BIOGRAPHY

Pavel Kolesnikov reshapes the conventions of classical piano with a style that is simultaneously free, poetic and deeply personal. An inventive and curious artist, he has built an unconventional career marked by cross-disciplinary collaborations and a strong presence on major stages around the world.

The 2025/26 season sees Pavel return to the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Yomiuri Nippon Symphony (both with Edward Gardner), and debut with Atlanta Symphony (Nathalie Stutzmann), Tampere Philharmonic (Gergely Madaras) and Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (Lionel Bringuier). He also gives solo and duo recitals at Wigmore Hall, New York’s 92NY, the Edinburgh International Festival, Piano à Lyon and Klavier-Festival Ruhr.Following performances with the London Symphony Orchestra at Classical Pride this summer, the 24/25 season sees Pavel give recitals at Southbank Centre, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Brugges, Spivey Hall and Severance Music Center as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Piano Series. He also returns to The Hallé, Bournemouth Symphony, Hong Kong Sinfonietta and debuts with Adelaide Symphony.

Highlights of the previous two seasons include concertos performances with the London Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic, The Hallé and Bournemouth Symphony, working with conductors Susanna Mälkki, Manfred Honeck, Sir Mark Elder, Alpesh Chauhan, Alexander Bloch and Vasily Petrenko.
Pavel’s is known for his curatorial approach and work across genres.

His realisation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with dancer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker has been staged over fifty times across Europe, while his residency at the 2023 Aldeburgh Festival saw collaborations with architect Sophie Hicks and playwright Martin Crimp.

In 2025 David Hockney invited Pavel, along with his partner and fellow pianist Samson Tsoy, to curate a series of concerts inspired by the artist’s life and work at the Fondation Louis Vuitton.

A former Honens Piano Competition winner and BBC New Generation Artist, Pavel was artist-in-residence at Wigmore Hall during the 2020/21 season. More recently, he has performed at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and Muziekgebouw, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, London’s Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre and at the BBC Proms, Brussel’s BOZAR, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall and Severance Music Center as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Piano Series.

PRESS QUOTES

«Kolesnikov’s playing combines great emotional intelligence with understated virtuosity: every shift in sonority and mood speaks volumes in interpretations that are consistently striking. » «Le jeu de Kolesnikov allie une grande intelligence émotionnelle à une virtuosité tout en retenue: chaque inflexion de timbre ou de tonalité en dit long sur des interprétations toujours saisissantes.»
The Guardian