A native of California, SOHEIL NASSERI has been consistently acclaimed by international audiences and critics alike. Since 2001, he has performed 20 completely different recital programs in New York City at: the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and Merkin Concert Hall.
Soheil Nasseri made his European debut in 2004 at the famed Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Sicily. Subsequently, he has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls: John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ Terrace Theatre (Washington, DC), Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal (Berlin), Konzerthaus Berlin, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room (London), Théâtre Femina (Bordeaux), Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Politeama Garibaldi (Palermo), Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, Musashino Center (Tokyo). He has also appeared throughout the United States and Canada, including in Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Jacksonville (FL), Norfolk (VA), Portland (OR), Savannah, Santa Cruz (CA) and Montréal, while abroad he has also played in Dublin (Ireland), Bucharest (Romania) and Tehran (Iran). As a concerto soloist, he has collaborated with Fabio del Cioppo, Alexander Dmitriev, Justus Franz, David LaMarche, John Lopez, Alexander Platt, Edward Polochick, Bahman Saless, Timothy Smith, John Strickler, Markand Thakar and Ormsby Wilkins. In 2010, Mr. Nasseri joined American Ballet Theatre for nine performances at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, playing an integral role onstage, both as pianist and actor.
Dedicated to introducing and nurturing a love of classical music to younger generations, Soheil Nasseri has performed in more than 60 public schools. He is also deeply committed to new music and has given over 30 premières; to date, nine composers have written works specifically for him. Active in the recording studio, he has six solo CDs on the labels of Centaur, Mahoor and Naxos.
Soheil Nasseri was born in Santa Monica, California. He began studying the piano at the age of five, and, at the age of twenty, moved to New York City to study with Karl Ulrich Schnabel. In 2001, he became a protégé of Jerome Lowenthal, who remains his mentor today. Other important teachers include Clinton Adams, Anna Balakerskaia, Irina Edelman, Claude Frank, Eva Pierrou and Ann Schein.
Soheil Nasseri currently resides in Berlin, Germany.
Program
Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109 (1820) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Vivace, ma non troppo; Adagio espressivo; Tempo I
Prestissimo
Tema: Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo; Variationi I-VI
Sixteen Waltzes, Op. 39 (1865) Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
5-minute Intermission
Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60 (1832-36) Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 11 Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Un poco Adagio - Allegro vivace
Aria
Scherzo: Allegrissimo - intermezzo: Lento
Finale: Allegro, un poco maestoso
Mr. Nasseri appears by arrangement with Parker Artists, New York, NY and will play a concert grand (9 ‘) on loan from the Concerts and Artists division of Steinway & Sons, New York, NY.
REVIEWS
"Pianists blessed with formidable technique are often tempted by programs that show off virtuosic extremes. In his solo recital at Merkin Concert Hall, Soheil Nasseri went in search of other extremes in a selection of works that demonstrated the piano’s ability to reflect the whole gamut of human emotions."
THE NEW YORK TIMES
"It was in Chopin’s A-flat Waltz and his G Minor Ballade that revealed Nasseri’s true genius as an interpreter. His diaphanous touch, beautifully judged rubato and melancholic, inward-directed tone brought out the exquisite poetry in these scores so potently, it made one hungry to hear more."
THE WASHINGTON POST
"Nasseri is clearly very adept in the handling of complex textures, and his range of articulation is exquisite. One would have liked to listen to the Brahms Walzes, Op. 39 all over again. Fantastic!"
BERLINER ZEITUNG
"One couldn’t help but like Soheil Nasseri immediately. The virtuosic and timbric deviltries of Liszt’s tenth Hungarian Rhapsody were commanded with a pristine technique supported by a sparkling and incisive sound. The domination of the keyboard was so prodigious that it seemed to render everything easy, spontaneous, and without effort."
GIORNALE DI SICILIA
"Pianist Soheil Nasseri shines with Baltimore Chamber Orchestra [headline]
Nasseri has, above all, a refined command of tone and an intuitive sense of how to sculpt a phrase. In the first movement [Beethoven Concerto #4] cadenza, he unleashed a superb array of colors and dynamics, all the while making the music express something vital, spontaneous, meaningful. There was understated beauty of phrasing in the Andante, a winning combination of drive and gracefulness in the Rondo."
THE BALTIMORE SUN
"It took but a few, securely-played bars of Beethoven’s magnificent early Sonata No. 4 in E-flat, Op. 7 to make it plainly evident that Mr. Nasseri was the possessor of a first-class musical mind, technically adroit, and wonderfully well prepared for his demanding program."
NEW YORK CONCERT REVIEW
"An Impassioned Performance by Soheil Nasseri [headline]
The Distinguished Artists Concert and Lecture series offered another cultural coup with the presentation of Iranian-American pianist, Soheil Nasseri. Sunday’s performance showed his prodigious effortless technique, a wide range of expressive tonal colors and dynamics conjured with abandon the most impassioned and riveting performance of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata."
APTOS TIMES (California)
"Mr. Nasseri’s performances were impeccably balanced, frisky and filled with character. His imposing technique and vivid imagination were amply displayed. Never merely flamboyant or glib, he put the music first without fail, the sign of a genuinely valuable artist.”
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Fortepiano preformance, Germany
Soheil Nasseri: Schumann Concerto sans Orchestre
Soheil Nasseri: Rachmaninoff Preludes, Op. 32
Soheil Nasseri: Beethoven Eroica Variations
Soheil Nasseri: St. Petersbury Russia; Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 1
