Riyad Nicolas is an international Syrian-British pianist and multiple prize-winner who has been lauded by artists such as Daniel Barenboim, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Uchida Mitsuko. Recent debuts include concerts at Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Cadogan Hall, Barbican and St John Smith Square and St James’s Piccadilly in London, Bridgwater Hall in Manchester as well as the Kennedy Centre and the Chicago Cultural Center at the USA. He is regularly invited to perform at prestigious societies at the UK and has already performed in over 80 societies at the UK including the Chopin and Beethoven societies. In addition, his performances have taken him to many cities in Switzerland, France, Spain, Paris, Malta, Holland, Germany, Genève, the Gulf and Syria.
Among his recent achievements he lists the First Prize at the Norah Sande Award (UK), the Francaix International Piano Competition (France) and the Liszt Ference International Piano Competition. Other successes include top prizes at The Seiler (Greece) and The Ciutat de Carlet (Spain) International Competitions, the London International Piano Competition (UK) and reaching the finals at the Busoni International Piano Competition. He was also selected as a represented artist by the Tillett Trust and the Countess of Munster Trust in the UK.
He has performed as a soloist with many orchestras such as the London Chamber Orchestra, Young Musician Symphony Orchestra, Emirate Symphony Orchestra, Todmorden Symphony Orchestra, Syrian National Symphony Orchestra, Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the Chamber Orchestra of Aleppo.
Riyad moved to London in 2005 where he was awarded scholarships to study at the most prestigious music schools in London, including the Purcell School of Music, the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. His main teachers included Sulamita Aronovsky and Dmitri Alexeev. Riyad now teaches Piano at the Guildhall School of Music.
Sample “Lockdown Schubert Recital” Programme
Schubert
Impromptu in F minor D 935, No. 1 (10’)
Schubert
Sonata D 664 in A major (23’)
Song transcriptions:
Schubert/Liszt
Auf dem Wasser zu singen (To sing on the water) (4’)
Schubert/Liszt
Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the spinning-wheel) (4’)
Schubert
Sonata D 894 in G major (34)’
Etudes:
Czerny
The art of finger Dexterity Op. 740, Book IV, No. 31 (2’)
Chopin
Etude Op.25, No. 11 (Winter wind) (4’)