Nicolas Horvath began his studies at the Académie de Musique Prince Rainier III de Monaco and at the age of 16 caught the attention of the American conductor Lawrence Foster, who helped him to secure a three-year scholarship from the Princess Grace Foundation. His mentors include distinguished international pianists Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Gérard Frémy, Eric Heidsieck, Gabriel Tacchino, Nelson Delle-Vigne, Philippe Entremont, Oxana Yablonskaya and Liszt specialist Leslie Howard, who helped Horvath to establish himself as a leading interpreter of Liszt’s music. He holds several awards, including first prize from the Alexander Scriabin and the Luigi Nono competitions.
Horvath is known for his musical explorations and is an enthusiastic promoter of contemporary music. He is a composer of electroacoustic music and has commissioned numerous works and collaborated with leading contemporary composers, including Alvin Lucier, Mamoru Fujieda, Lustmord, Jaan Rääts, Merzbow, Alvin Curran and Valentin Silvestrov. He cites Moondog, Germaine Tailleferre, François-Adrien Boieldieu, Julie Candeille and Fernand de La Tombelle as composers whose work he admires.
Horvath has programmed several complete cycles, sometimes lasting over twelve hours. These include performances of Erik Satie’s complete piano music at the Paris Philharmonie before a cumulative audience of 14,000 people; Stockhausen’s (15) Klavierstücke; and the complete piano music of Philip Glass. His discography on Grand Piano includes the highly acclaimed Philip Glass solo piano music edition, Glassworlds; the complete piano works of Erik Satie; piano sonatas by the Estonian composer Jaan Rääts and music by the American experimental composer Alvin Lucier; Carl Czerny’s 30 Études; and lesser-known piano music by Anne-Louise Brillon de Jouy, Claude Debussy and Hélène de Montgeroult.
For more information, visit www.nicolashorvath.com.
