Nikolay Lugansky

When it comes to Russian pianists of our time, Nikolay Lugansky is a name that cannot be overlooked. This November, the celebrated pianist will begin his first-ever China tour, with a stop in Shenzhen at the Pingshan Theater.  

Born in Moscow in 1972, Lugansky studied at the Central Music School at Moscow Conservatory, where his teachers included Tatiana Kestner, Tatiana Nikolayeva, and Sergey Dorensky. He continued his postgraduate studies under Dorensky’s supervision. 

He has received numerous prizes and honors, including second prize at the 1994 Tchaikovsky Competition, three ECHO Klassik awards, three Diapason awards, the BBC Music Magazine Award, and the title of “Honored Artist of the Russian Federation” in 2013. 

He has collaborated widely with leading symphony orchestras and conductors, and has performed at prestigious venues such as Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, and Musikverein in Vienna. He is also a frequent guest at classical music festivals worldwide. 

Lugansky is admired for his combination of technical mastery and refinement, achieving a balance between power and poetry. “Le Monde” praised him as “not simply the most wonderful Russian pianist of modern times, he is one of the most outstanding artists of our epoch.” 

The upcoming Shenzhen concert will open with Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31-2” (known as “The Tempest”) and Schumann’s “Carnival Scenes From Vienna, Op. 26.” The second half will include Debussy’s “Prints, L. 100,” Louis Brassin and Lugansky’s transcription of “Entry of the Gods Into Valhalla” from Wagner’s opera “The Rhinegold,” and Liszt’s transcription of “Love Death” from Wagner’s “Tristan and Isolde.”

Time: 3 p.m., Nov. 1 

Venue: Pingshan Theater, Pingshan District (坪山大剧院)

Booking: WeChat account “PingShanTheatre”

Venue: Pingshan Theater, Pingshan District (坪山大剧院)

Metro: Line 14 to Pingshan Square Station (坪山广场站), Exit D1

SkyShuttle: Line 1 to Culture Center Station (文化聚落站), Exit A