Get to know Nikolai Lugansky

You have played with us many times over the past two decades, but it has been five years since your last performance. What are you most looking forward to about returning to the Philharmonia Orchestra?

I’m always amazed by how quickly the Philharmonia works and reacts, and how universal they are with different repertoire. They are at home with every style, with every epoch, every kind of musicianship. I actually expect that it will be easy to play together again, we probably won’t need much discussion or explanation.

You have played with Santtu-Matias Rouvali a few times, what is he like to work with?

I think Santtu is a very young and energetic conductor, and in many ways, unpredictable, which makes a fantastic combination with an orchestra like the Philharmonia. The last time we played, he immediately brought out many things I didn’t expect from music that I have played many times. But they were nice surprises, which made the music feel alive.

What is your favourite thing about Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3 – is there a particularly interesting or exciting part to look out for?

It’s very difficult because I love everything. There are many culminations in the piece, but when we come to the very last one in the finale, Rachmaninov emphasises a catharsis not dynamically, but emotionally. It’s amazing to see how Rachmaninov composed this and how it develops in the finale. It’s a rare example where a composer’s mastery brings such an emotional impact on the audience.

Rachmaninov wrote two different cadenzas (a virtuoso solo passage) for the concerto. How do you feel the different cadenzas affect the mood of the piece and do you have a preference?

In concert, I only play the smaller cadenza. I don’t think that the choice of cadenza is that important in the concept of the piece. I play the smaller one which is the same one Rachmaninov used during his recording, but I think it’s an even split for concert pianists playing either cadenza. I chose the one which starts piano which is very simple, contrasting to the many culminations in this unbelievable concerto.

We are taking this performance to London and Lugano – do you have any fond musical memories in either location?

I have heard very rare pieces in London, I remember hearing Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Festival Hall, and I have heard wonderful chamber music at Wigmore Hall. I have enjoyed many different performances in London. Lugano is a wonderful place; it has an unbelievably beautiful lake and beautiful nature. I played there for the first and last time with the wonderful conductor, Armin Jordan.

As a pianist, you don’t get to play your own instrument as you travel to different venues and countries. What do you look for in a piano when you arrive in a new venue to prepare for a performance?

It makes a life of the pianist very different from, let’s say, the life of the violinist. We don’t have the same problems of travel companies with different rules. But I think the main difference is when you arrive at the venue, especially if you arrive on the day of your performance. The first impression of the piano is vital. Sometimes you sit at the piano and the first impression you get is desperation. You expected something, and you have something completely different. Hopefully, if you have an hour, you will change your mood and style, so that this piano can sing and do something beautiful.

But it’s adventurous. Every time I’m very curious what piano I will have.

What are you listening to right now?

What I’ve just been listening to in my car was Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Sinfonia Espansiva’. I’ve also been listening to Liszt’s Symphonic poems – one of my favourites is ‘Orpheus’. But of course, I listen to a lot of different things.

The last performance that I heard that was Wagner’s Parsifal in the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg with Valery Gergiev.

Which concert coming up in the Philharmonia’s 2025/26 season would you most like to come to, and why?

This is almost impossible to answer but there are two big symphonies which I’m in love with. I love all that Bruckner wrote (maybe except Symphony No. 1). But Mahler’s Symphony No. 7 is really one of my favourite pieces. So, I would say Jakub Hrůša conducts Mahler 7 on 13 November.

But I cannot say only one. There is also a free concert with repertoire by only conductors on 25 February 2026. Every concert seems very interesting.

Nikolai Lugansky joins us on Wednesday 11 June 2025 for Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, conducted by Santtu-Matias Rouvali.