Nikolai Tokarew
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Full Biography
Nikolai Tokarew was born in Moscow on September 15th, 1983. His mother lyubov Rosenova is solo cellist at the Moscow State Philharmpnic and had studied at the State Moscow Conservatory. There is some influence on Nikolai from this side. His temperament and his capturing energy, his voluminous sound with a singing legato coms from a string tradition that is concentrating on the human voice. His father, Alexander Tokarev, is also a concert pianist and had studied at the Moscow Conservatory with professor Alumyan ( with Alexander at this time had studied at the conservatory Ivo Pogorelitch and Mikhail Pletnev ). From his father Nikolai Tokarev got his first piano lessons before he was accepted at the Gnessin Music School for especially high gifted children. Pianists like Boris Berezovsky or Evgeny Kissin started here.

Nikolai Tokarev entered Gnessin School in 1988 when he was six years old. One year later he passed his first examination with
compositions of Mozart, Scarlatti, Haydn and Busoni. Anna Kantor, teacher of Evgeny Kissin, said after the performance:
”He is an extraordinary talent.” Tokarev gratuated by the Gnessin School in 2001 with highest rewards.

In 1989 at the age of seven Tokarev had his debut with the first piano concert of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy and also his first solo recital. From 1996 until 2000 he had a Japan tour every year and recorded six CDs with “Musik Leben inc.” He also toured to France, Canada, Austria.

In 2000 Tokarev took part in “The 10th Eurovision Grand Prix of Young Musicians”. Esa-Pekka Salonen who was president of the jury said about the young pianist: “It is very difficult among such a large number of gifted young performers to find only those three who in the following some years will have influence on progressing European art. He is definitely one of them”

While starting his international career Nikolai Tokarev continues studies at the Moscow Gnessin Academy as well as master classes for example with Rudolf Buchbinder and at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. He gratuated in 2005 The Royal Northern College of Musik with highest rewards – Gold Medal.
From the 2006 he studies at the Robert Schumann High School for Music by professor Barbara Szepanska.

16.09.2006 he won the Orpheum Public Award for Mozart in Zürich for the best interpretation of the Mozart’s piano concert.

Mr. Tokarev played 87 concerts (with orchestras and recitals) in the season 2006-2007 in Europe and Japan.

2002 - 2006 he performed piano concerts with a various orchestras: Yanacek Philharmony, Dresdner Kapellesolisten, Wiener Kammerorchester, Camerata Salzburg, English Chamber Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (Manchester), Philharmony der Nationen, Russian State Academic Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Russia, Sankt-Petersburger Symphoniker, etc., and recitals at different famous european music festivals: at the Ludwigsburger Musikfestspiele, Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Klavier-Festival-Ruhr, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Musikfestspiele, Davos Musik Festival, Interlakner Musikfestwochen in the Big Concert Hall of the Verdi-Conservatorium (Milano), Koelner Philharmony, Munich Philharmony, Herkules der Residenz (Munich), Essen Philharmony, Robert-Schumann-Saal (Duesseldorf), Zuericher Tonhalle, Kongresszentrum in Luzern, etc.
In the next seasons he will play concerts with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Bamberg Philharmonic Orchesta and the Zürcher Kammerorchester.

The German press reported enthusiastically and was talking about a “miracle” that has not appeared for a long time.


2007/2008

If you wish to revise this biography, please contact Mark Stephan Buhl Artists Management. Please use material of the current season only.