Nikolai Demidenko graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with pianist and pedagogue Dmitri Bashkirov, and later served as his assistant teacher for 6 years. He was awarded a prize at the Montreal International Competition (1976) and the International Tchaikovsky Competition (1978). In 2014 he received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Surrey in recognition of his contribution to the field of Music.

 

Nikolai Demidenko has performed over 50 concertos, specifically Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Medtner and Tchaikovsky. Thanks to this, he has earned worldwide recognition for his virtuosity, passion and musicality.

 

He has worked with outstanding conductors such as Sir Roger Norrington, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Charles Dutoit, Gianandrea Noseda, Sir Andrew Davis, Yuri Temirkanov and Yevgeny Svetlanov. He has collaborated with the St Petersburg Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Philharmonia Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Helsinki Philharmonic, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Xi´an Symphony Orchestra and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. In Spain he has worked with, among others, the Barcelona and Catalonia National Orchestras, Bilbao Symphony Orchestras, Navarra Symphony Orchestras, Galicia Symphony Orchestras, RTVE Orchestra and Choir, and the Spanish National Orchestra and Choir.

 

Among his frequent recitals in London, he has appeared in the Great Performers Series at the Barbican, the International Piano Series at the Southbank Centre, and the London Pianoforte Series at the Wigmore Hall.

 

Nikolai Demidenko’s extensive discography consists of 41 CDs. For Hyperion Records he has recorded over 20 albums; including Prokofiev’s Piano Concertos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; Medtner’s Gramophone Editor’s Choice Award-winning disc, Music for two Pianos with Dmitri Alexeev; his Rachmaninov CD awarded the BBC Music Magazine Best of The Year and the Diapason D’Or; and the Tchaikovsky and Scriabin Piano Concertos which were awarded the BBC Music magazine Best of The Year and Best Concerto Recording of the Year by Classics CD. Nikolai Demidenko’s Chopin disc released in 2008 for ONYX Classics won the MIDEM 2010 Special Chopin Prize awarded for the Bicentenary of the Polish composer’s birth.

 

Nikolai Demidenko, in parallel to his career as a pianist, develops his teaching activity, giving masterclasses and consulting to young performers around the world, organised by promoters from Australia, Germany, Poland, Russia, China, South Korea, Spain and the UK.

 

He was invited to be part of the jury of the following piano competitions: Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht (2011, 2014); Leeds Piano Competition (2015); Sydney Piano Competition (2016); Moscow Competition “Nutcracker” (2017); 1st edition of the International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Historical Instruments (2018); ARD Music Competition in Munich (2022).

 

He moved from the UK and currently lives in Spain sharing his knowledge and experience at the Escuela Superior Musical Arts in Madrid.