Evgeni Koroliov, born in Moscow in 1949, is known to have an extraordinary presence in the international piano scene. Far from displaying any kind of showmanship, Koroliov fascinates his public through deep intellectual understanding of the works he performs and in whose service he puts the wide range of his artistic and interpretatory abilities.
Koroliov studied piano at the renowned Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Among his teachers were Heinrich Neuhaus, Maria Judina, Lew Oborin and Lew Naumow. He won the Grand Prix Clara Haskil (Vevey, 1977) as well as several other prizes: International Bach Competition (Leipzig, 1968), Van Cliburn Competition (Fort Worth, 1973) and International Bach Piano Competition (Toronto, 1985). He resides in Hamburg since 1978 and was Professor at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre until 2015.
His wide repertoire ranges from Baroque through Impressionism up to Messiaen and Ligeti, also having a special affinity to Bach. Evgeni Koroliov has performed at many internationally renowned venues, including: Gewandhaus Leipzig, Herkulessaal Munich, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Conservatorio Verdi Milan and Teatro Olimpico Rome. Highlights in recent years have been: Gulbenkian Foundation Lissabon, Konzerthaus Berlin and Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels.
He has given guest perfomances at the festival of the International Bach Academy Stuttgart, the Rheingau and the Schleswig-Holstein music festivals; at Settembre Musica Turin and the Festival La Roque d'Anthéron, at the Montreux and Salzburg festivals, at the Chopin Festival Warsaw, Bachfest Montréal and Budapest Spring Festival. He is also a regular guest at Ferrara Musica.
Together with Helmuth Rilling and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart he toured Germany in 2011 performing piano concerts by Bach. In 2012 he played Mozart concerts under Valery Gergiev and the Orchestra of the Mariinsky-Theatre in St. Petersburg. He has repeatedly performed with Gidon Kremer's Kremerata Baltica. In the Piano Cycle of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra he was acclaimed for his rendition of Bach's "The Art of Fugue" in 2014.
Being a passionate chamber musician, Koroliov has played with colleagues such as Natalia Gutman and Mischa Maisky; the Keller Quartet and the Prazák Quartet. He performs regularly with his wife, pianist Ljupka Hadzigeorgieva, forming the Duo Koroliov.
In the Season 2015/16 Evgeni Koroliov will play at the festival Bachwoche Ansbach and Schwetzingen Music Festival; at the Liszt Academy Budapest, Palau de la Música Barcelona, Konzerthaus Vienna and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris, among others.
Evgeni Koroliov has recorded for TACET, Hänssler Classic, Profil and the label of the Hessischer Rundfunk. His performance of the "Goldberg Variations"at the Bachfest Leipzig 2008 was published by EuroArts on DVD. Koroliov has received many awards for his recordings, most recently the German Record Critics' Award for a CD with solo and duo works by Bach together wit Ljupka Hadzigeorgieva, and the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) Solo Prize for his latest Schubert CD.