Nikola Meeuwsen

Critics praise Nikola Meeuwsen (born 2002) for his rich palette of colours, compelling artistic vision, and personal style, which balances power with poetry. He draws deep inspiration from the individualistic and expressive style of Romantic-era musicians such as Horowitz, Cortot, Heifetz, Kreisler, Rachmaninov, Cziffra and Gould. In 2025, Nikola became the first Dutch pianist to win the first prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. This victory immediately boosted his international career. Already a sought-after soloist in concert halls across Europe, the 2025/26 season sees Nikola embark on major tours of China, Korea and Japan, as well as Brazil. His forthcoming engagements also include a solo recital in the Great Pianists series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, performances with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and debuts in Munich, Stuttgart, Luxembourg and Paris. Nikola made his solo debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam in 2024 and has performed with orchestras including the Belgian National Orchestra, the Residentie Orkest The Hague, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Folkwang Kammerorchester Essen, and the Prague Symphony Orchestra under conductors including Marc Albrecht, Richard Egarr, Kazushi Ono and Bassem Akiki. A devoted chamber musician, Nikola has collaborated with established artists including Janine Jansen, Alexander Kerr, Augustin Dumay, Corina Belcea, Vladimir Mendelssohn and Nobuko Imai, as well as with leading young musicians such as Noa Wildschut, Benjamin Kruithof, SongHa, Leonhard Baumgartner and Alexander Warenberg. He also regularly performs with his teacher and mentor, Enrico Pace. Nikola was recognised as a talented musician from an early age, winning the Steinway Competition at the age of nine and receiving the Concertgebouw Young Talent Award in 2019. He has studied with Marlies van Gent since 2010 and with Enrico Pace at the Accademia Pianistica in Imola since 2014. Since 2022, he has been an artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where he studies with Frank Braley and Avedis Kouyoumdjian. In his home city of The Hague, Nikola plays on a Bösendorfer grand piano loaned to him by the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation (NMF).