Nicolas Namoradze
piano
“Set to become one of the truly important artists of his generation.” – Emanuel Ax
Pianist and composer Nicolas Namoradze, whose performances have been hailed by critics as “sparkling…
sensitive and coloristic” (New York Times), “simply gorgeous” (Wall Street Journal) and “astonishing” International Piano Magazine), came to international attention upon winning the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary, Canada—the largest piano prize in the world. The Calgary Herald called him “unparalleled” and “a pianist’s pianist,” praising his “remarkable clarity of execution, refinement and variety of tone, and his uncanny ability to make even the most ordinary passagework sound meaningful and distinctive… Everywhere his interpretative skills commanded attention and admiration.”
A Gramophone “One to Watch” and BBC Music Magazine “Rising Star,” Namoradze was recently named among WQXR’s “20 for 20: Artists to Watch,” a list that “includes long-time heroes, established favorites and newcomers set for stardom who are redefining what classical music can be.” His current activities as the Honens Prize Laureate include recitals at venues including the Konzerthaus Berlin, Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, Boston’s Gardner Museum, New York’s 92nd Street Y and Tokyo Toppan Hall; appearances at Tanglewood, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Toronto Summer Music, Miami International Piano Festival, Telavi Music Festival, Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Tbilisi Piano Fest and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival; and performances with the London Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony, Windsor Symphony and Ottawa National Arts Centre orchestras, among others. Upon the invitation of Sir András Schiff, Namoradze will present recitals at leading venues around Europe including deSingel Antwerp, Munich Allerheiligenhofkirche, Orpheus Stiftung Zurich and the Gstaad Menuhin Festival in the “Building Bridges” series.
Following releases of select live performances from the 2018 Honens International Piano Competition on the Honens label and his critically acclaimed, sold-out debut recital at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr on the Edition Klavier-Festival Ruhr, this season will see the release of two solo albums—a program of Schumann and Namoradze on the Steinway label, and a disc on the Hyperion label featuring the works of York Bowen.
After completing his undergraduate studies in Budapest, Vienna, and Florence, Namoradze moved to New York for his master’s at The Juilliard School and doctorate at the CUNY Graduate Center, holding the Graduate Center Fellowship. His teachers have included Emanuel Ax, Yoheved Kaplinsky, Zoltán Kocsis, Matti Raekallio, and Elisso Virsaladze in piano, and John Corigliano in composition. His works are published by Muse Press.
