ALEXANDER TORADZE is universally recognized as a masterful virtuoso in the grand Romantic tradition. He has enriched the Great Russian pianistic heritage with his own unorthodox interpretative conceptions, deeply poetic lyricism, and intensely emotional excitement.

Toradze continuously appears with the world's leading orchestras. In recent seasons, he has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, Kirov Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, London Philharmonic, La Scala Philharmonic, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Orchestra del Maggio Musicale in Florence, Orchestra della RAI in Torino, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National du Capitole in Toulouse, Israel Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Hungarian Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra and the NHK and Super World Orchestras in Tokyo, among others.

Toradze's recording of all five Prokofiev concertos with Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra for the Philips label is acclaimed by critics as definitive. His recording of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 was named by International Piano Quarterly as "historically the best on record" (from among over seventy recordings). Other highly successful recordings have included Scriabin's Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, with the Kirov Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, as well as recital albums of the works of Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, Ravel and Prokofiev for the Angel/EMI label.

Toradze regularly participates in summer music festivals including Salzburg, the White Nights in St. Petersburg, London's BBC Proms concerts, Edinburgh, Rotterdam, Mikkeli (Finland), the Hollywood Bowl, Saratoga and Ravinia.

Born in 1952 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Alexander Toradze graduated from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and soon became a professor there. In 1983, he moved permanently to the United States and in 1991, he was appointed as the Martin Endowed Chair Professor of Piano at Indiana University South Bend, where he has created a teaching environment that is unparalleled in its unique concept. The members of the multi-national Toradze Piano Studio have developed into a worldwide touring ensemble that has gathered great critical acclaim on an international level. Last summer the studio performed at the opening eve of Salzburg Festival. In recent seasons, the Studio appeared in New York, performing the complete cycle of Bach solo concerti, as well as complete sonata cycles of Prokofiev and Scriabin. The Studio is also performing projects
detailing the piano works of Bartok, Dvorak, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Schubert, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky. These projects will be presented at the major festivals including those in Ruhr (Klavier Festival), Rome, Venice, Ravenna, Florence, Bologna, Palermo and Lisbon.