Piano & Passion: Pavel Kolesnikov

From child prodigy to multifaceted talent
The biography of Pavel Kolesnikov outlines his development from child prodigy to a distinctly versatile talent. In a nutshell: as a six-year-old he started with violin and piano, then went to the conservatories of Novosibirsk and Moscow, the Royal College of Music in London and Muziekkapel Koningin Elisabeth in Brussels. His career as a soloist took him to the major concert halls of Europe and the United States. In 2019, he embarked on an important project with choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaker around J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations - a co-production of renowned music institutions in Austria, Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Kolesnikov collects vintage perfume. He owns a collection of about 150 bottles, some of which date back to the early 20th century. As a child, he was obsessed with scents and the "magic art" of perfume. He studied how perfume works and how it is made. For him, music and perfume are similar. They are non-visual arts, some of which are 'abstract' and can convey powerful emotions. They also both depend on a perfect balance and the interrelationship between the different parts. In his recital with Bach, Schubert and Schumann, Kolesnikov leaves one more part of the program open to create that perfect balance, depending on mood and atmosphere.