Nikolai Lugansky

Nikolai Lugansky

Piano

Nikolai Lugansky is managed in the Netherlands by Leontien van der Vliet.

Contact:
E: leontien.vandervliet@interartists.nl
T: +31 6 5 24 68 707

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Pianist Nikolai Lugansky is renowned for his interpretations of Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Chopin and Debussy. He has received numerous awards for recordings and artistic merit.

He collaborates regularly with conductors of the calibre of Kent Nagano, Yuri Temirkanov, Manfred Honeck, Gianandrea Noseda, Stanislav Kochanovsky, Vasily Petrenko, Lahav Shani and he is invited by leading international orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Orquestra Nacional de España. Described by Gramophone as “the most trailblazing and meteoric performer of all”, Nikolai Lugansky is a pianist of extraordinary depth and versatility. He is invited by some of the world's most distinguished festivals, including the Aspen, Tanglewood, Ravinia and Verbier festivals. Chamber music collaborators include Vadim Repin, Alexander Kniazev, Mischa Maisky and Leonidas Kavakos.

In 2023, he celebrated the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninov's birth by performing cycles of monographic programs at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris and the Wigmore Hall in London, along with other performances throughout Europe, including at the Konzerthaus in Vienna and Berlin, the Bozar in Brussels, the Rudolfinum in Prague and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. “Lugansky's mastery of the piano is outstanding: over the years, his sonority has broadened and become denser, his palette of sounds even more diverse as his stature as a musician has asserted itself. […] And Lugansky is masterful in his mastery of time, architecture and expression. He is in the moment and in the projection of that moment into the greater whole of a work that he makes accessible: he hears everything and lets us hear it without explaining it, letting the music happen without interfering.” (Bachtrack).

This 2024/25 season, he has been invited by the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo (Dutoit), the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover (Kochanovsky), the Brussels Philharmonic (Ono), the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France (Peltokovsky), the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester (Valčuha), the Philharmonia London (Rouvali). He will continue touring his Wagner’s transcriptions in recitals at the Teatro alla Scala, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Wigmore Hall, the Zurich Tonhalle, the Piano à Lyon, the Gulbenkian, among many others. He will also return to Korea (with a recital tour in Ulsan, Daegu and Seoul), to South America (Bogotà and with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo) and to the US (with a recital tour in various cities, including Aspen, Washington and Kansas City).

Lugansky is Harmonia Mundi's exclusive artist. His ‘Rachmaninov: 24 Preludes’ (2018) received rave reviews while ‘César Franck, Préludes, Fugues & Chorals’ CD (2020) won the Diapason d'Or. His latest recording “Richard Wagner” was released in March 2024 (Editor's Choice for May and included in The Best Classical Albums of the Year by Gramophone) and won the Premio Abbiati del Disco 2024 for solo repertoire. His album “Rachmaninov: Études-Tableaux; 3 Pièces”, was awarded with Choc de l'Année 2023 (Classica) and Gramophone Editor's Choice (March 2023): “can we use the word genius to describe what he does with them, the torrents of lyricism (never sentimental) and virtuosity bordering on madness of a Russian prince? We are carried away, subjugated and shouting: ENCORE!” (The OBS). Among the other awards for his many previous recordings: Diapason d’Or (Rachmaninov's Piano Sonatas) and Gramophone Editor’s Choice (Grieg and Prokofiev with Kent Nagano and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin).

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“Resolutely playing the modernist card with his Second Piano Concerto (1913, reworked in 1923) and enjoying the scandal it initially made, Prokofiev may have been dismayed to learn that Western critics soon classified the work somewhere midway between tradition and innovation, if not as mere old hat. No matter, a century later, it remains a stunning work and truly good performances of it can still be counted on one hand. But tonight was the night when Nikolai Lugansky took place behind the keyboard.
The daunting technical demands were turned into an asset by Lugansky. In his characteristically unassuming manner he wrapped the work in an epic sweep, bringing astonishing dexterity and clarity to all four movements. Mindful of the dynamic and tempo shifts, both cadenzas in the outer movements were dramatically integrated in the flow, just as much in its impossibly muscular passages as in its meditative moments. While the typical Prokofiev sarcasm and shouts of pain erupted in the Intermezzo, Lugansky also subtly suggested that Rachmaninov had left a mark. The Scherzo was fun and fast, if never at the expense of expressivity. The true fireworks were kept for the Allegro tempestoso, which became just as eloquent as the first movement in the bigger picture. Kochanovsky and the Belgian National Orchestra provided attentive support. My only quibble was the overwhelmingly loud entry of the orchestra at the end of the first cadenza. ”

— Marc Haegeman, Bachtrack

“Lugansky is known for his Rachmaninov, and his control of the gradual crescendo from pianissimo to blazing fortissimo in the opening bars was as meticulous as it was dramatic. Throughout the concerto, tenderness and power were in perfect balance, heartstrings tugged, then jolted by injections of urgent, dazzling virtuosity.”

— Rian Evans, The Guardian

Season Highlights

14 & 16 November, NDR RadioPhilharmonie - conductor, S. Kochanovsky, Medtner Piano Concerto no. 3 op. 60 “Ballade”

18 November, Tonhalle (Zurich) - recital

8 December, Wigmore Hall (London) - recital

19, 20 December, Brussels Philharmonic - conductor, Thomas Dausgaard, Prokofiev Piano Concerto no. 3

16, 19 January, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France - conductor, T. Peltokovsky, Prokofiev Piano Concerto no. 3

26 January, Teatro alla Scala (Milano) - recital

21 & 24 March, Palais de Beaux Arts (Charleroi) & Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Paris) - recitals

5 & 8 April, Liege Philharmonie & Vienna Konzerthaus - recitals

27 - 30 April, Berlin Konzerthaus Orchester - conductor, J. Valčuha, Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 3