Guest artist Misha Namirovsky presents a master class focused on piano performance. Dr. Namirovsky is professor of piano at the Central Conservatory in Beijing.

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTIST

Russian-American pianist and pedagogue MISHA NAMIROVSKY has been praised as a “master of his art” (The Norderstedter Zeitung – Hamburg), and a “lyrical poet” (Die Rheinpfalz – Frankfurt); his playing hailed as “incredibly musical and sensitive, yet at the same time transparent and precise (Klassik.TV).” His vivid and sensitive performances are appreciated by critics and audiences alike – following a recent recital in Paris, French pianist and musicologist Eric Heidsieck wrote of Namirovsky’s “colors and clarity” and “extreme virtuosity and controlled passion.”

Namirovsky is a laureate of several international competitions, including the prestigious German Piano Award in Frankfurt, Chopin Koscuiszco Foundation Competition in New York, the Pro Musicis award in Paris, the Gran Prix at Italy’s Cantu Competition and first prize at the Louisiana International Piano Competition, among others. He has appeared in the world's most renowned concert halls, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Jordan Hall in Boston, Salle Cortot in Paris, Great Conservatory Hall in Moscow, Alte Oper in Frankfurt, Shanghai Symphony Hall, and Mirai Hall in Yokohama, Japan as well as the prestigious Miami International Piano Festival.

He has collaborated, among others, with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; The Conservatory Orchestra of Cuba; Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra in Japan; Novaya Rossiya Symphony, Nizhnii Novgorod Philharmonic, and the Capella Symphony Orchestra in Russia; the Niederbayernphilharmonie in Germany; and New Britain and Atlantic Symphony Orchestras in Boston. Recent performances included a solo tour in China titled "tribute to my teachers" and another upcoming tour will focus on Rachmaninoff as composer, pianist, arranger.

A passionate and prolific chamber musician, Namirovsky has participated in the celebrated Marlboro Festival in Vermont and the Eastern Music Festival in North Carolina. As the pianist in Namirovsky-Lark-Pae trio alongside violinist Tessa Lark and cellist Deborah Pae, Namirovsky won the silver prize at the preeminent Fischoff Chamber Music Competition in Indiana and the trio has performed at New York’s Chamber Music Live concerts as well as for the Music for Food Foundation in Boston. As a recipient of the Tarisio Grant, the trio recorded their debut album for the TYXart label, featuring trios by Frank Bridge and Johannes Brahms, which has earned the destination as the best chamber music album from Fono Forum Magazine in Germany. Other prominent collaborations include Lu Siding, Peter Wiley, Arnold Steinhardt, Sarah Beaty, Amir Eldan, and Alexander Suleiman.

A devoted teacher, Namirovsky is steeped in the illustrious Russian pedagogical tradition. Former professor Hung-Kuan Chen called Namirovsky “a serious musician and excellent pianist; in addition he is a wonderful teacher with marvelous energy and awareness.” Other important teachers include Solomon Mikowsky and Eliso Virsaladze (herself a student of Yakov Zak and Heinrich Neuhaus); further influences are Mitsuko Uchida, Alfred Brendel and Peter Weiley. Namirovsky regularly gives masterclasses in the USA (Oberlin College, Northwestern University of Louisiana, Queens College), Spain (Santander Conservatory), and China (Xinghai Conservatory, Xian Conservatory, and others). Namirovsly is a regular guest at several summer festivals including Neuburg Academy (Germany) Noja Festival and Gijon Piano Festival (Spain).

Misha Namirovsky holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, Yale University and Munich Musikhochschule. He completed his D.M.A at the New England Conservatory with a dissertation focusing on the piano works of British composer Frank Bridge. Namirovsky is currently professor of piano at the Central Conservatory in Beijing.