A BOZAR Portrait Artist for 2026/27, pianist Pavel Kolesnikov is among the boldest of the young Russian and Eastern European artists who have made their marks on London’s vibrant piano scene. His Brussels residency includes solo, chamber and multimedia projects across the season, as well as a concerto with the Belgian National Orchestra. Elsewhere, Pavel performs with the City of Birmingham Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, The Hallé, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and Adelaide Symphony, collaborating with Sir Mark Elder, David Danzmayr and Ludovic Morlot. He also gives solo recitals at London’s Southbank Centre and Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw and at Musikfestspiele Potsdam.
Highlights of the previous three seasons include concertos with the London Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony and Netherlands Philharmonic, alongside Susanna Mälkki, Nathalie Stutzmann, Manfred Honeck, Sir Edward Gardner, Alpesh Chauhan, Adam Hickox, Alexander Bloch and Vasily Petrenko. He also gave recitals at Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, New York’s 92NY, Klavier-Festival Ruhr and the Severance Music Center as part of the Cleveland Orchestra’s Piano Series.
Pavel is known for his curatorial approach and work across genres. His realization of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with dancer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker has been staged over fifty times across Europe, while his residency at the 2023 Aldeburgh Festival saw collaborations with architect Sophie Hicks and playwright Martin Crimp. In 2025 David Hockney invited Pavel, along with his partner and fellow pianist Samson Tsoy, to curate a series of concerts inspired by the artist’s life and work at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. He records for harmonia mundi.
2026-2027
