Mihai Ritivoiu

Mihai Ritivoiu was born in 1989 in Bucharest, Romania, and began piano lessons at the age of 6. He obtained his Bachelor degree at the National University of Music in Bucharest, where he studied with Viniciu Moroianu; in September 2012 he began his Postgraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with Joan Havill. Mihai has also worked in masterclasses with distinguished pianists and pedagogues such as Dimitri Bashkirov and Dominique Merlet, and has been receiving advice and guidance from the celebrated Romanian pianist Valentin Gheorghiu.At the 2011 edition of the prestigious “George Enescu” International Competition, Mihai Ritivoiu was awarded the 3rd Prize, as well as the Special Prize for the best rendition of a Piano Sonata by Enescu, and the “Constanta Erbiceanu” Prize, for the best Romanian competitor. Following this achievement, he was invited to record Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto with the Romanian Radio Orchestra, under the baton of George Costin, for the Romanian Broadcasting Corporation. Active both as a solo performer and chamber musician, Mihai Ritivoiu has performed in some of the most important Romanian venues, but also in Lausane, Montepulciano, Paris and Salzburg. In 2008 and 2009 he received a scholarship from the SoNoRo Chamber Music Festival, which consisted in workshops and concerts with internationally acclaimed performers such as Bernhard Naoki-Hedenborg and Alexander Sitkovetski. In December 2012, Mihai performed a solo recital in the “Ernest Ansermet” Studio in Geneva, as part of the recital series “La Tribune des Jeunes Musiciens”, recital which was broadcast live by the Swiss radio station Espace 2.Mihai's studies in London are generously supported by the Leverhulme Trust.