David Khrikuli

2025 Chopin International Piano Competition Finalist

Born in Georgia in 2001, pianist David Khrikuli is fast emerging as one of the most promising artists of his generation. He studies with Stanislav Ioudenitch at the Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, where he previously trained with Galina Eguiazarova. He currently holds the Banco Santander Foundation Piano Chair and has been awarded scholarships from the Jaime Castellanos and Albéniz Foundations. In 2022, he received the Diploma for the Most Outstanding Student of his chair from Her Majesty Queen Sofía.

Khrikuli was a finalist at the 2025 Chopin International Piano Competition, where his performances drew exceptional attention from both jury and audience, earning acclaim that extended well beyond the final results. A laureate of numerous international competitions, Khrikuli won First Prize at the 2024 Cantù International Piano and Orchestra Competition (Italy) and First and Audience Prizes at the Vigo International Piano Competition (Spain). Earlier distinctions include First Prize and Special Prize at the Aarhus International Competition (Denmark), First Prize at the Tbilisi Chopin National Piano Competition (Georgia), and awards at the Nutcracker International TV Competition (Russia), Astana Piano Passion (Kazakhstan), and the Arthur Rubinstein International Competition for Young Pianists (China).

Khrikuli began studying piano at the age of eight at the Zakaria Paliashvili Central Music School for Gifted Children in Tbilisi, later continuing his training with Revaz Tavadze. He has participated in masterclasses with eminent pianists including Arie Vardi, Nelson Freire, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Robert Levin, and András Schiff, among others. He has appeared as soloist with the Georgian Philharmonic, Israel Camerata and Philharmonic, and Moscow Philharmonic, in addition to giving solo recitals and chamber music performances across Europe.

As a student of the Reina Sofía School, he has appeared in the concert series La Generación Ascendente (Madrid) and AIEnRUTa-Clásicos (Albacete). He has also been a member of the Schumann Trio, the Ravel Duo, and the Austrias Trio. Khrikuli is currently touring Poland, performing in Torun, Krakow, and Poznan, and will appear with the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the National Forum of Music in Wroclaw, and the Krakow Philharmonic. He will also play at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid and return to Mallorca, and make his debut in Berlin.