A piano prodigy born in Moscow, Russia on April 26, 1972, Nikolai Lugansky learned to play the instrument at the age of five, reproducing by ear a Beethoven sonata heard at the home of his parents' neighbors. Trained at the Central School of Music with Tatiana Kestner, he became Tatiana Nikolayeva's favorite pupil at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, where on May 7, 1986, he gave his first recital, which was recorded and released as his debut album the following year. Renowned for winning various competitions including first prize at the Soviet Union Competition in Tbilisi (1988) and silver medal at the International Bach Competition in Leipzig, he won second prize at the Rachmaninov Competition in Moscow (1990) and second prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition (1994). His international career, hampered by a back and foot injury, developed through his early releases for the Melodiya and Challenge Classics labels, before signing with Erato. In addition to the repertoire of Rachmaninov, whom he considers a spiritual father, Nikolai Luganski has recorded works by Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, Grieg, Schubert, Britten, and Copland. A teacher at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory since 1998, he continued to give concerts all over the world and, as a chess player, won the 2002 Musicians' Championship. In 2002, the Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron offered him a carte blanche, during which he presented his piano transcription of scenes from Wagner's Twilight of the Gods. In 2013, Nikolai Lugansky received the honorary title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation from Vladimir Putin. Signing to the Harmonia Mundi label, he released Rachmaninov: 24 Preludes in 2018, followed later that year by Debussy: Suite Bergamasque. In 2020, the album Franck: Préludes, Fugues & Chorals was followed by the start of a cycle devoted to Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas: Late Piano Sonatas, Opp. 101,109 & 111 (2020) and Piano Sonatas Nos. 14, 17 & 23 (2022). He released the critically acclaimed Rachmaninov: Études-Tableaux - 3 Pièces in 2023, which was followed by Richard Wagner: Famous Opera Scenes (2024).
