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Nelson Goerner

Piano
Artistic Director, Festival de Musique de La Chaux-de-Fonds

  • Nelson Goerner is internationally celebrated for performances of exceptional poetry, dramatic intensity and expressive depth. Guided by an unwavering commitment to the composer's voice, his interpretations reveal remarkable clarity, imagination and emotional truth.

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  • The 2026/27 season opens with Nelson Goerner's debut at the Blossom Music Festival with The Cleveland Orchestra, before embarking on Asian recital tour including appearances in Tokyo and Shanghai. Throughout the season he performs with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana with Principal Guest Conductor Krzysztof Urbański, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, and Colombian Youth Philharmonic under Andrés Orozco-Estrada. On the chamber side, he has solo recitals in Lyon, Wigmore in London, Tonhalle in Zürich, Victoria Hall in Geneva, and Sala Verdi in Milan throughout the season.


    In previous seasons, Goerner appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande among others. Some of the distinguished conductors he has collaborated with include Alain Altinoglu, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pierre Bleuse, Elim Chan, Sir Mark Elder, Ivan Fischer, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Jonathan Nott, Vasily Petrenko, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Kazuki Yamada.


    A keen chamber musician, Goerner has appeared at many of the world’s most esteemed festivals including the Salzburg Festival, Verbier Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Edinburgh International Festival, and the BBC Proms. He regularly collaborates with distinguished artists including Martha Argerich, Sol Gabetta, Gary Hoffman, Alexei Ogrintchouk and Tedi Papavrami. As a recitalist, he performs at major venues and festivals worldwide, including the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Philharmonie de Paris, La Roque d’Anthéron, Piano aux Jacobins and The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.


    Goerner is the founder and Artistic Director of the Festival de Musique La Chaux-de-Fonds, launched in July 2026 with guests including Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon, and Festival Strings Lucerne. Following its inaugural edition, the festival returns for its second season in summer 2027.


    Goerner records predominantly for Alpha Classics, where his acclaimed discography encompasses works by Ravel, Liszt, Albéniz, Chopin, Beethoven, and Brahms. His recordings have received numerous international distinctions, including Gramophone Editor's Choice, BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month and France Musique's Album of the Year. He also enjoys a longstanding association with the Chopin Institute in Warsaw, with whom he has released several albums of unusual repertoire on the Institute’s own record label, earning multiple Diapason d’Or awards.


    Born in San Pedro, Argentina, Goerner studied with Jorge Garrubba, Juan Carlos Arabian and Carmen Scalcione before winning First Prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Buenos Aires in 1986. He subsequently studied with Maria Tipo at the Geneva Conservatoire and, in 1990, won First Prize at the Geneva International Music Competition.


    Nelson Goerner lives in Switzerland with his family and is a proud supporter of the humanitarian organisation Ammala.

    2026/27 season / 485 words. Not to be altered without permission.

Performances

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Concerto repertoire

Bartók: Piano Concerto No. 2
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 - 5
Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Chopin: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor
Liszt: Piano Concerto No.1, Totentanz
Martucci: Piano Concerto No.2
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1
Mozart: Piano Concertos K 415, 450, 488, 491
Paderewski: Piano Concerto
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos.2 & 3
Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G Major & Left Hand
Saint-Saens: Piano Concerto No.4
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor
Scriabin: Piano Concerto
Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 1
Strauss: Burleske
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concertos Nos.1 & 2


 

Conductors

Marin Alsop
Alain Altinoglu    
Anja Bihlmaier
Kevin John Edusei
Mark Elder               
Andres Orozco-Estrada 
Ivan Fischer
Thierry Fischer  
James Gaffigan
Alan Gilbert
Thomas Hengelbrock    
Philippe Herreweghe     
Marek Janowski
Paavo Jarvi                   
Kirill Karabits
Emmanuel Krivine
Louis Langree                     
Fabio Luisi                         
Susanna Malkki 
Antonello Manacorda
Gianandrea Noseda
Jonathan Nott         
Vasily Petrenko         
Esa Pekka Salonen   
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Aziz Shokhakimov         
Franz Welser-Most
Kazuki Yamada

“The master goldsmith at the piano”

Le Monde

"Goerner is a mercurial soloist"

Sunday Times, Classical Album of the Week

“Goerner’s Chopin was special right from the start of his career, but it has matured into something remarkable now…5*/5*”

BBC Music Magazine, Instrumental Choice

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Intermusica represents Nelson Goerner worldwide

Lucy Saunders
Associate Director
+44 7766 914 279
lsaunders@intermusica.com

Hazel Park
Artist Manager
+44 7752 396 847
hpark@intermusica.com

Jennifer Swallow
Assistant Artist Manager
07841 953 799
jswallow@intermusica.com

All artists

Contralto

Avery Amereau

Actor / Narrator

Amira Casar

Chansonnier

HK Gruber

Piano accompanist

Roger Vignoles

Saxophone

Branford Marsalis