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.

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 23/24 season included concertos with the Danish National Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic and at the BBC Proms with the BBC Scottish Symphony, collaborating with conductors Susanna Mälkki, Manfred Honeck, Sir Mark Elder, Alpesh Chauhan, Gemma New, Alexander Bloch and Vasily Petrenko.

Pavel’s seven-concert residency at the 2023 Aldeburgh Festival showcased the breadth of his artistic vision. In addition to recitals and concertos with the Britten Sinfonia and Sinfonia of London, Pavel gave immersive performances with partner and pianist Samson Tsoy. The duo have since performed at Carnegie Hall, Barbican Centre and BOZAR.

Aldeburgh also saw the premiere of “Celestial Navigation” – a sequence of music featuring projections by architect Sophie Hicks and text by Martin Crimp. Pavel’s other cross-genre collaborations include his realisation of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with dancer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker which has been staged over fifty times across Europe.

Pavel won the 2012 Honens Piano Competition and was a BBC New Generation Artist between 2014-16. He was artist-in-residence at Wigmore Hall during the 20/21 season, and has performed at Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Klavier-Festival Ruhr and La Roque-d’Anthéron and Piano aux Jacobins festivals. His discography includes music by Reynaldo Hahn, Louis Couperin and Chopin.

Sa discographie éclectique (Hyperion, Delphian, Orchid Classics), régulièrement saluée par la critique, reflète son appétit pour les répertoires rares ou exigeants, du clavecin de Louis Couperin aux pièces de Reynaldo Hahn, en passant par Chopin.

Après avoir participé à la Classical Pride avec l’Orchestre symphonique de Londres cet été, il se produit durant la saison 2024/2025 en récital aux Wigmore Hall de Londres, Southbank Centre, Concertgebouw de Bruges, au Spivey Hall et au Severance Music Center dans le cadre de la série Piano de l’Orchestre de Cleveland. Il retrouve par ailleurs l’Orchestre philharmonique de Londres, les orchestres symphoniques de la Hallé, de Bournemouth et Yomiuri Nippon. Il fait également ses débuts avec l’Orchestre symphonique d’Atlanta, dans le Concerto de Grieg, sous la baguette de Nathalie Stutzmann.

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