Mariam Batsashvili

“The sensitivity and accuracy with which she presents lyrical passages with airy lightness is breathtaking. In the Andante, one and the other's heart might even have skipped a beat as she sensitively let the melody, which then developed almost majestically, resound from the initial repeated notes. Her precise and very fine touch characterised the entire evening in the most exhilarating way, with sparkling runs and striking bass lines flowing from her fingers with such effortless ease that humour was always peeking around the corner.” Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 4/6/2024

Charisma, brilliance, and depth of expression are qualities with which Mariam Batsashvili captivates not only live audiences worldwide. The Georgian pianist has also long secured her place among the top ranks in the recording and streaming market since signing exclusively with the major label Warner in 2019: another highlight in a steep career that has taken her to over 30 countries and the world's most important concert halls to date. Besides major musical centers like Berlin, London, Paris, or Vienna, Mariam Batsashvili is a frequent guest at international festivals such as the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, where she debuted in 2019, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Milan Festival Piano City, the Festival Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse, or the Beethovenfest Bonn. Outside Europe as well, Mariam Batsashvili is one of the most sought-after interpreters of the great piano literature from Bach to late Romanticism, with her artistic path being closely linked, above all, to the name of one composer: Franz Liszt, whom she counts among the greatest influences in her life, not only musically but also intellectually and spiritually. Unquestionably, Mariam Batsashvili is one of the world's leading Liszt specialists.

Already as an 18-year-old, in 2011, Mariam Batsashvili won First Prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Weimar with works by the versatile musical innovator. A triumph that was repeated three years later in Utrecht: Her victory at the International Franz Liszt Competition there in 2014 opened the doors to an international career for the young musician. While concurrently completing her studies at the University in Weimar, Mariam Batsashvili was part of two of the world's most exclusive young talent programs as a "Rising Star" of the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) and a "BBC New Generation Artist." Venues such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Tonhalle Zürich, or London's Wigmore Hall, which she first entered back then as “one to watch”, Mariam Batsashvili now regularly returns to as an established star – often for solo recitals but frequently accompanied by renowned musical partners like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, or the Brussels Philharmonic. She has been an official Yamaha Artist since 2017.

Born and raised in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the career aspiration of "concert pianist" was already firmly established for Mariam Batsashvili in her youth. Under Natalie Natsvlishvili, who taught her from the age of six, she not only acquired her extraordinary technical skills; it was also her revered teacher who introduced her to Franz Liszt and laid the foundation for her now outstanding and overwhelming interpretations of his works. Besides her inimitable ability to reveal the revolutionary musical content behind the virtuoso facade and make it sensually perceptible, Mariam Batsashvili owes fundamental insights into the philosophical thinking of the romantic genius to her teacher. She was able to deepen these further during her subsequent training with Grigory Gruzman in Weimar and through inspiring exchanges with Liszt experts like Leslie Howard. It is not without reason that media such as the British Observer or the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” praise Mariam Batsashvili's feel for the "inner world" and the "nonchalant poetry" of Liszt's music, highlighting her soulful playing even in the most virtuoso passages. Referring to her winning yet completely unpretentious demeanor, the trade magazine Concerti aptly described the artist early in her career as a "pianistic charm offensive from Georgia." The fact that passion and a sense of duty are combined in her person is shown simply by the fact that she was heard in the concert hall just one month before and already two months after the birth of her son.

Besides Liszt, who, along with Frédéric Chopin, also determined the program of her 2019 debut album "Chopin Liszt" on Warner, Mariam Batsashvili's passion is primarily dedicated to the significant composers of the late Baroque, Viennese Classicism, and Romanticism: a repertoire that particularly suits her outstanding touch, often highlighted as a unique selling point. She regularly receives enthusiastic reactions from audiences and the specialist press for her interpretations of the piano works of Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms. In the 2024/25 season, she returned to major concert halls such as the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, London's Wigmore Hall, the Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg or the BBC Proms with this repertoire. In May 2025, her new solo album “Influences” was released, featuring works by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Liszt; in June, she was awarded the Liszt Biennale Thüringen's first-ever Förderpreis. In 2025/26, she will make her debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Domingo Hindoyan and begin a new collaboration with pianist Martin James Bartlett. The fact that Mariam Batsashvili is also very successful in the social media sphere, with over 70,000 followers, is thanks to the illustrative short tutorials on technical and performance practice issues that she has regularly provided to professional and amateur pianists on Instagram for several years. Her digitally released short albums "Lullabies" and "Encores" also gained her a wide reach online.  

2025/26 season

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