Khatia Buniatishvili

Khatia Buniatishvili (born June 21, 1987) is an award-winning Georgian concert pianist, and a Sony Classical recording artist.

Biography: Khatia Buniatishvili began studying piano under her mother at age three. Her talent was recognized when she was very young, and she gave her first

concert with the Chamber Orchestra in Tbilisi at the age of six. From the age of ten she was invited to give concerts in Switzerland, Georgia, France, Germany, Belgium,

Luxembourg, Netherlands, Monaco, Italy, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Israel and the USA. Buniatishvili graduated from the Tbilisi

Central Music School, then entered Tbilisi State Conservatory in 2004

According to her biography: Khatia prefers not to be regarded as a child prodigy, because 'virtuosity for its own sake does not appeal to her'. She also 'embraces pianists from earlier generations such as Rachmaninoff, Richter and Gould'. She admires her “favourite pianist”, Martha Argerich, for her uniqueness and, as a

consequence, does not view Argerich as someone she should try to emulate. Also playing may reflect 'a close proximity to Georgian folk-music, which, she attests, has

greatly influenced her musicality'.

Buniatishvili, who has described the piano as a "symbol of musical solitude", chose the piano over the violin despite her perfect pitch. She and her sister learned the piano

together and performed duets at home.

Khatia Buniatishvili has been invited to play with, among other orchestras, the Orchestre de Paris under Paavo Järvi, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Vienna

Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France under Daniele Gatti and the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. She can also often be heard in performances of chamber music: in a trio with Gidon Kremer, with Renaud Capuçon or also with her

sister Gvantsa.

In 2010 Khatia received the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award and was included in the BBC series New Generation Artists. The Vienna Musikverein and Konzerthaus nominated

her as Rising Star for the 2011–12 season, and in 2012 she was awarded Best Newcomer of the Year in the Echo Klassik awards.

Her debut album for Sony Classical marked Liszt’s 200th anniversary, and included his Sonata in B minor, Liebestraum No 3, La Campanella, Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, and

Mephisto Waltz. The album was highly praised by critics, with Classic FM noting "Buniatishvili is a young artist with a huge temperament and technique that puts one

in mind of the young Martha Argerich". This was followed by an album devoted to Chopin, combining solo piano works with Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor,

accompanied by the Orchestre de Paris and Paavo Järvi. The Guardian reported "This is playing straight from the heart from one of today's most exciting and technically gifted young pianists". In 2014, Khatia released her third album on Sony Classical, titled Motherland. Rather than being devoted to one particular composer as her

previous albums were, Motherland is a personal album that brings together pieces that have Khatia's life, including music from her homeland Georgia. Khatia decided to

devote the album to her mother, Natalie Buniatishvili.

Prizes and awards:

Khatia Buniatishvili has received the following prizes and awards:• 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition (2008): Third Prize winner along with a Special Prize “Best Performer of a Chopin piece” and “Audience Fa• The 3rd Tbilisi International Piano competition (2005): Second Prize winner along with Special Prize “for Artistry” and Special Prize “Best Georgian young pianist”• A Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2010

Discography

• 2011 - Franz Liszt Solo Piano album (Sony Classical)• 2012 - Chopin with the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Paavo Järvi (Sony Classical)• 2014 - Motherland Solo Piano album (Sony Classical)

Ann Modebadze