Nikolai Lugansky

pianist

Nikolai Lugansky

Harmonia mundi exclusive · Moscow Conservatory

“He hears everything and makes us hear it without explaining it, letting the music happen without interfering.”
— Alain Lompech, Bachtrack

The Artist

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 K. Nagano, Y. Temirkanov, M. Honeck, G. Noseda, S. Kochanovsky, V. Petrenko, L. Shani and he is invited by leading international orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and 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, Gautier Capuçon, 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.

Highlights of the 2025/26 season include collaborations with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (Rhorer), Orchestre National de Lille (Weilerstein), Oslo Philharmonic (Stutzmann), Bern Sinfonieorchester (Petrenko), Basque National Orchestra (Valčuha), Berlin DSO (Denève), and NDR ElbPhilharmonie Hamburg (Kochanovsky). The season also features tours around the world, including with La Filarmonica della Scala (Chung) in Korea, with Lucerne Symphony (Sanderling) in Italy and two recital tours in China and Italy.

Among recital and festival appearances are engagements at the Tsinandali Festival (Noseda), Esprit du Piano in Bordeaux, Boulez Saal in Berlin, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Palau de la Musica in Valencia, Wigmore Hall, and the Verbier Festival.

“Every item indeed on this album [Schumann’s recording 2026, ndr] is a fantasy of some sort and Lugansky is a masterly guide to all their delights” – The Times

Critical Praise

“Lugansky's command of the piano is outstanding [...] Lugansky is superb in his mastery of time, architecture and expression. He is in the moment and in the projection of that instant in the whole of a work that he makes accessible: he hears everything and makes us hear it without explaining it, letting the music happen without interfering. ”

“Russian pianist Lugansky, has developed a huge global reputation in Russian romantic music, and it really did seem as if he was born to play this piece [Rach. Piano Concerto 2]. [...] His deep bass notes at the beginning seemed to issue from the grave, and the contrasting melody was intimate in a way that suggested something painful as much as tender. ”

“It was impossible not to delight in a performer so clearly at home in his repertoire, and I look forward to his return [at the Wigmore Hall]. ”

“The great architect of this concert is Nikolai Lugansky, who opens with a fine performance of Prokofiev's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 3. [...] the opening Allegro immediately showcases the quality of the soloist’s playing: at times pearly, buoyant, percussive yet never heavy-handed, fluid, suspended between dreamy introspection and motoric violence”

Nikolai Lugansky

pianist