Nikolai Saratovsky – world class pianist

Kapiti concert-goers raved about Nikolai Saratovsky on his all-too-brief visit to New Zealand last year. The master pianist is a highly regarded academic professor in the prestigious Music Department of the University of Taiwan. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of classical piano and an impeccable technique and is in great demand for student masterclasses wherever he goes in the world.

His NZ mentor, Mary Gow first met him in Brussels on a concert tour of her own. “I knew right away that this young man was very special” she says. “He has such fire and dynamism in his playing and he demonstrated such an understanding of the great composers, even the ones demanding great skill and technique, I knew he would be going far”. At the first opportunity, she arranged a concert tour to New Zealand for him. “He fell in love with the country”, she says. “He loves the outdoors, and NZ worked its spell on him.”

 Nikolai has returned several times, even though he has received international recognition, occupies an important teaching post and whenever he gives a concert, fills prestigious concert halls in the Far East and in Europe.

The programme will include a selection from Scarlatti Sonatas, Chopin Preludes, Brahms Opus 76,  Debussy Preludes and Rachmaninoff Musical Moments OP 16.