Nikolay Khozyainov

Born in 1992 in Blagoveshchensk, in the Russian Far East, Nikolay Khozyainov is one of the most remarkable pianists of his generation. He began piano studies at the age of five and continued at the Central Music School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow starting in 1999; the same year he made his debut in the Conservatory’s Great Hall. From 2005, he studied under Mikhail Voskresensky, completing his education at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. After earning an advanced degree at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik under the guidance of Arie Vardi, he currently resides in Geneva. At eighteen, he was the youngest finalist at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw, where he received a special mention. In 2012, he won first prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition and took second prize and the Audience Prize at the Sydney International Piano Competition, where he also received five special awards.

He has performed successfully in venues such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, Wigmore Hall in London, the Salle Gaveau, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and the Louvre in Paris, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. He has collaborated with orchestras including the Tokyo Symphony, Sydney Symphony, London’s Philharmonia, the Warsaw Philharmonic, the Czech National Symphony, the Russian State Symphony, and the RTÉ National Symphony.

He has performed frequently and with great success in Italy, appearing at the Ravello Festival, Concerti al Quirinale, Varignana Festival, Ravenna Festival, Teatro Grande di Brescia, Ferrara Musica, Teatro Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and with the Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana. His engagements in Italy for the 2025/2026 season include a debut with the Associazione Scarlatti in Naples and a return to the Concerti al Quirinale series on Rai Radio 3.

Also active as a conductor, he recently founded the Orchestre de la Paix in Geneva, with which he has already conducted several highly acclaimed concerts at Victoria Hall, performing both as a conductor and as a soloist-conductor.

In 2011, Accord released his debut CD featuring works by Chopin and Liszt. In 2012, Khozyainov recorded a CD for the Chopin Institute in Warsaw and another featuring works by Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, and Liszt for JVC Victor in Japan; the latter label subsequently released a new CD in 2014 containing Ravel’s Pavane and Gaspard de la nuit, Chopin’s Barcarolle and Berceuse, and Liszt’s Sonata in B minor. During the 2020–2021 pandemic, he recorded the complete piano works of Chopin on video. In 2024, Rondeau Production released the CD “Monument to Beethoven”, in which Khozyainov performs works by Liszt, Schumann, Chopin, and Mendelssohn, pieces originally composed to raise funds for the construction of a Beethoven monument in Bonn.

Dave Saemann, on «Fanfare», wrote about Khozyainov’s first CD (2011): «Khozyainov clearly is an extraordinary artist. He has everything: a big sound, splendid technique, and a musicality far beyond his years. […] The fact that, at his age, his talent only can grow is intimidating. The possibilities for his artistry seem almost limitless».