Maxim Kinasov is a Russian-British pianist born in Moscow in 1993. He began studying piano at the Yakov Flier Children’s Music School at the age of five, with Nina Dolenko. In 2012, he graduated with distinction from the Academic Music College at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied with Tatyana Direktorenko. He completed his conservatory studies with distinction in 2017 in Sergei Dorensky’s class and held a scholarship from the conservatory’s Academic Council from 2014 to 2017.
In 2017, Kinasov moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a career as a concert pianist. He completed a master’s degree with distinction at the Royal Northern College of Music in 2019, studying with Ashley Wass with support from a Leverhulme Arts scholarship. From 2020 to 2021, he undertook postgraduate study with Kathryn Stott and completed the college’s International Artist course. He later continued his professional development with professors Graham Scott and Dina Parakhina.
Kinasov has been a soloist with the St. Petersburg Music House since 2012. He has performed in Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Israel, and the United States, including at Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, the Carlo Felice Theatre in Genoa, the Auditorium Conciliazione in Rome, and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. In 2019, he made his full-length solo debut at Wigmore Hall. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hallé, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg State Academic Symphony Orchestra. His performances have featured on Rai 2, Telepace, and BBC Radio 3.
His awards include first prize at the 2022 Birmingham International Piano Competition and the 2022 Windsor International Piano Competition, as well as second prize and the audience prize at the 2015 Viotti International Music Competition. In 2019, he won first prize at the Cantu International Piano Concerto Competition and second prize and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Prize at the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition. He also won the Royal Northern College of Music’s Gold Medal in 2018. In 2021, he was named an ambassador for the Hastings International Piano Concerto Competition. In 2022, he signed with KNS Classical to record his debut album. His recording of César Franck’s Symphonic Variations with the BBC Philharmonic was made in 2021.