Young Pianist Sandro Nebieridze Wins Grand Prix in Moscow

Georgian teenage pianist Sandro Nebieridze won the First Grand Piano Competition for young pianists in Moscow on May 5. Nebieridze shared first place with Alexander Malofeev from Russia. Both pianists were awarded with a monetary prize of USD 5,000, as well as receiving a hybrid piano Yamaha Avant Grand.

15 artists from Russia, Great Britain, China, Japan, South Korea, Belarus and Georgia attended the competition, however, only seven young pianists made it through to the final stage.

Founder of the Competition, famous Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, said that the Grand Piano Competition is like the famous International Tchaikovsky Competition, but for young musicians. “The current young generation of musicians is very special: these children are amazingly talented and extraordinarily gifted. That is why I created this festival. My dream has come true because the level of performances is simply fantastic,” said Matsuev.

15-year-old Nebieridze studied at the Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatory where he attended piano and composition classes. The talented musician also composed opera and piano music, as well as scores for other instruments. At the Grand Piano Competition as his main composition, he performed the piece ‘Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini’ by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Matsuev joined an international jury from Russia, Israel, Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden and Korea in struggling to choose a winner and so gave the first prize to two competitors. “These young musicians who appeared on stage are already mature artists. They are 100% ready to play grand concerts; each has a great personality; each is phenomenally talented,” said Matsuev.

Nebieridze is a laureate of international contests including 2009 Musica. Sepashvili Klavierwettbewerb, 2012 Balys Dvarionas International Piano Competition in Vilnius, Lithuania, 2015 Astana Piano Passion competition in Kazakhstan, and many others.

The pianist has toured extensively in Georgia and Europe. In recent years, he has also participated in the Night Serenades festival in Batumi and the Mozart@Augsburg festival in Germany. He always tries to include his own compositions in the program.

Eka Karsaulidze