansky has entered the inner circle of great Lisztians”. His previous release was an all-Chopin recital for Onyx, described by The Guardian as “unquestionably thrilling”, and Gramophone hailed his BBC Music Magazine Award-winning Deutsche Grammophon recording with violinist Repin as “a quite magnificent performance”. Nikolai Lugansky won the Diapason d'Or for his recordings of the complete Chopin Etudes and Preludes and the Rachmaninov Preludes and Moments musicaux, as well as an Echo Klassik prize for his 2005 recording of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 1.
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