Daniel Ciobanu

“A full and luminous sound, immense pianistic poise, sensibility, an originality without overwhelming ego” (Alain Lompech). Ciobanu’s distinctive musical personality and technical command has led to performances with orchestras such as Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Israel Philharmonic and Israel Camerata, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic and Romanian National Radio Orchestra.

In the 2019/20 season he debuted with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under Omer Meir Welber, and was immediately invited back to give a solo recital.  He appeared with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Kerem Hasan and at the Enescu Festival in Bucharest with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Cristian Mandeal; he was also invited for his Vienna Konzerthaus debut, playing Beethoven violin and piano sonatas with Julian Rachlin.  In 2021 he makes his Luzern Festival recital debut (postponed from 2020); other plans include debuts with the Dresdener Staatskapelle, Zurich Tonhalle and BBC Philharmonic orchestras (all with Meir Welber) and with the Orquesta da Galicia under Giancarlo Guererro.  For 20/21 season he is the first ever Artist in Residence at the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest.

In May 2020 he recorded his first CD, a solo disc of works by Prokofiev, Debussy, Liszt and Enescu, to be released on the Accentus label. 

In 2010 he made his Royal Festival Hall debut, and since then he has given solo recitals in venues such as Munich Gasteig, Salzburg Mozarteum, Auditorium de Radio France, Salle Cortot, Fazioli Hall in Sacile, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Bucharest Atheneum, Duszniki Chopin Festival, Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv and the Taipei National Concert Hall.

In 2015 he received the 1st Grand Prix, Public Prize and Orchestra Prize at the Morocco Philharmonic International Piano Competition - becoming the first pianist in the history of the competition to have won all the Special Prizes along with being unanimously voted by the jury for the Top Prize.  He has also won 1st Prize and Special Prize for the best “Classical Sonata” at the UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria (South Africa), and 1st Prize at the BNDES International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2017 Ciobanu founded the Neamt Music Festival in his home town of Piatra Neamt in Romania, to create a fresh and innovative international platform for the cream of today’s young artists. The week-long festival takes place every year in the Carpathian Mountains and features not only classical programming but also embraces other sympathetic art forms including jazz, video-mapping, painting and dance.

Ciobanu started learning the piano at the age of nine in Piatra Neamt, Romania, initially with Magdolna Cosma and Delia Balan, and later with Mihaela Spiridon and Iulian Arcadi Trofin. He went on to win scholarships to study in Scotland with Graeme McNaught and subsequently with Aaron Shorr and Petras Geniusas, graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He completed his studies at the École Normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris with Marian Rybicki and in the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Pascal Devoyon and Markus Groh.

2019/20 season / 559 words. Not to be altered without permission.