Pavel Nersessian

Biography

Pavel Nersessian was born in Ramenskoye, a town outside Moscow, Russia Federation on August 26, 1964. In 1971-1982 he studied at the Central Music School (Class by V. Levin). In 1973 he made his debut with the orchestra in the city of Gorky (Concerto f-moll JS Bach). After graduating from high school with honors, in 1982 he entered the Moscow Conservatory (class of Sergei Dorensky).

«P. Nersessian is one of the brightest and most talented young pianists. He has wonderful musical qualities, the most important of which is bright, individual, distinctive vision of musical images. Virtuosity and penetration are the basic features of his performance.» (Archive of the Moscow Conservatory).

Teaching activity

Upon graduating from the Moscow Conservatory in 1987 with maximum marks – a rare distinction – he was proposed to teach there. He began his teaching job as an assistant to Sergei Dorensky and as a concertmaster of the Children's Music School number 60 in Moscow. Since 1997 he has been an Associate Professor, since 2004 - Professor, Department of Special Piano at Moscow Conservatory ( since 2007 he has been working at the department of special piano under the guidance of Professor S. Dorensky. In 2013 he became a professor of piano in Boston University. Many students of P. Nersessian were the winners of international competitions: V. Korchynska-Kogan, O. Tutova, S. Simonian, Z. Chochieva, E. Popkov, C. Maghakyan and others.

In addition to teaching activities Pavel Nersessian frequently gives master classes in the USA, Russia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Korea, Brazil and Japan.

Into the world arena

Being one of the most remarkable pianists of his generation in Russia, he is known for his ability to play equally convincing in the whole palette of the piano repertoire. He has won prizes in every piano competition he has entered, including Beethoven Competition in Vienna in 1985, Paloma O’Shea Competition in Santander and Tokyo Competition. After the performance of P.Nersessian in Tokyo, the reviewer «Ongaku no tomo» noted (December 1989): «Among all the Soviet pianists who participated in the competition, he was remarkable for his very special style of performance ...» «He's ... like a free spirit, illuminating the scene with his bright temperament, individual colors and imagination ... not being distracted by the trills and octave (although they are immaculate), it is easy to concentrate attention on any possible detail or image» («Grammophone London», 1998, a review of the disc).

Winning in the GPA Dublin International Piano Competition in 1991 was the turning point in Pavel Nersessian's career. «His performance brought a veritable roar of approval from the audience» wrote «The Irish Times» after Pavel Nersessian received the 1st Prize in the GPA Dublin International Piano Competition in 1991.

Concert activity

Pavel Nersessian's concert activity is very intense. He has been touring around Russia and surrounding states from the age of eight and, since his remarkable successes in international competitions, has on several occasions given performances in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, New York City, Los Angeles, Paris, Cannes, Leipzig, Vienna, Budapest, Madrid, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Dublin, Muenchen, Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, Belgrade, Cairo, Kiev, Székelyudvarhely on 29.05.2016 and many others.

In 2004 Pavel Nersessian took part in a program "Almost jazz" in "December Nights" festival which was founded by S. Richter in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Mr. Nersessian, by special invitation from the Kirov and the Perm Ballet, performed solo part in Balanchine's Ballet Imperial based on the music of Tchaikovsky's 2nd Piano Concerto with performances in the Kirov, Bolshoi, Chatelet and Covent Garden. He also played a solo part in J. Robbins’ ballet “The concert, or The Perils of Everybody” on the music of F. Chopin.

Pavel Nersessian regularly take part in various international music festivals and competitions,also he is frequently invited as a jury, for example: Dublin International Piano Competition ( Ireland), Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition (Russia), Hilton Head International Piano Competition (USA), Valencia International Piano Competition (Spain), International Festival of Classical Music and Competition of Young Pianists( Kazakhstan), Sendai International Music Competition ( Japan), Isang Yun Competition (South Korea ), Summit Music Festival (USA), Miami International Piano Festival (USA) and others.

Recordings

Pavel Nersessian has recorded numerous disks with compositions of Chopin, Schumann, Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Shostakovich etc. The album with compositions of Schumann «Kreisleriana», opus 16, Chopin 24 preludes,opus 28, performed by Pavel Nersessian was released on at Moscow Conservatory in 1995.

Discography