Alexander Toradze

Widely regarded as a master of the Russian piano tradition, Georgian-born/US-based piano virtuoso Alexander Toradze is set for his first Sandvika concert with works by Prokofiev and Haydn on the roster. His virtuoso but also lyrical playing styles suits the chosen repertoire perfectly. With natural authority and great knowledge of performance styles, the celebrated pianist displays an uncanny ability to keep the audience in a tight grip. He skillfully navigates complex pieces with grace, delivering dramatic counterpoints and poetic melodic details. Highly recommended. 

A majestic finale for the evening comes as Siwon Kim joins Toradze on stage for a rendition of Prokofiev's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra featuring two grand pianos.  

A Russian repertoire master  

Alexander Toradze was born in Tbilisi in 1952 to the family of composer David Toradze and the film actress Liana Asatiani. In 1977 he graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he was mentored by Yakov Zak, Boris Zemlyansky and Lev Naumov. That same year, he won the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. In 1983 he emigrated to the USA, and from 1991 to 2017 was a professor at Indiana University South Bend, where he founded the Toradze Piano Studio.

Toradze has toured and appeared with a number of the world’s premier orchestras: the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala, the Orchestre National de France, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic among numerous other ensembles. He also appears at the festivals Stars of the White Nights (St Petersburg), the BBC Proms (London), Ravinia (Highland Park, USA) and festivals in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Rotterdam, Mikkeli and Saratoga.

Alexander Toradze has recorded critically acclaimed piano concerti by Shostakovich with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi (the Pan label) and piano concerti by Prokofiev with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev (Philips), as well as discs featuring works by Musorgsky, Stravinsky, Ravel and Prokofiev (Angel/EMI).