The Russian pianist, Pavel Kolesnikov, was born into a family of scientists. He began to study piano and violin at age 6, and studied both instruments for 10 years, before concentrating solely on the piano. He studied with Professor at Novosibirsk Conservatory (2004-2007); at Moscow State Conservatory with Professor Sergei Dorensky, Professor Andrei Pisarev, Professor Pavel Nersessian and Nikolai Lugansky (from 2007), at London’s Royal College of Music with Norma Fisher and at Brussels' Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel with Maria-João Pires thanks to the generous support of Mr Christopher D Budden, the RCM Scholarship Foundation and Hattori Foundation. He is the prize winner of 15 National and International Competitions including the 7th International piano competition in Andorra (1st prize), the 3rd International Gilels piano competition in Odessa (1st prize) and the 1st European Piano Competition in Poznan (3rd prize). He is the recipient of the Milstein Medal and is the RCM Benjamin Britten Piano Fellow. In 2007 he was awarded with the national order The Young Talent of Russia; and he was was a member of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists from 2014 to 2016.
Pavel Kolesnikov plays concerts both as soloist and chamber musician in Russia, the Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK and Poland. His debut recital at the Small Hall of the Moscow conservatoire in September 2008 won the great public acclaim. Following his Wigmore Hall debut in January 2014, The Daily Telegraph gave his recital a rare five-star review and called it “one of the most memorable of such occasions London has witnessed in a while”. Since becoming Prize Laureate of the Honens International Piano Competition in 2012, he has performed around the world. Significant recital and festival appearances include Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, Berlin's Konzerthaus, Kumho Art Hall (South Korea), the Louvre (Paris), Vancouver Recital Society, La Jolla Music Society, International Casalmaggiore Festival (2005 & 2006), Verbier Festival&Academy (2007 & 2009), Spoleto Festival USA, Canada’s Ottawa ChamberFest and Banff Summer Festival, Plush Music Festival, and the BBC Proms.
Pavel Kolesnikov has performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Calgary Philharmonic, Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Russian National Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He has undertaken UK and European tours with the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, Czech National Symphony and Flanders Symphony Orchestra.
Pavel Kolesnikov made his BBC Proms debut performing Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland conducted by Ilan Volkov. He also joined the BBC Proms at the inaugural event in Australia. Pavel will perform his first L.v. Beethoven Concerto cycle with Sinfonia Cymru during the 2020 L.v. Beethoven anniversary year. He has given recitals at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, as part of the international Piano Series, and at Kings Place, London. He enjoys collaborating with other musicians, such as Johannes Brahms' Violin and Viola Sonatas with Lawrence Power, again at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. He has also given recitals in South Korea, Japan, Spain, and Germany, and at the La Roque d’Antheron festival, the Musiq3 Festival in Brussels, and the Aldeburgh Festival. He returns regularly to the Wigmore Hall in London. He is currently based in London.
A live recording of his prize-winning performances was released on the Honens label in March 2013, about which the BBC Music Magazine wrote “tremendous clarity, unfailing musicality and considerable beauty”. His debut studio recording was released on the Hyperion label to critical acclaim, with The Sunday Times described his playing on this all-Tchaikovsky disc as having “affection and élan”. His disc of the Frédéric Chopin's Mazurkas, released on the Hyperion label, won worldwide critical acclaim, winning a Diapason D'Or Award in November 2016. His latest CD's from Hyperion is the music of Louis Couperin and J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations
(BWV 988). |