Pianist
Bezhos Abduraimov has emerged as a popular specialist in virtuoso repertory after major prizes early in his career. His concerts frequently include Russian works but also extend to
Liszt,
Saint-Saëns, and other pianistic standards.
Abduraimov was born on September 11, 1990, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, then part of the Soviet Union. He took up the piano at age six, studying with his mother, a concert pianist. Showing talent, he was admitted to classes with Tamara Popovich at the Uspensky State Central Lyceum. When he was 15,
Abduraimov moved to the U.S. for studies at the International Center for Music at Park University in Kansas City, Missouri. He flourished, and in 2009, he scored the first in a series of breakthroughs with a win at the London International Piano Competition, performing one of his specialties, the
Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26. Further attention came when
Abduraimov seized the moment in high-profile substitution slots, for
Martha Argerich in the same
Prokofiev concerto with
Charles Dutoit and the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and, in 2014, for
Yefim Bronfman in
Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23, at the Hollywood Bowl with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has returned to the Hollywood Bowl twice more with the
Philharmonic.
Abduraimov has gone on to perform with the
Cleveland Orchestra, the
Boston Symphony, the
Mariinsky Orchestra, and other top ensembles in many countries. He is a popular attraction at summer festivals, including the Aspen Music Festival, Verbier Festival, and Ravinia Festival.
Abduraimov's recital credits include appearances at both Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall at New York's Carnegie Hall.
Signed to the Decca label,
Abduraimov released albums in 2012 and 2014. He has also recorded for RCO Live, Sony Classical, and Alpha, where he released a recital album featuring
works by Debussy, Chopin, and Mussorgsky in 2021.