BIOGRAPHY
France / Brazil
Mentioned by Gramophone as “a stunningly original pianist with musical insight and maturity comparable to colleagues twice his age“, brazilian pianist Cristian Budu had his playing portrayed by famous critic Alain Lompech as “grand, worthy of Arrau in his fifties, certainly of Nelson Freire (who so much admired his younger compatriot) or of any great conductor of the past such as Furtwängler“, with a pianism through which “music emerges […] in an imperious but invisible manner, as though he improvised” (Bachtrack, 2022 – La Roque D’Anthéron Piano Festival). The most honorable recommendation that Cristian has ever received came from Nelson Freire himself who, in his last interview, said he believed Cristian would become his successor.
BIOGRAPHY
Budu is the winner of the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition, in Switzerland, on its 50th anniversary. Besides the Grand Prize, Cristian also received the Audience Prize and the Young Critics’ Prize. Later on, he won awards in Brazil such as Instrumentalist of the Year (APCA) and Best Concert of the Year (Guia da Folha).
On Gramophone, Budu entered the “Top 10 Recent Beethoven Recordings” and “Top 10 Chopin Recordings” lists which include recordings by Martha Argerich, Arthur Rubinstein, Maria João Pires, Dinu Lipatti, Murray Perahia and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Still on Gramophone, Cristian entered the “Top 50 Greatest Chopin Recordings”, which brings together 50 of the most anthological interpretations of Chopin in History.
Concerts in recent years include solo recitals at the Verbier Festival and La Roque D’Antheron Piano Festival, duo recitals with Renaud Capuçon and Antonio Meneses, and chamber music with musicians from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He has performed as a soloist with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Orquestre de la Suisse Romande, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra and at venues such as Liederhalle, KKL, Jordan Hall, LAC Lugano and Athenaeum Bucharest.
His solo recordings received prizes such as “Editor’s Choice” in England and “5-Diapasons” in France. In the USA, he was part of a Brazilian music quartet that won the Honors Competition of NEC in Boston. In the USA, Cristian hosted the house concerts that generated the creation of Groupmuse, and in Brazil, he also started the project Pianosofia with the intention of cultivating a vibrant environment through chamber music events.
Cristian was in the jury of important piano competitions such as Cleveland International Piano Competition and Rio de Janeiro International Piano Competition, and also got invited as Professor in Festivals such as Villa Musica (Germany), Piano à St Ursanne (Switzerland), and Campos do Jordão International Music Festival (Brazil).
Cristian was invited by Claudia Toni to be co-curator of the last 2 editions of SESC International Chamber Music Festival (Sao Paulo) and during pandemic, he directed a Piano Festival in Ouro Preto (Minas Gerais) and createad a Chamber Music Festival in Campinas (São Paulo), both in which music students receive scholarships for a period of artistic residencies, masterclasses and concerts. Cristian has also made several partnerships with social projects such as Projeto Integração and Liga Solidária,and is now part of the Volunteer Council of Projeto Casulo.
Cristian has an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Boston under the guidance of Wha-Kyung Byun, and there he had the chance to also have lessons with Russell Sherman.