Latvian pianist Georgijs Osokins has gained international attention through his participation at age of 19 in the XVII International Chopin Piano Competition where he quickly became an absolute Audience Favorite. His interpretations were dubbed by critics as “revolutionary”, “exceptional” and “unpredictable”.
Shortly after the Chopin Competition, Osokins made important debuts at the Berlin Konzerthaus, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Laeiszhalle and Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, International Piano Series in Bern, Lockenhaus Festival, Gstaad Music Festival, NOSPR Concert Hall in Katowice, the Vancouver Playhouse (replacing an outstanding pianist Nelson Freire), Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre Hall, Tongyeong Hall in South Korea. In 2021 Georgijs Osokins performed at the 101st Salzburg Festival. In the following seasons (2022/2023) he had his debuts at Wigmore Hall in London, Sala Verdi in Milan, Shanghai Music Festival and Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium) in New York.
In 2024 Georgijs makes his solo debut at Pierre-Boulez Saal in Berlin and returns to Milan’s Serate Musicali Festival and London’s Wigmore Hall.
Georgijs is actively collaborating with Gidon Kremer, touring in the UK, Ireland, Russia, Poland, Germany, Asia and US. Alongside Lucas Debargue, Georgijs was announced the first permanent Guest Artist of Kremerata Baltica in its 25-year history.
UK’s label Piano Classics released Osokins' two CD albums focused on Chopin’s Late Works and works of Rachmaninoff. These recordings received brilliant reviews from important British, Canadian, German, Danish and French music magazines. German label Accentus has released the first chamber music album of Georgijs alongside Gidon Kremer containing trios of Chopin and Beethoven - this CD was nominated for both International Classical Music Awards 2020 and Opus Klassik 2021.
Georgijs received the Cross of Merit (Silver grade) awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland and the Latvian Grand Music Award - highest honour in music in Latvia - and remains youngest recipient in the Awards’ history.
Osokins performs on his own bespoke piano bench designed by Fazioli.
press
"Georgijs Osokins is not only a brilliant pianist, but as well a highly gifted musician, with whom it is a sheer joy to share scores of different authors and styles." Gidon Kremer
"Osokins is a protégé of Gidon Kremer and one understands why. Refined, impeccable technique, musical ideas - simply great piano playing." France Musique
“Having caused something of a sensation at the 2015 Warsaw Chopin Competition, he certainly has the requisite mix of agility and grace.." Harriet Smith, Gramophone
"This young musician is exceptionally talented." Dmitri Bashkirov
"Georgijs Osokins could be take up by now of the major recording companies such as Deutsche Grammophon who would welcome it." France Musique
"Georgijs Osokins arguably delivered up the day’s most strikingly individual interpretations. He won me over with his concentration and control of minute details, such as the long chains of carefully calibrated trills. Indeed, his epic sense of time scale is akin to Emil Gilels." Gramophone Magazine (Chopin Competition)
"Osokins differs strongly from the best interprets, whenever it’s Ashkenazy or Trifonov. He is more emotional, penetrates deeper into the world of Rachmaninoff and displays a particularly fine feeling for the typical Russian melancholy without ever sweetening the music." (5-star review) Remy Franck, Pizzicato.lu
"A pianist of this individual stamp (and Daniil Trifonov, Evgeni Bozhanov, Benjamin Grosvenor, Federico Colli and Ivo Pogorelich before them) presents the listener with the a conundrum. He raises all sorts of issues concerning fidelity to the score and the limits of interpretation." Michael Moran
