"Softness, depth, nobility and sensitivity - these are just the first words that come to mind when I think of Bechstein grand pianos. This instrument masters it all."
Nikolai Medvedev
Nikolai Medvedev, born in 1986, is a young and already very respected pianist who is celebrated for his technical brilliance and emotional performances. His musical education started at the Rimsky-Korsakov Music College in Krasnodar. He continued his advanced studies at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow under the guidance of worldwide renowned professor Tatiana Zelikman. He has been mentored by many famous musicians such as Nikolai Petrov, Dmitry Bashkirov, Emanuel Krasovsky, Alexander Mndoyants, Vladimir Tropp, Jerome Rose, Vladimir Viardo, José Ribera and William Noll. His exceptional talent helped him to scholarships from the A. Glazunov Foundation (Germany), the New Names Foundation and the Russian Performing Arts Foundation. In 2010 he was awarded with the prestigious Triumph Youth Prize in Russia. Nikolai Medvedev has performed in various major venues in diverse countries such as Ukraine, France, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Norway, South Africa, the Unites States and China. He has worked with widely known conductors such as Klaus Mäkelä (as a cellist), Paolo Bartolomeolli, William Noll, Murad Annamamedov, Vladimir Ponkin, Eugene Bushkov and others.
Nikolai Medvedev is also a sought-after partner for soloists at the most prestigious opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera, or the Zurich Opera House, juste to name some of them. He achieved notable successes at several international piano competitions, including the International Pancho Vladigerov Piano Competition in Shumen, Bulgaria (3rd prize), the International Piano Competition in Campillos, Spain (2nd prize), the International Vladimir Horowitz Competition in Kiev, Ukraine (2nd prize and the special prize, named "Salle Cortot"). Further, he won the 1st prize at the International Piano Competition in Memory of Vera Lotar-Shevchenko in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and played at the semi-finale at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia. From 2016 to 2022, Nikolai Medvedev was engaged as a lecturer for piano solo and chamber music at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in Moscow.
In July 2022, he moved to Berlin for political and personal reasons. Since then, he has been active on the German concert scene, performing frequently at home and abroad and engaging in social initiatives such as supporting Ukrainian refugees. Nikolai Medvedev fascinates his audiences with his profound musical expertise, but also with his talent to transform each performance into a remarkable event that combines technical brilliance with deep emotional resonance.
Photos © N. Sirin und G. Willmes
