Mariam Batsashvili

Pianist Mariam Batsashvili achieved swift prominence during her twenties through acclaim as a leading young talent across Britain and continental Europe, engagements alongside major orchestras, and solo programs spanning more than thirty nations.

Born on June 1, 1993, in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, Batsashvili began piano studies at the age of five and trained at the Evgeni Mikeladze Central Music School in her hometown. Recognized early for exceptional promise, she moved to Germany’s Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar to work with Grigory Gruzman. In 2011 she claimed first prize at the International Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists in Weimar, then secured another victory at the tenth Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht, the Netherlands, becoming the event’s inaugural female laureate. These successes launched an extensive international touring schedule that reached China, Indonesia, and Brazil in addition to numerous European venues.

For the 2016-2017 season she was selected as a Rising Star by the European Concert Hall Organisation and named a BBC New Generation Artist; the latter distinction brought performances with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, and the Ulster Orchestra at the BBC Proms. Further orchestral collaborations included the Dutch Radio Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Brussels Philharmonic, while festival appearances encompassed the Cheltenham Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. In 2018 she performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which promptly re-engaged her for subsequent programs.

Her first recording, an album of transcriptions issued by the Cobra label, appeared in 2016. Warner Classics subsequently signed her, and her debut release for the company, Chopin/Liszt, arrived in 2019, presenting works that illuminate the reciprocal influence between the two composers.