Mikhail Kambarov
Biography
Twenty-four-year-old Russian pianist Mikhail Kambarov is a prizewinner of the 17th International Van Cliburn Piano Competition – one of the most prestigious contests in the world.
"Mikhail Kambarov’s performance showed great musical maturity and superb technical brilliance." – Taunuszeitung
As a soloist, Mikhail Kambarov has worked with many renowned orchestras such as the Philharmonic Orchestra of Nizhny Novgorod, Orchestra Sinfonica Città di Grosseto, the Youth Symphony Orchestra Algirdas Paulavicius, the Nizhny Novgorod Soloists, the Thuringia Philharmonic Orchestra Gotha/Eisenach, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, and Porto Symphony Orchestra and has performed in the State Academic Philharmonic Hall of Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, Mendelssohn House in Leipzig, Liszt House in Weimar, Teatro degli Industri in Grosseto, Georg Friedrich Händel Hall in Halle (Saale), Foyer of the Berliner Philharmonie, German Embassy, Washington, Beethoven House Bonn, FAZIOLI Concert Hall.
"The pianist's colourful expressiveness leads us to expect an exciting and fascinating listening experience." – KulturGut Ulrichshalben.
He has won prizes at numerous national and international piano competitions. Among others, he won the 1st prize at the 11th International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Estonia, as well as the prize for the best J.S. Bach interpretation; the 2nd prize at the 7th International Piano Competition in Fribourg, Switzerland; the 1st prize at the International Piano Competition "Citta di Moncalieri"; the 3rd prize at the 10th International Piano Competition for Young Pianists "A Step Towards Mastery" in St.Petersburg, as well as an EMCY Prize; the 1st Prize at the International Piano Competition in Wiesbaden; the 1st Prize at the 24th International Alexander Scriabin Piano Competition in Grosseto, Italy; the 1st Prize, the audience prize and the special prize for the best interpretation of a sonata by Domenico Scarlatti at the 2nd International Piano Competition Domenico Scarlatti; the 1st Prize, the special prize of Prince Albert II of Monaco, the “Young Audience” Prize, and the Château de Bourgon Favorite Prize at the 14th Mayenne International Piano Competition in France; the 3rd Prize at the International Maestro Piano Competition in Taiwan; the 3rd Prize and the Audience Prize at the Santa Cecilia International Piano Competition; at the 17th International Van Cliburn Piano Competition – one of the most prestigious piano contests in the world – he was named a prizewinner and received the distinguished John Giordano Jury Chairman Discretionary Award.
“The Messiaen brought tears to my eyes as the stillness and whispered sounds of heart-rending significance struck deep and the pungent harmonies, sometimes like broken glass, were of searing intensity.” – Christopher Axworthy.
In addition to his extensive solo activities, Mikhail Kambarov is also a passionate and experienced chamber musician and lied pianist. With the "Trio Fulminato" he has won numerous prizes, including the 1st National Prize with maximum points at "Jugend musiziert", combined with a sponsorship prize from the "Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben". The trio is also the winner of the “WDR Klassikpreis”, the “MDR Special Prize”, as well as the “Hermann Abs Special Prize” of the Beethovenhaus Bonn for the best interpretation of a work by Ludwig van Beethoven. In 2018, the "Trio Fulminato" embarked on a concert tour in the USA with concerts in Boston, Nelson and Washington DC. Concerts of the "Trio Fulminato" have already been recorded several times and broadcast on MDR Kultur and WDR 3.
Born in 2000 in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, Mikhail Kambarov received his first piano lessons at the ageof five with Natalya Fish and made his orchestral debut at the age of eight with "Philharmonic Orchestra of Nizhny Novgorod". At the age of sixteen Mikhail Kambarov came to Germany to continue his pianistic education at the “Hochbegabtenzentrum Schloss Belvedere Weimar” with Prof. Christian Wilm Müller. Since October 2023 he's been continuing his studies with Prof. Michail Lifits.
"Mikhail Kambarov, who gave a concert-ready performance of Liszt's 'Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'Este', is a brilliant exponent of the piano class." – LISZT Magazine
Mikhail Kambarov received valuable inspiration from renowned professors such as Lev Natochenny, Imre Rohmann, Natalia Trull, Vivian Weilerstein, Christina Wright-Ivanova, Thomas Steinhöfel, Michael Dussek, Richard Stokes, Bernd Goetzke, Grigory Gruzman, Michel Dalberto, Cyprien Katsaris, Boris Petrushansky, and is a scholarship holder of the "Charlotte-Krupp-Stipendium", "Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben" as well as the "Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now" Foundation in Weimar.
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I honestly don’t remember a specific moment. Apparently, when I was very young, I used to listen to my aunt practicing the piano, but I don’t clearly remember it.
The moment that truly changed my perception of music came much later, when I met Professor Lev Natochenny when I was around nineteen or twenty. He showed me what is actually possible in music. He taught me how music can “speak” and how it can tell a story, which opened an entirely new world for me.
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I don't have a favourite composer. To be honest, I often find this question difficult to answer. Every composer has things that are incredibly successful and other things that are less so. I also don't have a favourite piece. What interests me most is discovering something new including new repertoire, new composers, and new musical worlds.
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I think Romantic repertoire suits me best, especially smaller pieces. With larger works, I sometimes still struggle to maintain the long architectural line and the larger musical arc, so I am continuing to work on them.
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I am never truly satisfied with my playing, and “proud” is not really a word I would use. However, I do know that I gave everything I had during the second round of the Cliburn Competition. At the end of that performance, I felt a genuine sensation that I had been completely honest in what I did.
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There are many musicians who have influenced me. Among them are Mikhail Pletnev, Lev Natochenny, Evgeny Bozhanov, Vladimir Horowitz, Ignaz Friedman, and Moritz Rosenthal, although the list could be much longer.
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I am often inspired by painting and reading. They allow me to think in images and narratives, which I believe naturally helps to make my music richer.
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Yes, my unique practice technique is sometimes stepping away from the piano. Taking distance from the instrument can actually clarify musical ideas and prevent practice from becoming purely mechanical.
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Any performance can be exciting if the mindset is right. It really depends on the attitude and approach you bring to the stage.
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I believe the greatest challenges are still ongoing. A musician’s performance and interpretation reflect who they are as a person: the way they live, speak, think, and organize their life. Therefore, working on oneself as a human being is perhaps the greatest challenge. This inner work inevitably influences how we play.
My goal is to become completely one with the music and to remain authentic and simply be myself.
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At one point I practiced while listening to grey noise through headphones so that I could not hear my own playing. The idea was to purely focus on my physical movements and sensations. I’m not entirely sure whether it was helpful, but in some sense, I think it actually can be.
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If you are not one hundred percent committed to what you are doing, then perhaps it is better to choose something else. The piano is not everything. Live your life fully now and find something you truly believe in.
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We need to attract the younger generation, but this is becoming increasingly difficult in the age of social media and constant digital stimulation. Sometimes it feels as if classical music must be “mixed into a cocktail” with things that already interest them so that they encounter it indirectly. Perhaps through this mixture, they might eventually discover that classical music has something meaningful to offer.
