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 replacing Radu Lupu, Israel Philharmonic and Israel Camerata, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic and Romanian National Radio Orchestra.

In the 2019/20 season he appears several times with conductor Omer Meir Wellber, notably for his debut with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra in Parma. This season he also performs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Kerem Hasan, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Cristian Mandeal and will make multiple solo appearances including a tour in Japan and his debut recital at the Lucerne Festival.

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 First Prize and Special Prize for the best Classical Sonata at the UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria (South Africa), and First 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 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 / 474 words. Not to be altered without permission.