Daniel Ciobanu first attracted international acclaim in 2017 at the Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv where he won both Silver Medal and Audience Prize. He subsequently appeared at Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, St John’s Smith Square in London, Enescu Festival in Bucharest, and toured in Japan, China, Taiwan, South Africa and Brazil.
A full and luminous sound, immense pianistic poise, sensibility, an originality without overwhelming ego
Alain Lompech
Ciobanu’s distinctive musical personality and technical command has led to performances with orchestras such as Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Israel Philharmonic and Israel Camerata, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic and Romanian National Radio Orchestra.
In 2019/20 he will appear several times with conductor Omer Meir Wellber, notably for his debut with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester, and the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra in Parma. This season he also performs with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Cristian Mandeal, and will make multiple solo appearances including a tour in Japan and his debut recital at the Lucerne Festival.
In 2010 he made his Royal Festival Hall debut, and since then he has appeared solo in venues such as Munich Gasteig, Salzburg Mozarteum, Auditorium de Radio France, Salle Cortot, Fazioli Hall in Sacile, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Bucharest Atheneum, Duszniki Chopin Festival, Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv and the Taipei National Concert Hall.
In 2015 he received the 1st Grand Prix, Public Prize and Orchestra Prize at the Morocco Philharmonic International Piano Competition – becoming the first pianist in the history of the competition to have won all the Special Prizes along with being unanimously voted by the jury for the Top Prize. He has also won 1st Prize and Special Prize for the best “Classical Sonata” at the UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria (South Africa), and 1st Prize at the BNDES International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2017 Daniel founded the “Neamt Music Festival” in Romania to create a strong and fresh international platform for young artists. The week-long festival takes place every year in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania and features not only classical programming, but also jazz and experimental projects.
He started learning the piano at the age of 9 in Piatra Neamt, Romania, initially with Magdolna Cosma and Delia Balan, and later with Mihaela Spiridon and Iulian Arcadi Trofin. He went on to win scholarships to study in Scotland with Graeme McNaught and subsequently with Aaron Shorr and Petras Geniusas, graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He completed his studies at the École Normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris with Marian Rybicki and in the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Pascal Devoyon and Markus Groh.